My latest column for the National Sports Journalism Center at Indiana University is on a couple of sports media types who have gone Hollywood. If only momentarily.

Here is the trailer for Life of a King, co-written by Yahoo! Sports’ Dan Wetzel and ESPN PR man David Scott.

Here’s an excerpt from the column:

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I’m thinking of writing a screenplay for a new movie. Here’s the premise:

It is a tale about a national sports columnist and a PR person from a big national sports network collaborating to write a movie. After nearly 10 years, Hollywood finally makes their film. Not only that, but the star is an Oscar-winning actor.

Nobody would believe it, right?

Well, my movie now would be based on a true story. Yahoo! Sports columnist Dan Wetzel and David Scott, a director for communications at ESPN, have another title to add to their resumes: Screenwriters.

Wetzel and Scott are the co-writers, along with director Jake Goldberger, for the new film, Life of a King, which opens in theaters and on other platforms Friday. Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr. plays Eugene Brown, a real person in Washington D.C. who after serving 18 years in prison who went on to use chess as a means to keep inner-city kids off the streets.

After watching Life of a King for the first time, Scott had this reaction: “We did it. We actually made a real movie. And it starred an Oscar winner. I mean, that just doesn’t happen.”

Indeed, Wetzel and Scott’s movie story is as improbable as Brown’s. After meeting as classmates at UMass, they decided to write some screenplays. Eventually, they heard about Brown’s story and spent several days with him researching the project. Then they wrote the script.

That was 10 years ago. Nothing moves fast Hollywood, as the project had many starts and stops. The process took so long, Wetzel said when he watched the movie there were points where he thought, “I don’t remember writing that.”

Wetzel and Scott credit producer Jim Young for persevering to get the movie made. Ultimately, Brown’s inspirational story won out. Not only did it persuade Hollywood executives to make the film, it also enticed actors like Gooding Jr., Dennis Haysbert and LisaGay Hamilton to be part of it. This movie probably falls in the genre of “Remember The Titans” and “Coach Carter.”

“Eugene is a great guy and he’s a great story,” Wetzel said. “After spending 18 years in prison, I’m sure he never thought a movie would be made about him, lauding his good works…We had quality people in the film because it a good story.”

Added Scott: “Eugene is a guy who changed lives. Without him and chess, some of those kids wouldn’t be alive.”

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Here’s the link for the entire story.