Kevin Smith -- the director/producer/actor, not the running back for the Lions -- is planning on filming a movie about hockey in Detroit. The movie's script is being completed right now, and it's actually based on a Warren Zevon song ("Hit Somebody") that was written by the Detroit Free Press' Mitch Albom. As a result, Smith had to get Albom to sign off on the project, which wasn't a problem at all once they met up and hung out for a bit.
↵↵↵We're shooting in Detroit, too. I reached Warren's estate about the song, and they said, "You've got to talk to Mitch Albom because Mitch Albom controls that song." I said, " 'Tuesdays with Morrie' Mitch Albom?" So I got in touch with Mitch first by e-mail, and then he came to New York while I was there shooting "Cop Out."
↵So he came and we hung out for about two hours, went downstairs and ate at the Ritz-Carlton down in Battery Park. At the end of it, he goes: "I gotta tell you, man, I felt like it was important to be face to face with you if I was gonna hand over the song. It's a big deal." He was like: "I don't know how else to explain it, and I know there's business deals and stuff later on. But I just feel like I wanted to see your face and to hear you talk about it."
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Albom gave Smith the green light for the movie on two conditions: 1) Smith can't make fun of the sport, which isn't a problem since he is a huge hockey fan; and 2) The movie has to be filmed in Detroit. That also isn't a problem since Detroit is Hockeytown, and Smith already got a tour of the area, including Joe Louis Arena, from Albom.
↵↵↵"I remember one trip he came in, I took him down to the Joe and the Red Wings were practicing and we went down there. Here's this guy who's so well-known, and he's a god to the people who love his work," Albom says. "He was like a shy kid! He was all 'I don't want to go into the locker room!' ... He was so shy. It's so different than the way he is worshipped at Comic-Con."
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Seann William Scott (Stifler in the American Pie movies) is going to be the lead in the movie, which is going to span from 1950 to the 80s and be a "massive valentine to not just the game, but to the land that spawned it."