Former NFL star turned cannabis businessman, Ricky Williams, is set to get a biopic from Modern Magic – Ricky Williams in Australia. The live-action feature biopic will explore the former NFL player’s life and his one-year transformational sabbatical in Australia. Modern Magic co-founder and Academy Award-winner, Rodney Rothman, is set to co-write with Ricky Williams and direct. Rothman will also be producing along with Adam Rosenberg on behalf of Modern Magic.
Ricky Williams is most known for both his 11 season career in the National Football League, spending most of his career with the Miami Dolphins, and his college years, where he starred for the University of Texas. At Texas, he was a two-time All-American, won the Heisman Trophy in ’98, and set the all-time college rushing record. Williams’ football career was cut short when he chose to abruptly quit the NFL in his prime.
Off the field, Williams quietly suffered from social anxiety disorder, routinely doing interviews with his helmet on. As recent professional and elite athletes such as Naomi Osaka, Simone Biles, and Sha’Carri Richardson shed light on the mental impact these athletes face through pushing their physical limits within their sport, while feeling the pressure to maintain their public profile, which is often criticized by the media, punditry and public eye, Williams’ story is more important than ever.
“It’s been exciting working with Rodney on telling the story of the most magical and transformative time of my life, when I became more than just an athlete,” said Williams. “My hope is that people will be inspired to pursue their own unique paths.”
“Fifteen years ago I read about a Heisman trophy winning NFL player named Ricky Williams who’d abruptly quit the pros in his prime and vanished. Nobody knew where he was. Nobody knew how to find him. Months later he was discovered living in a tent in a backpacker’s commune in Byron Bay, Australia, undergoing a strange and transformative experience. He’s a special person, and I’m honored he trusts me to help tell the story of his moving, funny, one-of-a-kind journey, involving Buddha, Kali, Jesus, Marley, football, parenthood, Julie Andrews, Lenny Kravitz and everything in between,” said Rothman.
What’s more, the University of Texas will be holding a dedication ceremony this Saturday to honor the renaming of the football field, at the request of the Jamail family. The Joe Jamail Field at the University of Texas Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium is renamed in honor of Williams and Earl Campbell and is now known as Campbell-Williams Field.
Modern Magic was established to create innovative, event animation and live action entertainment for the 21st Century audience. Outside of the Ricky Williams biopic, upcoming projects for the company include an original animated feature inspired by the music of the late rapper Juice WRLD, Nuevo Rico, an animated feature based on the SXSW award-winning short film by Kris Mercado, and an offbeat, subversive live action-comedy feature that Quinta Brunson is currently writing for Sony Pictures.
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