A new film is going to be made about Barry Bonds, one of baseball’s best home run getters before drug allegations tore his career apart.
Barry Bonds was considered one of baseball’s greatest players, but threw it all away in an effort to break records. He allegedly began taking performance enhancing drugs to help his cause of overtaking Mark McGwire’s single season record of 70 home runs.
He was then indicted on federal charges for perjury and obstruction of justice for allegedly lying under oath when he told a grand jury he had never used performance-enhancing drugs. He is due to be arraigned next month.
Variety are reporting that HBO Films have hired Rob Shelton (Bull Durham, Tin Cup) to direct a movie based on the book Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, BALCO and the Steroids Scandal That Rocked Professional Sports.
This book was written by Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, the San Francisco Chronicle reporters who broke numerous stories about Bonds, and the company accused of distributing illegal steroids to him and other athletes.
As soon as the writers strike ends, Shelton will write the screenplay, along with his Tin Cup writing partner John Norville. The film will be aired exclusively on HBO, and is likely to be out in 2009.
