Few upcoming sports dramas have garnered as much early buzz as Ivan Reitman’s football-centric Draft Day, which boasts a Black List-topping script and an all-star cast. The film, set for release next April, revolves around the general manager of a football team who does everything he can to snag the number one draft pick for his team. Now, a first trailer has hit, and you can check it out below.
Kevin Costner stars as Sonny Weaver, Jr., the GM for the Cleveland Browns. Charged with bringing the Browns out of a serious slump by picking the best players at NFL drafts, Sonny finds that his career, like those of the young athletes clamoring for a shot at the big leagues, is on the line. As he blurs the lines between his personal and professional lives, Sonny must question how far he’s really willing to go in pursuit of the perfect line-up. Inspirational speeches, tense arguments and last-second victories surely follow, given the race-against-the-clock story.
A huge supporting cast includes Jennifer Garner, Tom Welling, Frank Langella, Denis Leary, Terry Crews, Ellen Burstyn, Joe Manganiello, Chi McBride, Sam Elliot, Rosanna Arquette and Chadwick Boseman.
The script, written by newcomer Scott Rothman and Rajiv Joseph (Showtime’s Nurse Jackie), landed on top of the 2012 Black List for best un-produced screenplays, so chances are high that Draft Day will infuse its sports-centric story with some well-crafted dramatic thrills.
Draft Day was made in cooperation with the NFL, understandable given how the film glorifies the sport (“We can always talk football,” remarks Garner’s character), so one main draw for sports fans will be to see some realistic football up on the big screen. The film’s well-respected director and Oscar-ready cast should be enough to snare the rest of us.
What do you think of the Draft Day trailer? Will you be checking out this sports drama? Sound off in the comments section!
Draft Day opens on April 11th, 2014.
