As Hollywood types go, the headline is that IMG has entered the original content space. As football types go, the real headline is that a Steve Gleason documentary is coming.
Via the Hollywood Reporter, IMG will produce a full-length film titled The Gleason Project.
“Very few individuals are brave and tenacious enough to accomplish all that Steve has in their entire lifetime,” IMG executive Mark Shapiro (yes, the former ESPN and Six Flags executive Mark Shapiro) said in a statement. “The fact that he has become a one-man catalyst for a global movement in just four years is absolutely incredible, and we are extremely proud to help bring The Gleason Project to audiences around the world. Steve’s universal message of resilience and hope, told through the lens of a sports hero, is directly in line with our mission of supporting sports and entertainment content that has the ability to create meaningful change.”
“Part of my purpose is to inspire others to live life to its fullest, to overcome adversity, and to explore what is truly possible,” Gleason said in a statement. “This film, and the story it tells, is the product of my purpose.”
Diagnosed with ALS in 2011, Gleason has fought a brave and public battle, pushing aggressively for technological advancement to improve the quality of life for ALS patients and, ultimately, searching for a cure.
Beloved by Saints fans, Gleason sparked the return of football in New Orleans after a season lost to Hurricane Katrina by blocking a punt against the Falcons to end the first drive of the first regular-season game back in the Superdome in September 2006.