Paterno (film)

On October 29, 2011, Joe Paterno wins his 409th game as head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions football team. During 61 years at Penn State University, he helped the former "cow college" to quintuple its financial endowment and build Paterno Library. At age 84, Paterno is so beloved as "a coach, an educator, and a humanitarian" that a statue is erected outside of Beaver Stadium, and so powerful that when university president Graham Spanier and athletic director Tim Curley ask Paterno to retire in 2005, he refuses. Inside the stadium, Spanier, Curley and vice president Gary Schultz worry about a grand jury that is investigating accusations of child sexual abuse against Jerry Sandusky, a retired assistant coach.

Six days after Penn State defeats Illinois, The Patriot-News reporter Sara Ganim learns that the grand jury's presentment also indicts Curley and Schultz. Although he is so traumatized by the abuse that he suffered that he does not want his mother to read the presentment, high school student Aaron Fisher, known in Ganim's articles as "Victim 1", is the first to publicly testify against Sandusky. Rumors spread about "Victim 1"'s identity, and Fisher is attacked at school by other students, but his psychologist tells Ganim that Fisher and his mother repeated his story to many skeptical people to protect other children. Ganim and her editor discuss other allegations against Sandusky from 1998 and beyond, such as the rape of a young boy at the 1999 Alamo Bowl. They realize that the university has protected him for years.

Paterno's wife Sue and their adult children, including assistant coach Jay and lawyer Scott, are horrified by the accusations against Sandusky. They want to help the elderly Paterno but do not understand why he continues to prepare for the upcoming game against Nebraska instead of reading the presentment. As reporters besiege Paterno's home, the coach tells his family that when a distraught Mike McQueary told him in 2001 about seeing Sandusky sexually assaulting a young boy in the men's shower room on campus, he did his legal duty by telling Curley and Schultz. Paterno says that Sandusky's The Second Mile charity helped many children. Mary Kay Paterno asks her father why he waited two days to report McQueary's account—"You hear about someone diddling my kids? Don't wait the weekend!"—and whether he followed up on his report.

Penn State students gather at Paterno's home to support the coach, who announces that he will resign as head coach after the football season. John Surma and others on the university board of trustees, however, force Spanier to resign and fire Paterno during a phone call. Ganim reports on a riot by students who denounce the media and cheer for Paterno. Sue and Joe Paterno discuss a Sugar Bowl during the 1970s, at which Sandusky played with their young children at a hotel pool while Paterno was preparing for the game. She presumes that her husband would not have let Sandusky do so had he known that he was a pedophile; he tells her, "I was working. I wasn't focused on the goddamn pool." That night, however, he has a nightmare about the memory. Not on the sidelines for the first time since 1965, Paterno watches on television as Nebraska defeats Penn State.

Paterno is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Driving past the stadium after undergoing an MRI, he sees people next to the statue arguing about his legacy. Another alleged victim tells Ganim that he told Paterno that Sandusky abused him in 1976.

On September 8, 2012, it was reported that ICM Partners would take a package for a film about Joe Paterno starring Al Pacino as Paterno.^[1] On January 16, 2013, it was reported that Brian De Palma would direct the film, which would be titled Happy Valley.^[2] De Palma envisioned the story as a character piece of Paterno:

"[Happy Valley will be] the descent into hell of a man whose past was exemplary: a fascinating story, worthy of [Henrik] Ibsen or Arthur Miller. It could breathe fresh air into Hollywood today, which is busy squandering millions on big-screen comics, toy films and new Batman series..."^[3]

HBO subsequently picked up the film, but on September 19, 2014, it was reported that the network had suspended pre-production on the project due to budget issues.^[4] On June 5, 2017, it was reported that the film was once again moving forward, with Pacino starring and Barry Levinson directing.^[5] In June 2017, Riley Keough,^[6] Kathy Baker and Greg Grunberg joined the cast.^[7] On July 10, 2017, Annie Parisse joined the cast.^[8] On July 16, 2017, it was reported that the film had begun production.^[9]

The music is composed by Evgueni Galperine and Sacha Galperine, who recently worked with Barry Levinson in The Wizard of Lies. The score has been released at Lakeshore Records.