"Broadway Joe" Namath (who's now hitting AARP-age) will be larger than life when his life story hitssacks the big screen. Starring as the Hall of Fame quarterback (and ladies man) will be none other than Jake Gyllenhaal, who will likely only have to do a touch of bulking up for the role.
While other quarterbacks racked up bigger lifetime stats, Namath became the first football player to achieve rock-star status. The pic will tell the story of how the golden-armed kid from Beaver Falls, Pa., became Broadway Joe, the New York Jets quarterback who became a '60s cultural figure.
When Namath came to New York he did so with a record $400,000 salary, and "the handsome nonconformist became a sensation, on the field, in nightclubs and on Madison Avenue as the first star to become a magnet for commercials." Like this pantyhose ad! Could we be seeing Mr. Gyllenhaal sporting some nylons soon? We'll find out once Namath's tale is given the Hollywood treatment...which will be once the writers strike is over. Apparently this isn't the first film to tap into the footballers life, Jimmy Walsh (who runs the production company attached to the film) told Variety "Most of the stuff you saw in 'Forest Gump,' Joe lived through all of it." But Forest Gump never declared "We'll win the game. I guarantee you," three days before the Super Bowl.
