EXCLUSIVE: Teton Ridge Entertainment has set King Richard director Reinaldo Marcus Green to write, direct and produce a feature film celebrating the life and legacy of beloved Puerto Rican MLB all-star and Pittsburgh Pirate, Roberto Clemente. A previous draft of the script was written by Jaquén Castellanos.
The film will be produced Ben Silverman, Jay Weisleder, Chiara Bernasconi and Strike Three Films. Jen Gorton and Brandon Mattingly will oversee for Teton Ridge Entertainment, led by President Jillian Share.
Clemente was a superstar on the baseball diamond who spent 18 seasons with the Pirates and is one of only 33 batters to have recorded 3,000 hits. A devoted philanthropist, his life was tragically cut short on December 31, 1972, at the age of 38, when he was killed in a plane crash that was bound for Managua, Nicaragua; Clemente was on his way to personally deliver aid to victims of a recent earthquake.
“I had two big league tryouts, with the Mets and the Reds, and I didn’t make either team. Growing up Black and Puerto Rican in New York, Clemente was always there. Not just a great player. Proof that you give everything on every single play, on and off the field, until the day he died trying to help people he’d never even met. That’s the story I want to tell,” stated Green.
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Green joining the project comes after Teton Ridge recently secured a decisive court victory confirming its exclusive control of baseball icon Clemente’s life rights and clearing the way for the company to continue development of its much-anticipated film based on the Hall of Famer’s life and legacy.
Last month, the Los Angeles Superior Court granted summary judgment in favor of Teton Ridge, dismissing all claims brought by production company Inside the Park, LLC that challenged Teton Ridge’s option and control of Clemente’s life rights, including intellectual property rights. The court ruled that Inside the Park does not have any claim to Teton Ridge’s rights. Teton Ridge’s related cross-claims against Inside the Park remain pending for trial. Teton Ridge alleges that Inside the Park and its principals interfered with Teton Ridge’s agreement with Legendary Entertainment regarding the rights and with its relationship with the Clemente Family. Teton Ridge seeks substantial damages arising from that conduct.
In addition to securing Clemente’s exclusive life rights, Teton Ridge Entertainment has acquired the rights to David Maraniss’ definitive biography Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball’s Last Hero, and partnered with the Clemente Museum in Pittsburgh, granting the production exclusive access to the world’s largest collection of Clemente memorabilia.
“My family and I are proud to see Teton Ridge Entertainment working on our father’s life story,” said Roberto Clemente Jr. “We believe my father’s story deserves to be told with the integrity and excellence he always embodied. We look forward to a film befitting my father’s extraordinary legacy both on and off the baseball diamond.”
“Roberto Clemente stood up for what he believed in. So do we,” stated Teton Ridge Entertainment’s President, Jillian Share. “We appreciate the Court’s thorough decision, and we are pleased to put this dispute behind us as we continue our efforts to bring the story of one of the greatest athletes and humanitarians of the twentieth century to audiences with Reinaldo at the helm. Clemente’s legacy continues to resonate with fans everywhere, particularly in Pittsburgh and Puerto Rico, and we look forward to honoring that legacy.”
Green’s big break came after writing and directing his debut, Monsters and Men, won the Special Jury Prize at Sundance. His work on that film would ultimately lead him to landing the highly coveted job of directing King Richard starring Will Smith. The film earned six Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and won Smith an Oscar for Best Actor. He most recently directed another high-profile biopic Bob Marley: One Love, a global box office hit.
On television, his work includes HBO’s We Own This City and Netflix’s Top Boy, the first Netflix series inducted into the BFI National Archive, and Marvel’s The Punisher: One Last Kill. He recently completed Southern Bastards for Hulu/Onyx, starring Kevin Bacon and Tim McGraw, and is currently developing a Tiger Woods biopic produced by Irwin Winkler and Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground.
Green is represented by WME and Granderson Des Rochers. Castellanos is represented by TFC Management and McKuin Frankel Whitehead. Michael Moskowitz of Moskowitz Law Firm, PC led all deal negotiations on behalf of Teton Ridge Entertainment.
TWG Global, the parent company of Teton Ridge Entertainment, is co-chaired by Mark Walter and Thomas Tull. Walter is the controlling owner and chairman of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Tull, a Pittsburgh resident and lifelong baseball fan, is a minority owner of the New York Yankees and serves on the board of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
