Al Pacino and Brian de Palma are teaming up for the first time in 20 years to make Happy Valley, a film about disgraced American football coach Joe Paterno.
Al Pacino and Brian de Palma, who worked together on Scarface and Carlito’s Way, are joining forces for Happy Valley, which tells the story of Joe Paterno.
Penn State coach Joe Paterno, who died last year, allegedly covered up child sex abuse by his assistant Jerry Sandusky.
The film will be produced by Edward R. Pressman of American Psycho fame.
Edward R. Pressman, who has acquired the movie rights from Joe Posnanski, author of the best-seller Paterno, said: “Happy Valley reunites the Scarface and Carlito’s Way team of De Palma and Pacino for the third time.
“And I can’t think of a better duo to tell this story of a complex, intensely righteous man who was brought down by his own tragic flaw.”
Al Pacino and Brian de Palma are teaming up for the first time in 20 years to make Happy Valley, a film about disgraced American football coach Joe Paterno
In July last year, six months after Joe Paterno’s death from lung cancer, all of Penn State’s results from 1998 to 2011 were expunged from the records as the result of the child abuse scandal which saw Sandusky jailed for 30 years after being found guilty of 45 counts of sexual abuse.
Al Pacino and Brian de Palma originally worked together on 1983’s Scarface – a remake of a 1930s film – which saw Pacino portray a Cuban refugee who becomes a drug cartel kingpin in the US before his life gradually unravels.
Ten years later the pair reunited for Carlito’s Way – the tale of a career criminal whose determined bid to go straight hits the buffers.
Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, who died in January, is about to be immortalized in a new movie starring Hollywood legend Al Pacino.
Al Pacino has agreed to take on the controversial role in a film based on the New York Times bestselling book Paterno.
The movie is still in the early stages of development, but respected Hollywood entertainment blog deadline.com is reporting that it will be shopped around Los Angeles early next week.
Joe Paterno was fired for his alleged role in covering up the child molestation scandal involving assistant coach Jerry Sandusky who was revealed to be a pedophile.
His death came just two months after he was let go by Penn State in November of 2011.
Penn State football coach Joe Paterno is about to be immortalized in a new movie starring Al Pacino
The new book, which was penned by former Sports Illustrated columnist Joe Posnanski, takes an in depth look at Joe Paterno’s relationship with Jerry Sandusky.
Jerry Sandusky was convicted and awaits sentencing on child sexual abuse.
As the scandal erupted, it was revealed that Joe Paterno had been told by graduate assistant Mike McQueary that jerry Sandusky had raped a boy in the Penn State locker room showers.
In addition, an independent report conducted by former FBI director Louis Freeh, concluded that Joe Paterno, as well as other Penn State bigwigs, “failed to protect against a child sexual predator harming children for over a decade”.
Joe Posnanski’s book, however disputes those claims, saying that Joe Paterno did not know Jerry Sandusky had sexually abused children, and when he read the list of charges against Sandusky, he asked his son Scott: “What is sodomy, anyway?”
Jerry Sandusky was convicted in June of sexually assaulting 10 boys over 15 years.
Jerry Sandusky has been found guilty of sexually abusing young boys while he was an assistant coach of the Penn State football team.
Jerry Sandusky, 68, was convicted of 45 of the counts against him, and acquitted of a further three.
He is now headed to jail where he will be placed on suicide watch and could face a total sentence of up to 442 years in prison.
Jurors were sequestered for just two days while they deliberated the verdict.
The conviction of Jerry Sandusky finally brings an end to a horrific saga which has trashed the reputation of a leading public university and ended the career of its president as well as its legendary head coach, Joe Paterno, who died of cancer in January.
After the verdict was announced in the courtroom in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, Jerry Sandusky’s bail was revoked and he was taken to the Center County Correctional Facility.
Jerry Sandusky plans to appeal against his conviction, according to one of his defense lawyers.
He showed little emotion as the verdict was read. The judge ordered him to be taken to the county jail to await sentencing in about three months.
In court, Jerry Sandusky half-waved toward family as the sheriff led him away. Outside, he calmly walked to a sheriff’s car with his hands cuffed in front of him.
As he was placed in the car, someone yelled at him to “rot in hell”. Others hurled insults and he shook his head in response.
Jerry Sandusky was accompanied by his wife Dottie as they took a break from the courthouse during deliberations on Friday
Defense attorney Joe Amendola said Jerry Sandusky was disappointed by the verdict.
Meanwhile, Pennsylvania Attorney General Linda Kelly thanked the accusers who testified, calling them “brave men”.
She says the trial was forced on them and that she hoped the verdict “helps these victims heal… and helps other victims of abuse to come forward”.
Almost immediately after the judge adjourned, loud cheers could be heard from at least a couple of hundred people gathered outside the courthouse as word quickly spread that Jerry Sandusky had been convicted.
Eight young men testified in a central Pennsylvania courtroom about a range of abuse.
For two other alleged victims, prosecutors relied on testimony from a university janitor and then-graduate assistant Mike McQueary.
Jerry Sandusky did not take the stand in his own defense.
After the verdict was announced, defense attorney Karl Rominger said it was “a tough case” with a lot of charges and that an appeal was certain. He said the defense team “didn’t exactly have a lot of time to prepare”.
Jerry Sandusky’s former employer, Penn State, which has been dealt a damaging blow to its reputation by the scandal, released a statement after his conviction was announced.
“The legal process has spoken and we have tremendous respect for the men who came forward to tell their stories publicly,” the university said.
“No verdict can undo the pain and suffering caused by Mr. Sandusky, but we do hope this judgment helps the victims and their families along their path to healing.”
The statement added that Penn State had “established a confidential counseling process for victims of Mr. Sandusky’s conduct” and taken other steps to stamp out sexual abuse on campus.
In an apparent attempt to limit the institution’s legal liabilities in the light of the verdict, the statement continued: “The University plans to invite victims of Mr. Sandusky’s abuse to participate in a programme to facilitate the resolution of claims against the University arising out of Mr. Sandusky’s conduct.”
The ex-coach had repeatedly denied the allegations, and his defense suggested that his accusers had a financial motive to make up stories, years after the fact.
His attorney also painted Jerry Sandusky as the victim of overzealous police investigators who coached the alleged victims into giving accusatory statements.
Jerry Sandusky had initially faced 52 counts of sex abuse. The judge dropped four counts during the trial, saying two were unproven, one was brought under a statute that didn’t apply and another was duplicative.
Earlier on Friday, his lead defense attorney told reporters that he would be stunned and “probably die of a heart attac” if his client were acquitted of all 48 counts.
The impromptu remarks by Joe Amendola lasted about 15 minutes inside the courtroom and opened a wide window into the defendant’s state of mind as he and Dottie Sandusky anxiously awaited a verdict.
Joe Amendola said that in anticipation of a verdict, the Sanduskys were spending a lot of time praying. He described the atmosphere at their home as funereal.
On Friday, jurors listened again to testimony from a key prosecution witness against the former Penn State assistant football coach, then went back behind closed doors for a second day of deliberations.
The jury had talked for more than eight hours on Thursday before adjourning at the end of a long session that featured dueling portrayals of Jerry Sandusky as either a “predatory pedophile” or the victim of a conspiracy between investigators and his accusers.
The former Penn State coach Joe Paterno’s condition has become “serious” after he experienced complications from lung cancer in recent days, say his doctors.
Joe Paterno, 85, was diagnosed shortly after Penn State’s Board of Trustees ousted him on November 9 in the aftermath of the child sex abuse charges against former assistant Jerry Sandusky.
Joe Paterno is been getting treatment since, and his health problems were worsened when he broke his pelvis – an injury that first cropped up when he was accidentally hit in pre-season practice last year.
The former Penn State coach Joe Paterno's condition has become “serious” after he experienced complications from lung cancer in recent days, say his doctors
Family spokesman, Dan McGinn, says former Penn State coach Joe Paterno, who has lung cancer, is in serious condition after experiencing health complications.
“Over the last few days Joe Paterno has experienced further health complications,” spokesman Dan McGinn said in a brief statement to the Associated Press.
“His doctors have now characterised his status as serious.
“His family will have no comment on the situation and asks that their privacy be respected during this difficult time,” he said.
Joe Paterno has been in the hospital since January 13 for observation for what his family had called minor complications from his cancer treatments.
According to reports, Joe Paterno was read his last rites at the hospital.
