Breaking into the NFL is a nearly impossible task, with millions of hopefuls putting their bodies on the line just for a chance to achieve that dream. But what if you were Brian Banks, a stand-out All American linebacker in high school with a real shot at making that dream happen, only to have it derailed by a questionable legal system and one person's bogus accusations? Banks' story made headlines a couple of years ago, and now Lee Daniels is going to bring it to the big screen.
Daniels, who has been quiet since directing The Butler, has agreed to direct The Brian Banks Story, which will tell how an unfair justice system railroaded the star athlete. Banks had an agreement to play linebacker for USC until a woman accused him of rape. Offered a plea deal to avoid a 40-year prison sentence, Banks was given only ten minutes to make a decision and was urged by his lawyer to take the deal rather than face a racist jury. He spent five years in prison until his accuser was caught on tape admitting his innocence. Banks was released and spent a few weeks in the NFL as part of the Atlanta Falcons but was cut before last season began.
This one's still a ways off as a writer needs to be found, but it's good to see Daniels taking on a potentially hard-hitting story, and might I suggest Chadwick Boseman for the Banks role? [THR]
