Dennis Rodman’s North Korea basketball mission gets Hollywood movie treatment
Perhaps it'll be like ‘Borat’? The former athlete’s relationship with Kim Jong Un is to become the focus of a new comedy film.
JASON MOJICA/AP
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, and Dennis Rodman enjoy themselves at an exhibition basketball game between North Korean and U.S. players.
Dennis Rodman's visit to North Korea could make for movie magic.
Twentieth Century Fox has bought a comedy pitch titled "Diplomats," based on the former basketball player's "hoops diplomacy" visit to the totalitarian country last year, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
KCNA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, center, his wife, Ri Sol-Ju, left, and Dennis Rodman, far right, watch a basketball game between former NBA players and North Korean players in Pyongyang.
"Ride Along" director Tim Story is attached, and the film will reportedly be produced by Peter Chernin — who was behind Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy's "The Heat."
Rodman's seemingly random visit and budding friendship with the country's dictator Kim Jong Un made headlines last year, and caused a bit of controversy.
KCNA/REUTERS
'I love my friend,' Dennis Rodman, left, says of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, right.
Most recently, North Korea's human rights record, among other practices, has come under fire by the United Nations.
After a secret visit in January — in which the 6'7" former athlete took a few friends and organized a basketball game in Pyongyang — Rodman, 52, defended his connection to the North Korean leader.
"I love my friend," he told CNN, explaining that he wanted to "open the door" for more Americans to visit the country.
Story comes off the success of "Ride Along," after the Ice Cube and Kevin Hart flick shattered box offices with an estimated $123 million domestic gross, THR reports.
Comments
Post a Comment