De Niro to call plays as legendary NFL coach Vince Lombardi

By Lewis Bazley.

Oscar winner Robert De Niro is to play renowned American Football coach Vince Lombardi in a new big screen biopic, it has been confirmed.

The Taxi Driver star, who won an Academy award in 1980 for playing real-life boxing champion Jake LaMotta, will star as the Green Bay Packers' greatest coach in Lombardi, a new production from ESPN Films, Andell Entertainment and the NFL.

"We're thrilled to have Robert De Niro on our team," said Charles Coplin, NFL vice president of programming.

"There are few actors who could accurately portray the fire, passion and grit of Lombardi."

The biographical film will concentrate on the pivotal years in Lombardi's career in which he marshalled the Packers' transformation from the worst team in the NFL to five-time champions in the 1960s.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button screenwriter Eric Roth will pen the script for Lombardi after ESPN/Andell bought the rights to Lombardi's life story and Lombardi's son Vincent Lombardi Jr acquired the rights to Instant Replay, written by former Packer Jerry Kramer and Dick Schaap.

Chris Olsen will produce alongside Tribeca Productions' De Niro and Jane Rosenthal, with a 2012 release date planned, most likely between the AFC and NFC Conference Championship games and the Super Bowl.

"Having an icon portray an icon on film is amazing and with a writer as talented as Eric working on the script, the results could be magical for NFL fans," commented ESPN Films senior vice president Ron Semiao.