We’ve known for quite some time that Al Pacino was going to portray legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno in a HBO biopic. Earlier this summer, details of the production were released, with the story being less of a career-spanning biopic (based on Joe Posnanski’s biography), but more of a focused narrative on the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky scandal and how his legacy was affected by the lack of institutional control around his program during that time.
Shortly after being fired as Penn State football coach in 2012, Paterno died due to complications from lung cancer. He was 85 years old.