Actor Al Pacino will play the role of legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno in a new HBO movie, Variety's Joe Otterson reported Monday.
The movie will be directed by Barry Levinson, who is know for classics such as "Rain Man," "The Natural," and "Good Morning, Vietnam."
The movie is currently untitled, but it does have an official logline:
“After becoming the winningest coach in college football history, Joe Paterno is embroiled in Penn State’s Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal, challenging his legacy and forcing him to face questions of institutional failure on behalf of the victims.”
Paterno holds the records for wins by an FBS coach (409 victories), but he was dismissed from the university after news regarding the child sex abuse scandal came to light.
In Nov. 2011, former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was arrested on 52 counts of child sexual abuse. Paterno was a part of an administrative group at Penn State that knew about the gross misconduct, but did nothing to stop Sandusky.
Sandusky was even allowed access to the university's facilities, where incidents of the sexual abuse sometimes occurred, up until his arrest in 2011.
Paterno passed away in Jan. 2012 at age 85, less than three months after being fired from Penn State.
