With ‘Paterno’ set to premiere Saturday night on HBO, the family of late Penn State head coach Joe Paterno issued a statement saying many of the movie’s scenes bear little resemblance to what really happened.
Al Pacino stars as Paterno in the film, which focuses on two weeks in November 2011 surrounding former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky’s arrest on child sexual abuse charges. ‘Paterno’ includes scenes of family members pressing the coach about what he knew about Sandusky.
Scott Paterno, who is portrayed in the movie by Greg Grunberg, issued the statement on behalf of the family:
“The HBO movie regarding Joe Paterno is a fictionalized portrayal of the tragic events surrounding Jerry Sandusky’s crimes. Numerous scenes, events and dialogue bear no resemblance to what actually transpired.
‘Everyone truly concerned about the scourge of child sexual abuse would be well served to read the report by former FBI agent, Jim Clemente…
‘As events of the last few years have confirmed, predators are present throughout our society. It is our hope and prayer that society as a whole comes to a better understanding of who these criminals are and how they work so successfully to avoid detection.”
‘Paterno’ airs at 8 p.m. on HBO.
