HBO Releases Al Pacino's First Image as Football Coach Joe Paterno
A new HBO biopic is set to take television by storm soon.Starring "The Godfather" star Al Pacino, the flick has been in development for the last five years. This week, HBO has released a first look photo of Pacino as lead character Joe Paterno, and it seems as though the actor has literally transformed himself into the late college football coach.
Pacino's character is based on the renowned Penn State football coach, Joe Paterno, who faced the biggest challenge yet in his career when he was compelled to resign from the football program he was a member of after being involved in a highly controversial scandal.
The official synopsis of the yet-to-be-named film from HBO revealed that during his time, Paterno was the most sought-after coach in the history of college football. However, his legacy was put at stake after he got caught up in Penn State's Jerry Sandusky's sexual abuse scandal. After being forced to leave his profession, he had to face the sensitive accusations thrown against him.
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In Pacino's first photo as Paterno, the actor's hair was atypically thick and he wore black-framed eyeglasses. His guise made him look a lot like the real Paterno, although the latter had a more square-ish jawline.
The upcoming film was not the first time Pacino played the role of a football coach. Previously, he also portrayed a genius football coach in the sports series "Any Given Sunday," where he played the fictional character Tony D'Amato.
Aside from Pacino, other members of the cast are Riley Keough and Annie Parisse, who will play journalist Sara Ganim and Paterno's daughter Mary Kay, respectively. Directed by Barry Levinson and executive produced by Tom Fontana and Jason Sosnoff, the HBO biopic has yet to have a definite release date.
