Through his first two features, Margin Call and All is Lost, J.C. Chandor has stayed in the thick of the Oscars chatter, and it's looking like his upcoming features will garner just as much attention. There are some major changes at the top of his third movie, A Most Violent Year, and now Chandor has lined up his fourth project, a biopic based on a pro football legend.
First up is A Most Violent Year, which had Javier Bardem and Jessica Chastain leading the film set in 1981, one of the most violent on record. Some months ago Bardem dropped out over creative differences with Chandor, but now he's made a lateral move by bringing on Oscar Isaac, who is currently riding a wave of awards buzz for Inside Llewyn Davis. Isaac will play "the ambitious owner of an oil company who must protect his business and his family from his competitors as they violently try to run him out of business. The film finds him and his wife crossing paths with high-powered lawyers, wealthy bankers, dangerous teamsters and a shady district attorney." Chandor's Margin Call co-star Stanley Tucci is also being courted for a role.
After scoring on the Jackie Robinson biopic 42, Legendary Pictures is turning their attention to the gridiron. They're planning a film on NFL Hall of Fame head coach Vince Lombardi, with Chandor hired to pen the screenplay and possibly direct. Lombardi's name adorns the Super Bowl trophy, so that should tell you just how important he was to the sport, far more than just leading the Green Bay Packers to five world championships.The Lombardi estate is lending their full support behind the project, which hopefully means we'll get a full look at the man on and off the field. He was one of the first NFL coaches to ignore the color barriers and had a zero tolerance policy towards racism amongst his players. After starting out as an offensive coordinator with the New York Giants in 1954, he took the Packers head coaching job in 1959 when the franchise squad was at its absolute worst. Over the course of his coaching career Lombardi never had a losing season.
Now there's the unenviable job of finding an actor to play Lombardi. Perhaps Robert De Niro? Or maybe Chandor can reteam with Robert Redford? [THR/TheWrap/Deadline]
