Michael Lewis famously beat the odds when the former beer truck driver earned a tryout, and eventually a roster spot, with his hometown New Orleans Saints, where he proceeded to set records as a kick return specialist. Now, after conquering the NFL, the relentless Lewis is making a run at a new, equally lofty target: Hollywood.
Lewis, a fan favorite known among the Saints faithful as "The Beer Man," has signed a deal to develop his underdog story into a movie.
Local filmmaker and screenwriter David DuBos ("Delta Justice: The Isleños Trapper War") has been hired to write the film, with the hope of having the project ready to go before cameras as early as winter 2019, said Karl Bernard, Lewis' longtime attorney and agent.
"I think anybody who has any dream larger than themselves will be inspired by the Michael Lewis story," Bernard said late Tuesday afternoon (June 18) in confirming the deal. "He's an incredible individual, an incredible athlete, an American story come to life right before our eyes in the city of New Orleans."
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The film, which is still early in development, doesn't yet have a title or a distributor, but both Bernard and DuBos said they're convinced Lewis' inspirational life story -- which he told in his 2014 autobiography, "Dreams: The Michael Lewis Story" -- is just the sort of thing that will catch on with audiences.
Most Saints fans know the basics: A Grace King High School product gifted with uncommon speed and elusiveness -- but lacking the prototypical NFL frame or significant football experience -- Lewis passed on going to college and instead began driving a Budweiser delivery route to provide for his young family. He also harbored dreams of playing football, however, and after a series of semipro stints and a couple of NFL tryouts, he caught on as a free agent with his hometown Saints in 2001.
He immediately began setting records as a kick returner. Just like that, "The Beer Man delivers" became a Saints rallying cry (and occasional headline).
But, DuBos said, that's just the tip of the iceberg as far as Lewis' story goes, adding that there's much more about Lewis that most fans probably don't know.
"A lot of people know the broad-brush stuff, but, I'm telling you, this guy had such an interesting path," DuBos said. "… It's really an incredible story. To be able to walk onto a team and accomplish what he did, to me it's a much better version of 'Rudy' and 'Invincible' put together."
While the 1993 classic "Rudy" is a great movie, DuBos said, it's about a guy who played just three downs of college football -- only one of which is depicted in the movie. Similarly, Philadelphia Eagles receiver Vincent Papale, whose story is recounted in the 2006 film "Invincible," caught exactly one pass, for 15 yards, in his three years in the pros.
Lewis, on the other hand, didn't just make the roster. He made a difference, including setting the NFL record for combined kick and punt return yards in a single season, with 2,432 in 2002. That record, which earned him a trip to the Pro Bowl, still stands today.
A 2015 inductee into the Saints Hall of Fame, Lewis also holds the Saints' team records for most career punt returns (142) and punt return yards (1,482). Today, he maintains a relationship with the Saints, and the rest of the Who Dat Nation, as a team ambassador.
"(This story is) different because Michael not only accomplished a childhood dream of playing in the NFL, but he's an NFL record holder," Bernard said. "He's an All-Pro football player. He changed the game, many would say, in terms of kick returning and punt returning."
Of course, wanting to make a movie and getting that movie made are two different things. DuBos, who is also working on bringing his John Kennedy Toole biopic "Butterfly in the Typewriter" to the screen, knows that as well as anyone. That project, though delayed, is still moving forward, DuBos said.
With that in mind, Bernard admitted that their timeline for getting Lewis' story on film by early 2020 is a touch on the ambitious side. "That might be a long shot," he said.
But then again, as any Saints fan can tell you, longshots are kind of Michael Lewis' specialty.
Mike Scott is the movie and TV critic for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. He can be reached via email at moviegoermike@gmail.com or on Twitter at @moviegoermike.