Fox Walden Lines Up Another One -- Basketball This Time
Filed under: Drama, Sports, 20th Century Fox
Here's another true story that was just screaming to be a movie: Frank Gildea returns to college twenty years after dropping out, joins his son Isaac on the school's basketball team and helps to win the team's first conference championship in 27 years. It sounds so cinematically appropriate you'd almost think the father and son had Hollywood in mind when making their life choices. Whatever the intentions, the duo has apparently sold the rights to their story to Walden Media (Amazing Grace), which will be producing, along with Mayhem Pictures, for 20th Century Fox. Brad Gann, who wrote the similarly against-the-odds sports movie Invincible, is currently at work on the screenplay.If the story does seem a little familiar, you have probably seen one of my all-time favorite guilty pleasures, Back to School. In that comedy Rodney Dangerfield plays a man who enrolls in the college that his son attends and the two end up on the diving team together. The only real difference is that, unlike Dangerfield's character, Frank Gildea had already been to college. Oh, and basketball is typically more cinematic than diving. But really this movie isn't likely to be too comparable with Back to School. In its tone and in its demographic interests, it should share more in common with The Rookie, which features Dennis Quaid as a middle-aged man who returns to a career in minor league baseball. That film was also produced by Mayhem Pictures, which also made Invincible and Miracle and is currently at work on a Secretariat movie.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-19-2009 @ 8:29PM
Steve Cruz said...
I remember Fank very well. We were highschool teammates on the sophmore and Jr. varsity teams. He was an outstanding athlete in track and field as well as football. In fact frank never played varsity Basketball, instead consentrating on track and field his senior year. I am not suprised that he was able to accomplish what he did at that age. He was very disciplined and focused when it came to athletics. I am very glad to hear that he is doing fine. If you read this blog Frank, I want to say hi and praise the Lord you are on the right track, and I dont mean running in circles, but instead running the good race to obtain the prize that awaits you....Steve Cruz 1975 Gladstone Gladiators.
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4-29-2009 @ 8:03PM
R.J. Gildea said...
Hey thats my uncle frank! Go get em, I bet you knew my Dad Bob Gildea...!
5-26-2009 @ 7:52PM
Steve Cruz said...
I did know your dad, thats for sure! Bob was crazy, but cool. He was every bit the athlete your uncle was. outstanding in track and wrestling. He could do anything. We were always wrestling in the livingroom at George and Charlie's house. I remember lending your dad my 67 GTO to go to the school prom. he actually had this real cool car he was restoring, it was almost all done , but no motor, ha! ha!. He would tow it around to get things done to it. Did he ever get the motor? We were all good friends, myself, George Platisa, Dereck Fritz, Charles Platisa, Bob Pacho and Marty Jenkins. Hey how is your dad? Does he still live in the area? If you see him, tell him Cruz'er said hi.