Jack Black

Universal Pictures has picked up movie rights to a New York Times article with the headline IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL, BIG PAYDAYS FOR HUMILIATION for Jack Black to produce, says The Hollywood Reporter.

The Aug. 23 article by Pete Thamel looks at a college football practice in which teams pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to have weaker teams play them for easy wins. The movie would be a lighthearted take. No screenwriter is attached. Black will take a role in the film but would not star.

He will produce via his newly christened shingle Electric Dynamite, which has a two-year, first-look deal with Universal. Black had a previous deal with the studio via Black and White Prods., his partnership with writer Mike White. The two dissolved the company in the summer but are still working together on a slate of projects. Universal took the opportunity to renew its deal with Black for two more years