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'Those Guys Have All The Fun': ESPN movie adaptation moves forward

'Fun' writer James Andrew Miller is reportedly adapting the book for the screen and 'The Place Beyond the Pines' helmer Derek Cianfrance is expected to direct.

'Those Guys Have All The Fun' is by Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller.
  • By Molly Driscoll Staff Writer

A film adaptation of “Those Guys Have All The Fun,” a history of ESPN, is moving forward. 

According to Deadline, “Fun” co-writer James Andrew Miller has been brought on board the project to adapt the book for film. Miller co-wrote the book with Tom Shales, whom he also worked with on the book “Live From New York,” which was a chronicle of the NBC comedy show “Saturday Night Live.”

Derek Cianfrance, who previously helmed the 2010 movie “Blue Valentine” and the 2012 movie “The Place Beyond the Pines,” is directing “Fun,” according to Deadline. 

In a review, Monitor writer Erik Spanberg called the book “Fun” “bloated but bound to succeed…. No doubt the authors felt indebted to try to use as much of the material they gathered as possible, but it slows the story. And yet ‘Those Guys Have All the Fun’ must be reckoned with…. Despite numerous frustrations with some of the interviews … and some of the section topics, this reader tackled it handily, driven by a combination of nostalgia and curiosity. Plenty of sports fans, I suspect, will share the sentiment.”

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