What, Michael Douglas wasn’t available?
A trusted source has informed us that Al Pacino will star as Pat Riley in the tentatively titled “Showtime,” a film about the fast times and eventual fallout of the 80s Los Angeles Lakers dynasty (Riley heading to NYC, Magic Johnson contracting HIV, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar becoming a pariah, etc.).
Apparently, Robert De Niro as Vince Lombardi got some wheels turning in Hollywood. Given the amount of screenwriters who are Los Angeles Lakers fans, a producer probably went out and picked up a script as soon as he/she realized that Pacino and Riley were doppelgangers. The real interesting part of this story is that the same kind of CGI technology used on Brad Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button will apparently be used to make Pacino appear younger during the bulk of the film, which takes place in the 80s and 90s.
And now people who never followed basketball will think of Pat Riley as a man who can’t lower his voice below a scream. This is going to be comical. I can see it now:
Riley: You gotta get down in the paint, Kareem! You gotta GET DOWN. IN. THE PAINT!!!!
Kareem: You got it, coach.
Riley: Hoo-ah!!! It’s….SHOWTIME!!!!!!
