Fans of professional wrestling have strong opinions about Vincent K. McMahon, ranging from blissful adoration to outright hatred. Now, the rest of the world will get a chance to find out why the colorful and controversial WWE owner inspires such emotions in his fans as a biopic based on his life, Pandemonium, has been picked up by Sony’s TriStar shingle. The film was written by Craig A. Williams and Glenn Ficarra and John Requa are attached to direct.
Vince McMahon turned a regional wrestling operation into a global sports entertainment phenomenon that dominated all aspects of pop culture. He is responsible for launching athletes such as Hulk Hogan, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and John Cena into the mainstream consciousness and turning what was a fringe form of entertainment into a multibillion dollar conglomerate.
The Hollywood Reporter states that Williams’ script has been circulating since last summer, however concerns about McMahon’s lack of approval made studios wary of going forward with it. Recently, WWE Films, the filmmaking off-shoot of McMahon’s wrestling organization, has signed on as producer of the film, clearing the way for the project to proceed.
WWE Films might also mean that the biopic will ignore or gloss over some of the darker parts of the McMahon legend, notably allegations of sexual harassment, his trial for distribution of steroids or the perception that he ignored the health risks to his performers in his rise to success.
That being said, Ficarra and Requa are talented directors (their credits include I Love You Phillip Morris and Crazy Stupid Love) and should make whatever version of McMahon’s life we get interesting.
