Jake Gyllenhaal’s been a gay cowboy, a white Persian, a Marine, a Marine’s brother, a bubble boy, and now he’ll be Broadway Joe (aren’t you impressed I can read IMDB?). Gyllenhaal has actually been attached to the project like Andy Garcia’s malformed twin for a couple years now. The only new development is that, according to some Pajiba dork I pantsed in the quad, director James Mangold has been hired, which may kick the project back into high gear.
The project is finally finding some traction, although at this point, Universal Pictures is looking to take another pass at David Hollander’s script before it moves into production.
Where that puts it in Mangold’s queue is an open question — he doesn’t have a go project at the time, and once Gyllenhall finishes filming Source Code for Duncan Jones, he’s got nothing else ready for lensing yet, either. Moreover, the fact that Mangold just came aboard Namath in recent weeks (after it stalled for two years) suggests that it could be warming up for production soon.
Joe Namath is of course the kid from Beaver Falls, PA who rode quarterbacking stints at the University of Alabama under Bear Bryant and the New York Jets (famously guaranteeing victory over the Colts in Super Bowl III) into a literal beaver fall. Or would it be a figurative beaver fall? Point is, there were lots of vaginas around. And probably they were really hairy ones, as that was the style at the time. Another guy who famously likes hairy vaginas is Mo’Nique’s husband. Where was I? Right, Joe Namath. Following his playing career, he again made headlines for trying to kiss sideline reporter Suzy Kolber on live TV and having a nose that resembles a red potato. Jake Gyllenhaal seems too short and stocky to play him, but one thing they both have in common is sore knees. Oh right, like you didn’t know I would this into a gay joke somehow.
"Hey, I'm comin' over later, tell your mom not to shower!"
