Sara Gilbert Joins Paramount's Tom Brady Movie
The Conners star Sara Gilbert has signed on for a role in 80 for Brady, a star-studded road trip movie Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady is producing. The seven-time Super Bowl champion also plans to appear in the film as himself. The project is set up at Paramount and being produced by Brady's 199 Productions with Endeavor Content.
The film is inspired by the true story of four New England Patriots fans who went on a life-changing trip to see Brady and the Patriots play in Super Bowl LI in 2017. Kyle Marvin signed on to direct and co-write with his Watch This Ready producing partner Michael Covino. Their script is based on a draft by Booksmart duo Emily Halpern and Sarah Haskins. Gilbert was cast in the film on Monday, reports Deadline. Her co-stars include Oscar winners Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, and Sally Field. Lily Tomlin, who starred in Netflix's Grace and Frankie with Fonda, also stars.
"Brady is sort of the golden statue that they are trying to find in this journey," Marvin told Entertainment Tonight last week. "It's really just sort of a magical thing that happened." He called Tomlin, Moreno, Field, and Fonda "incredible" in their roles. "We are in rehearsals and they are bringing this incredible energy and power to the table. All of them, in their own ways. So, I am looking forward to shooting and I'm looking forward to sharing it when we're done," Marvin added.
Paramount picked up 80 for Brady in late February. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Brady was heavily involved in putting together the project with Donna Gigliotti and Endeavor Content. Gigliotti won an Oscar as a producer on Shakespeare in Love and earned Oscar nominations for The Reader, Silver Linings Playbook, and Hidden Figures. Watch This Ready's Jeff Stott, Covino and Marvin are executive producers on the movie.
Marvin is also an actor, starring in Apple TV+'s WeCrashed. The series stars Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway as WeWork co-founders Adam and Rebekah Neumann, while Marvin plays Miguel McKelvey. The series starts on March 18.
As for Brady, 80 for Brady will mark his first appearance in a movie since Ted 2 in 2015. In early February, Brady announced plans to retire from football. However, he changed his mind over the weekend and decided to make come back and play for the Bucs in 2022.
Gilbert can now be seen in The Conners Season 4 on ABC. She is also an executive producer on the Roseanne sequel series, in which she plays Darlene. Gilbert also created CBS' The Talk and remains an executive producer on the daytime talk show, although she left as co-host after Season 9.