Al Pacino to play college coaching legend Paterno for HBO

Al Pacino at the 71st Venice Film Festival, August 2014. Image: AFP/Gabriel Bouys

The veteran actor, known for his performances in “The Godfather”, “Scent of a Woman”, “Scarface” and “Dog Day Afternoon” is to play Joe Paterno, college football legend, in a television film on Penn State’s Jerry Sandusky scandal.

With a record 409 wins to his name over a 45-year career as coach of Pennsylvania State University’s NCAA team, the Nittany Lions, Joe Paterno was a legend in college football.

But in 2011, former coaching assistant and children’s charity founder Jerry Sandusky, was brought before a Grand Jury charged with 40 counts of child abuse.

Senior Penn State staff, including Paterno, who had reported an incident to his superiors, as required by law at the time, were implicated in a cover-up dating back to 1998, the year before Sandusky’s retirement.

After that he had been allowed continued access to the college’s campus and sports facilities, including its shower block, and an ongoing association with its acclaimed sporting program.

Now HBO is developing a movie about the Sandusky scandal, per The Hollywood Reporter, in which Oscar-winning actor Al Pacino is to play Paterno himself.

Directing the film will be the highly acclaimed Barry Levinson of “Good Morning, Vietnam”, “Rain Man”, “Bugsy”, and more recently, “Rock the Kasbah”. JB

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