Following Bill Simmons' departure from ESPN, he was quickly scooped up by HBO, and it didn't take long for us to hear rumblings that one of his first projects there would be a documentary about André the Giant. Well, the news has finally been made official as a joint press release from the cable network and WWE reveals that the Bill Simmons Media Group is producing André The Giant (that's the official title) for an eventual debut on HBO.
Jason Hehir, an Emmy Award-winning producer for HBO Sports' 24/7 series of sports documentaries, will direct, though a premiere date has yet to be revealed. Now, many of you are probably wondering why this isn't heading straight to the WWE Network, and while it's true WWE has found great success with their series of WWE 24 films, HBO provides both a bigger budget and quite a bit more prestige as we can expect this to receive a lot of mainstream media attention.
For more on what to expect from André the Giant, here's the official press release:
The ambitious and wide-ranging documentary film will explore Andre’s upbringing in France, his celebrated career in WWE and his forays in the entertainment world.
"For more than 20 years, Andre the Giant’s larger than life personality and unique charisma captured the imagination of fans around the world," said WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon. "I will always value our friendship, and am proud to tell the story of the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’."
Bill Simmons, who joined HBO in the summer of 2015 and founded The Ringer, will serve as an executive producer of the film.
"Going back to 2007 and 2008 when I was creating and developing ‘30 for 30’ for ESPN, Andre’s story rode the top of every single sports documentary wish list I ever made," said Simmons. "We always hear about unicorns these days – Andre was the ultimate unicorn. He’s a true legend. Everyone who ever crossed paths with him has an Andre story – and usually four or five. I’m delighted to join forces with Jason Hehir and WWE so we can capture Andre’s amazing story once and for all."