Director David O. Russell has officially started shooting his football biopic, “Madden,” exploring the life of the late John Madden, who will be played by Oscar-Winner Nicolas Cage (“The Surfer”) with Christian Bale as Al Davis (owner and de facto General Manager of the Oakland Raiders), John Mulaney, Kathryn Hahn as Madden’s wife Virginia, and Sienna Miller as Davis’ wife Carol.
A first look still from The Hollywood Reporter showcases Cage in character as the iconic NFL coach turned game announcer/anchor alongside Bale’s Davis.
READ MORE: ‘Shutout’: David O. Russell Pool Hustler Pic To Star Jenna Ortega & Robert De Niro
Madden became just as well-known for the string of popular modern Electronic Arts NFL video games, “Madden,” which became extremely memorable due to the announcer lending his voice as the legendary Raiders coach was immortalized in the ever-expanding gaming and sports communities.
The biopic will track Madden’s “journey from humble beginnings to coaching the Oakland Raiders to the Super Bowl in 1976 and later finding further success on television, video games, and becoming a reliable pitchman for a wealth of advertisers.”
The Amazon MGM Studios film has a producing team that features Skydance Sports, Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Steve Tisch, Jonathan Shukat, Russell, Matthew Budman, and Colin Wilson, with David Bloomfield, Michael Strahan, and Constance Schwartz-Morini set as executive producers.
O. Russell wrote the “Madden” script from an early draft by Cambron Clark. This won’t be the only sports-related project on the horizon for the filmmaker, as he’s attached for “Shutout,” a pool hustler drama starring Jenna Ortega and Robert De Niro.
You can take another look at that first look pic of “Madden” below.
