Soccer legend Pele biopic in development

PanARMENIAN.Net - Heading to the upcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, a biopic about the country's legendary soccer player Pele is currently being developed, AceShowbiz said.

Per Variety, Imagine Entertainment is planning a feature film about the man who's hailed the best soccer player of all time.

Being tapped to write the script are filmmaker duo Jeff and Michael Zimbalist, who are also courted to direct the biopic. The Zimbalist brothers are no strangers to creating Latino-themed flicks, including acclaimed documentaries "Favela Rising" and "The Two Escobars".

Announcing the planned biopic, Imagine President of Production, Kim Roth, said, "This will be more of a coming-of-age story that will trace Pele's childhood until he won his first World Cup in Sweden at the age of 17." The plan is to film the Pele movie in English with some Portuguese.

The untitled Pele biopic is expected to begin lensing in Brazil in 2013. It is projected to be released prior to the World Cup. No actor has been approached to portray the soccer legend.

Pele himself, whose real name is Edison Arantes do Nascimento, has previously appeared in a number of feature films and TV series. His latest big screen appearance was in 2004 when he starred in "Pele Forever", a documentary directed by Anibal Massaini Neto.