J.J. Abrams to Produce Lance Armstrong Biopic
Just one day after cyclist Lance Armstrong officially came clean with Oprah Winfrey about his use of performance-enhancing drugs, Paramount Pictures announced that they were working on a Lance Armstrong biopic. J.J. Abrams will produce the film with Bryan Burk through their Bad Robot banner, making it one of the few Bad Robot movies to fall outside the realm of science-fiction (Morning Glory being one of the only others to date). What once might have been the uplifting story of an American hero who triumphed over cancer has now morphed into the story of a disgraced athlete who tried to cover up his wrongdoing. But does this actually make for an interesting movie or is it just another example of Hollywood capitalizing on the hot topic du jour?
According to Deadline, Paramount and Bad Robot have acquired the screen rights to the upcoming book Cycle Of Lies: The Fall Of Lance Armstrong by Juliet Macur. The subject matter clearly seems to be of interest to Americans; 3.2 million viewers tuned in to Oprah’s Next Chapter to see Armstrong’s confession last Thursday. For the most part, Oprah played softball, serving up simple yes or no questions for Armstrong to answer with as little effort as possible.
Interestingly, before the accusations first surfaced, Sony had a Lance Armstrong biopic of their own in development with Jake Gyllenhaal attached to star. It seems unlikely that they would resurrect their project at this point, but you never know — competing biopics seem to be a frequent occurrence in Hollywood. I have to admit, I’d be interested in this movie if it chose to delve into the motives and ethics behind doping in sports (not unlike the documentary Bigger Stronger Faster*), however, something tells me this will not be the case. What do you think… would you be interested in a Lance Armstrong biopic?
Comments (15)
You can see how fast Hollywood swallows the rights to this or how calculated Lance’s actions must’ve been. Just a cough and a sneeze after his Oprah interview and he’s already hedging his bets on maximizing his opportunities. At least he’s competitive in ‘everything’ he appears to do.
Posted by devolutionary on January 21st, 2013I don’t think anyone besides Abrams’s people have the technology to handle the sheer amount of lens flares necessary in the racing scenes.
Posted by PlanBFromOuterSpace on January 21st, 2013It’s a good match, because, if you think about it, Armstrong really was a ‘bad robot’.
Posted by Bas on January 21st, 2013Hope they treat the cheat like he deserves.. Probably won’t though..
Posted by patrik on January 21st, 2013Luis Guzman as Lance Armstrong. Make it happen, Paramount.
Posted by baron von testicle on January 21st, 2013Knowing people who knew Armstrong professionally (some had a high view of him back in the day, others not so much), I think the only way to do this movie is showing Armstrong as a sociopath. A charmer in the limelight who will do anything he can to better his own position at all costs. This is not the time to take the approach Sean suggests. Save that for another film, about another person (real or not).
On a somewhat related note. I wouldn’t be all that surprised if some nasty stuff comes out about the Livestrong organization. I think Armstrong starting Livestrong was like the drug dealer who builds a community center for his neighborhood. He squashes people in his sphere and then tries to build a monument in his honor.
Posted by Bob on January 21st, 2013DAVID O RUSSELL SHOULD DIRECT THIS MOVIE. NOT JJ.
Posted by darksiders on January 21st, 2013@Darksiders,
I believe they only announced J.J. Abrams as the producer, so he may get someone else to direct.
Posted by Deven Science on January 22nd, 2013As a person who also survived Cancer i hope that this movie will be stopped by the gods of Hollywood. This Person is a walking talking piece of “”it.
He is the american dream on steroids, i hope to god (if i would believe in this concept) that he will got a rematch with the BIG C, and this time….. my god a franchise………….
Posted by Stinker on January 22nd, 2013I also hope they focus on the professional cycling-sport as a big cheat in itself (I honestly believe that a large bulk of the professional cyclists have witnessed or had some sort of contact with drugs in their career). Don’t forget that they couldn’t give Lance’s awards to those who came in at second, third, fourth or fifth in his time, because they were all caught for cheating too. It’s like Tyler Hamilton mentioned in his 60-Minutes interview: in extremely tough multiple-stage races like Tour de France, it became an accepted part of the rider’s culture to use drugs. For many people, that’s the only way they could get through it.
Posted by La Menthe on January 22nd, 2013this is sad
pick a director who doesn’t care about public opinion – from europe, maybe scandinavian – and let him do his own thing.
Paul Reubens should play lancie-boy. not a joke.
otherwise no.. i wouldn’t spare a minute for the trailer. lance, tiger, paris.. don’t really care about these folks. too rich to mention
Posted by MrHorse on January 22nd, 2013“pick a director who doesn’t care about public opinion – from europe, maybe scandinavian – and let him do his own thing.”
But if he cares about being offered more high-profile work, that would influence the type of movie he’d make, no? Besides, someone that REALLY didn’t care about public opinion wouldn’t take the gig anyway.
“lance, tiger, paris.. don’t really care about these folks. too rich to mention”
Also, a good “fall from grace” or “getting a look behind the curtain” story can always be made into something if done right. Where does Paris even fit in? Too rich to mention, but you’re the only one mentioning her. You sound like you care a lot about telling us that you don’t care.
Posted by PlanBFromOuterSpace on January 22nd, 2013Those stories can always be made into something INTERESTING if done right is what I meant to say.
Posted by PlanBFromOuterSpace on January 22nd, 2013Posted by PlanBFromOuterSpace on January 22nd, 2013 >
But if he cares about being offered more high-profile work, that would influence the type of movie he’d make, no? Besides, someone that REALLY didn’t care about public opinion wouldn’t take the gig anyway.
..how would you know?
so, in your view, the very concept of the movie sets it towards mediocrity. also, it’s almost impossible to find the right director to make a good movie about this man. yes?
Posted by PlanBFromOuterSpace on January 22nd, 2013 > Where does Paris even fit in? Too rich to mention, but you’re the only one mentioning her.
..it thought it was funny at the time..
Posted by PlanBFromOuterSpace on January 22nd, 2013 >
You sound like you care a lot about telling us that you don’t care.
that’s a bit mean. loose “a lot” and maybe i’ll think about what you’re saying there
Posted by MrHorse on January 22nd, 2013Well, for them to find this mysterious Scandinavian filmmaker and get him to direct the film, it would probably take an expedition into the heart of…whatever Scandinavian country they were hoping to find this uncorrupted-by-Hollywood individual in, but most likely the producers would settle for someone that was campaigning for the gig that would probably like to do more high-profile films after this one, which means he’d have to make the right people happy. I think a fine film can be made of the story and that the right director can be found, but I just found the idea of searching the world for the perfect non-caring, unbiased filmmaker to do a take-no-prisoners biopic to be more amusing than the story itself.
About the not caring thing, whenever someone makes a conscious effort to go through the trouble of going to an internet message board and making a pretty generic “I don’t care about this subject” statement in regards to a film or potential film, my mind just goes to Alan Moore, who is famous for (and to be fair, is probably tired of being asked about) not caring about the movies being made from his books. Every time another ones comes out, he comes out and says he doesn’t care, which gives the impression that he cares a lot about telling people how much he doesn’t care.
Posted by PlanBFromOuterSpace on January 22nd, 2013Leave a Reply