Richard Linklater and Glen Powell reteam to take on the Pride of the Yankees. The pair, who previously co-starred in Hitman and Everybody Wants Some, will collaborate on an untitled film directed by Lou Gehrig for Universal Pictures.
Gehrig is a Hall of Famer whose durability and stamina on the field (playing a then-record 2,130 consecutive games) earned him the nickname “Iron Horse.” The legendary slugger’s career was cut short when he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). His farewell speech in 1939, in which he declared himself “the luckiest man on earth” to a sold-out crowd at Yankee Stadium, has been called “baseball’s Gettysburg Address.” Gehrig died in 1941 at the age of 37. Gehrig’s story was dramatized in 1942’s “The Pride of the Yankees,” with Gary Cooper playing the sports icon.
Lorne Michaels, of SNL fame, will produce the film with Erin David under a first-look deal with Universal and his company Broadway Video. Powell will co-produce his single ‘Barnstorm’ with Dan Cohen, which also has a first-look deal with the studio. Linklater is in talks to produce through Detour Filmproduction.
“SNL” veteran Simon Rich will write the script. Ricci recently wrote “Artificial,” about OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, directed by Luca Guadagnino. The film made headlines after Amazon-MGM Studios dropped it, and Neon picked it up.
Powell’s credits include “Twisters” and “The Running Man.” He will next be seen in JJ Abrams’ The Great Beyond. Linklater recently directed “Blue Moon,” which won an Oscar for its screenplay and starring Ethan Hawke, and “Nouvelle Vague,” which tells the story of the making of “Breathless.”
Mr. Powell is represented by CAA, Initiative Group, and Johnson, Shapiro, Slewett & Cole. Linklater is repped by CAA and Cinetic Media. Rich is repped by CAA and Eastman, Eastman.
Deadline broke the news about the Gehrig biopic.
