You know it’s the slow time when we write about movies being made about the life of a former NFL return specialist who was never a household name even during his prime. On closer review, however, the idea of Michael Lewis having his life story memorialized on film doesn’t seem all that far-fetched.
Lewis didn’t go to college, opting instead to drive a beer truck. But he didn’t give up on his football dreams, parlaying success in semipro football into a handful of NFL tryouts, a short sting with the Eages, and eventually a full-time job with his hometown NFL team, the Saints.
“I think anybody who has any dream larger than themselves will be inspired by the Michael Lewis story,” the player’s lawyer and agent, Karl Bernard, told NOLA.com. “He’s an incredible individual, an incredible athlete, an American story come to life right before our eyes in the city of New Orleans.”
New Orleans filmmaker and screenwriter David DuBos has high hopes for the project, confident that the Michael Lewis story “is a much better version of Rudy and Invincible put together.”
DuBos points out that Rudy ultimately tells the story of a guy who played three downs of college football, and that Invincible is about a player who ultimately didn’t do all that much in the NFL. In contrast, Lewis joined the Saints’ Ring of Honor in 2015, and he holds the team’s record for career punt returns and punt return yardage.
The project remains in the very early stages, and plenty of movies that we’ve heard were going to be made years ago haven’t proceeded. Still, the movie can never be made if it’s not in the pipeline, and the Michael Lewis story is.