BUFFALO, N.Y. — Despite growing up a Browns fan, Rajiv Joseph and his co-writer Scott Rothman decided to write their screenplay about the Bills.
"What I see in Buffalo is I see a town that is utterly passionate about their teams and about their sports; also a city that like Cleveland is tough," Joseph said.
The movie "Draft Day" focuses on the general manager who is trying to change the team's fortunes by securing the number one pick in the NFL Draft.
"It's a comedy. It's also a drama and it's really about this man and his life coming to a head on this very day in which he had to make some enormous decisions for his football team and in his life," Joseph said.
The screenplay was picked up Tuesday by Paramount.
The director attached to it is Ivan Reitman, who is famous for directing movies like "Ghostbusters", "Stripes" and "Dave".
"The fact that he responded so strongly to our script was amazing for both of us. We're big movie fans and we're big sports fans," Joseph said.
Bills fans say they're excited about the idea of the film.
"It's cool to see your own town on television or in the theaters and have the rest of the country see it and see how great it is here," Marni Fuqua said. "Hopefully, they'll film it at a nice time of the year,"
"I think as long as they make them look fun and not make fun of the Bills, I think it might be a good movie to see," Dan George said.
Joseph, who writes for the Showtime series Nurse Jackie, said they've had limited discussions about where the movie would be shot.
"If it's the opportunity for me to meet Jim Kelly, then yeah, I would love to have this shot in Buffalo," he said.
Right now, they are beginning the process of casting actors to star in "Draft Day." Joseph said when production begins will depend on how fast they can find those actors.
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Originally Posted by TheWien
