 Jesse Owens biopic starring Anthony Mackie is finally nearing the deal for the project.
If the deal is sealed, the film, where Mackie will portray the heroic American sprinter who dominated the 1936 Berlin Olympics much to the chagrin of Adolf Hitler, will go out in the fast lane to directors and will also be financed by the studio, Deadline.com reported.
The production is expected to begin in October for a 2016 release, around Summer Olympics, which would mark the 80th anniversary of Owens’ dramatic Games when he won four gold medals and left Hitler’s prized athletes, and putting dust to Hitler’s theory that the Germans were the superior race.
Jason Spire, Linden and Olson will produce the project with Robbie Brenner overseeing for Relativity.
Meanwhile, Focus Features are also working on another biopic on Owens titled ‘Race’ starring Stephan James, which is being directed by Stephen Hopkins and had begun shooting last fall. Disney also is developing a biopic based on the Jeremy Schaap book ‘Triumph,’ with ‘The King’s Speech’ scribe David Seidler scripting.
