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Los Angeles - After years in development, Sony Pictures might not be moving forward with a biopic on Lance Armstrong, after the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) ruled that Armstrong would be stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned from the sport for life on Friday.
The USADA ruled that Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs to win cycling's most prestigious race from 1999-2005, charges that Armstrong has vehemently denied.
This comes shortly after the famed cyclist was placed under investigation by the USADA, into whether or not he doped. The investigation was launched after new incriminating evidence was brought to light.
Armstrong released a statement in which he described the USDA investigation as a "unconstitutional witch hunt".
Movie should still happen
According to Nikki Finke of Deadline Hollywood, former Warner Bros president Billy Gerber tried to sell the movie years ago after reading Armstrong’s bestselling book It’'s Not About The Bike.
Armstrong's close friend Jake Gyllenhaal was all set to play the cyclist in the movie, with Gyllenhaal joining Armstrong at the 2006 Tour de France in the Discovery team car for an Individual Time Trial.
But as the doping allegations against Armstrong came to the fore, the project was put on hold.
Finke believes that the new developments in Armstrong's life story should not put an end to the movie plans, and would provide a different arc.
"Tonight's ending is not neat and tidy: rather, it's messy and sad. It also should be a movie, albeit a different one from first envisioned," writes Finke.
* Do you agree that the Lance Armstrong movie should go ahead? And is Jake Gyllenhaal the best actor to play the role of the Tour de France champ? Send your views to Movies@Channel24.co.za and get published on Channel24.
The USADA ruled that Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs to win cycling's most prestigious race from 1999-2005, charges that Armstrong has vehemently denied.
This comes shortly after the famed cyclist was placed under investigation by the USADA, into whether or not he doped. The investigation was launched after new incriminating evidence was brought to light.
Armstrong released a statement in which he described the USDA investigation as a "unconstitutional witch hunt".
Movie should still happen
According to Nikki Finke of Deadline Hollywood, former Warner Bros president Billy Gerber tried to sell the movie years ago after reading Armstrong’s bestselling book It’'s Not About The Bike.
Armstrong's close friend Jake Gyllenhaal was all set to play the cyclist in the movie, with Gyllenhaal joining Armstrong at the 2006 Tour de France in the Discovery team car for an Individual Time Trial.
But as the doping allegations against Armstrong came to the fore, the project was put on hold.
Finke believes that the new developments in Armstrong's life story should not put an end to the movie plans, and would provide a different arc.
"Tonight's ending is not neat and tidy: rather, it's messy and sad. It also should be a movie, albeit a different one from first envisioned," writes Finke.
* Do you agree that the Lance Armstrong movie should go ahead? And is Jake Gyllenhaal the best actor to play the role of the Tour de France champ? Send your views to Movies@Channel24.co.za and get published on Channel24.
