Theo Fleury is going to Hollywood. No, the since retired and undersized forward hasn’t been traded to the Los Angeles Kings ala Wayne Gretzky style. Instead his memoir will be turned into a movie with production slated to begin in June and will be directed by Michael Young, who has a long resume of directing the MADDEN NFL video game series.
The movie is based on Fleury’s memoir “Playing with Fire: The Highest Highs and Lowest Lows of Theo Fleury” written by Fleury and Kirstie McLellan Day. Fleury, while a decorated player, also struggled with abuse from a childhood coach and later addiction so his story is what he describes as “a story about survival, resilience, and hope.” Fleury and his memoir were previously the subject of a 2011 documentary of the same title, directed by Matt Embry and Larry Day. In 2012 the book was also adapted into a one-man play by the Alberta Theatre Projects.
Kevin Zegers has been announced to headline the cast. The Canadian actor is most famous for being the "Air Bud" film series and "Gossip Girl" TV show. Growing up he was an AAA hockey player and in Hollywood played on producer, and Seattle Kraken part owner, Jerry Bruckheimer’s celebrity hockey league. In the same style of the Air Bud movies, Zegers also appeared in a movie about a hockey playing chimp called “MVP: Most Valuable Primate” back in 2000.
This past Sunday Zegers appeared in the Skate for LA Strong charity hockey game to raise money for the Los Angeles Wild Fires. Kevin Zeger played on “Team Red” coached by Vince Vaughn and Cobie Smulders. Theo Fleury himself also played in the event on “Team Blue”, coached by Danny Devito and Al Michaels.
Both teams advanced to the final of the charity competition where Zeger’s “Team Red” skated to victory
An interesting addition to the cast is former NHL player Ryan Malone. Malone had an over decade long professional hockey career and is famously the first player from Pittsburgh (born and trained in the city) to appear for the Pittsburgh Penguins at the NHL level. He would also spent time with the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers. Malone won a silver medal with Team USA at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
Some former players have gone on to enjoy second careers as actors (for example, pretty much the entire cast of the movie “Miracle”) but Malone appears to have no prior acting credits before this. Guess he’s a rookie once again. While he never won a Stanley Cup he was on his hometown Penguins 2008 Eastern Conference championship team.
In his post playing life Fleury has become an advocate for abuse victims. Currently he works as a motivational speaker on the subject of overcoming trauma. Fleury is also an occasional country music artist with one of his songs being featured in Madden: NFL 18, a game directed by Michael Young, the same guy now tasked with directing a film about his dramatic life. No release date is set yet for the movie.