EXCLUSIVE: Stoked Sports & Entertainment has struck an exclusive deal for the life rights of NFL Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor, with plans to develop A Giant Amongst Men, a multi-platform media project that will include a narrative feature, a limited series, and a documentary.
A Giant Amongst Men will delve into the meteoric rise, formidable legacy, and personal challenges of one of football’s most electrifying and controversial figures. Development is underway across all three formats, with announcements on talent attachments anticipated in the coming months.
Exec producers on the projects include Blake Leon (Titans) and actor-producer Curran Walters (American Gigolo) for BEL Productions, along with Jarnell Stokes, Aisha Corpas Wynn, Beth Fryman Poulin, Sean Mik’ael Butler, and Patrick Strøm for Stoked Sports & Entertainment.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history, Taylor played his entire professional career, spanning 13 seasons, as a linebacker for the New York Giants. His impact on the team’s success was immediate, as he won both NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1981, in a rare feat for a rookie. Over the course of his years on the field, he was selected to 10 Pro Bowls, named First-Team All-Pro eight times, and helped lead the Giants to two Super Bowl victories. He retired with 132.5 career sacks and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1999.
The Beverly Hills-based Stoked Sports & Entertainment is a management and production company focused on helping athletes and other crossover talent make the leap into film and TV. Among other upcoming projects from the company is Game Changer, a new podcast hosted by WNBA Champion Shay Murphy, being produced in partnership with Wizard Studios, which explores stories of athletes who have shattered ceilings and redefined the game. There’s also The Hardaway Files, a podcast centered on retired NBA star Tim Hardaway, which is being created in partnership with Priority Sports Agency, in collaboration with the Bleav Network.
Outside of Stoked Sports, co-founder Jarnell Stokes runs Stoked Bros Media, which recently announced its intention to produce a reimagining of the cult 2008 comedy Strictly Sexual. A two-time Gold Medalist who has played basketball professionally since 2014, Stoked has made a move into entertainment of late as the producer of titles like Break the Cycle, Helen’s Dead, Slayers, and Dig, among others.
Walters is represented by CAA and Untitled Entertainment; Leon by Untitled Entertainment; and Stokes by Innovative Artists, Evoke Entertainment, and Mendelsohn Law.
