Fantasy Casting: "Gold-Medal Summer: The Michael Phelps Story"
Everyday this week, we're fantasy casting one athlete's (not-yet-in-production) movie. (Why? Because Kurt Warner is getting a movie, that's why!)
Yesterday was The Legend of Tim Tebow. Today: Gold-Medal Summer: The Michael Phelps Story!
Michael Phelps already stamped his name loud and clear all over the record books. The 6’4” Baltimore native revolutionized the sport of swimming as the most decorated Olympian of all time with 22 medals (18 of which are gold). So making a movie out of his legendary career would be a no-brainer. His movie would start off with 15-year old Phelps (played by Cole Sprouse, who would be used to the water after starring in Disney's Suite Life on Deck), who became the youngest man to set a swimming record (200-meter butterfly). From there his story would continue, ultimately featuring his record-setting eight gold medals in a single Olympics in the 2008 summer games. Phelps (played by Ryan Reynolds), set world records in every event he was in except the 100-meter butterfly. But the movie would reach its dramatic peak with the most exciting event of all – the 4x100 freestyle relay against the “unstoppable” team from France who said (referring to the Americans) “We’re going to smash them.” Team USA — Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale, Cullen Jones and Jason Lezak — were favored for the silver, and rance led team the US going into the final leg of the race. But Lezak (played by Liam Hemsworth) swam the race of his life to beat out the French by 0.08 seconds and set a new world record. Rounding out the US relay team would be Donald Glover as Jones… …and Jake Gyllenhaal as Weber-Gale. But you'd also need to set up the sequel (tracking Phelps' last run, at the 2012 Olympics), so this movie would also introduce Ryan Lochte (played by Ashton Kutcher). Who else would you cast in a Michael Phelps movie? Let us know in the comments section! And check back tomorrow for the next superstar casting session!Photos: Phelps at 15, Donald Miralle /Allsport; Sprouse, Tiffany Rose/WireImage; Phelps, Nick Laham/Getty Images; Reynolds, Jason Merritt/Getty Images; Lezak, Gali Tibbon/Getty Images; Hemsworth, Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images; Jones, Al Bello/Getty Images; Glover, Charles Eshelman/FilmMagic; Weber-Gale, Heinz Kluetmeier/Sports Illustrated; Gyllenhaal, Evan Agostini/Getty Images; Lochte, Robert Beck/Sports Illustrated; Kutcher, Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images
