20th Century Fox is close to finalizing a deal to obtain the screen rights for the book “ESPN: Those Guys Have All The Fun” by James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales, Deadline is reporting. The studio wants to develop a movie about the 24-hour sports network’s formation. The film will feature past and present ESPN personalities and producers to chronicle the story of how a father and son maxed out their credit cards to reserve a satellite transponder so they could broadcast sporting events non-stop.
The movie will be produced by Michael De Luca, Dana Brunetti and Julie Yorn. ICM began shopping ESPN: Those Guys Have All The Fun in recent weeks, and began sparking interest from numerous Hollywood directors and screenwriters. So many people are interested in the project, as it’s said it will be full of dramatic content similar to ‘The Social Network.’
ESPN: Those Guys Have All The Fun chronicles how sports director Bill Rasmussen, his son Scott and Aetna insurance agent Ed Eagan created the network in 1979, and how it was conceived as a joke at the time with its line-up of Australian Rules Football and rodeo. Now ESPN features professional baseball and basketball games, and has become one of the most profitable cable networks ever created.
Written by: Karen Benardello
