Disney+ has selected Nigerian director Akin Omotoso to direct Greek Freak – a biopic based on NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo. The story is written by biopic savant Arash Amel, who has also penned the biopics A Private War and Grace of Monaco. Bernie Goldman will be producing with Antetokounmpo as executive producer on the project.
Greek Freak tells the story behind Giannis Antetokounmpo’s rise to basketball fame. Antetokounmpo was born in Greece to Nigerian immigrants, who kept their family close by instilling faith and determination as a means to get them out of poverty. The basketball player would soon play for the Greek professional league only to have it serve as a launching pad to his 2013 draft into the NBA for the Milwaukee Bucks. To add, he was one of the youngest players to ever be drafted by the association. It was his attainment of consecutive MVP awards in 2019 and 2020 that earned him the nickname “Greek Freak”. Production on the film will begin in 2021 in Greece and some US locations.
Omotoso has credits as an actor and director. The artist played roles in the South African rom-com Catching Feelings and in Disney’s Queen of Katwe. His feature film, Vaya, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, ultimately landing at Netflix and distributed by Ava Duvernay’s Array Filmworks.
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