Concussions are an issue for the NFL that is not going away. Just this week, football legend and Hall Of Fame quarterback Dan Marino sued the organization for injuries resulting from concussions, while the NFL has taken considerable criticism for not doing enough to protect players from harm. And it’s against that backdrop which makes this news a lot more interesting.
Last year, you might recall it was reported that Ridley Scott was producing and possibly directing a football concussion drama. But seeing as how he’s busy enough as it is, “Parkland” director Peter Landesman will be calling the shots and writing the script and, oh yeah, some guy named Will Smith has stepped into star.
The film will be based on Jeanne Marie Laskas‘ 2009 GQ article “Game Brain” (read it here), which shone a light on a whistleblowing neuroscientist who connected on-field injuries with cognitive problems experienced by many football players, even years after they left the game. So think of it as “The Insider” with touchdowns.
No word yet on when this might shoot, but considering Smith just dropped “Brilliance“ and the number of other competing projects on the same subject, perhaps he wants to be first on the field with this one. [Variety]
