Kurt Warner Biopic "American Underdog" Set For December 10 Release, Tells Story Of His Rise From Grocery Store Stocker To Super Bowl MVP

By now, many people are familiar with the story of how Kurt Warner rose from a stocker at a grocery store in Iowa to become an NFL Hall of Fame quarterback, leading the St. Louis Rams to the 1999 NFL championship in one of the most remarkable stories in American sports history.

A new biopic on Warner's rise to glory, American Underdog: The Kurt Warner Story, is scheduled for release by Lionsgate Films on Dec. 18, and will tell the story of the quarterback's rise from working at a Hy-Vee grocery store in Cedar Falls, Iowa, to success with the Iowa Barnstormers in the Arena Football League to going from third-string quarterback with the Rams to the starter after the season-ending injury to St. Louis native Trent Green to a 14-2 record and the 1999 championship in Super Bowl XXXIV, where he passed for a then-record 414 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning 73-yard pass to Issac Bruce with 1:52 left in regulation.

The movie will star Zachary Levi as Warner, Anna Paquin as Warner's wife Brenda, Dennis Quaid as Hall of Fame coach Dick Vermeil, Chance Kelly as then-offensive coordinator Mike Martz, along with Virginia Madsen, Adam Baldwin and Bruce McGill.

"I’ve had so many people tell me, 'Your story is made for Hollywood. it’s made for the big screen,'" Kurt Warner says.

Warner and his wife, Brenda, serve as co-executive producers of the film, which will tell his story from being a successful quarterback at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls who went undrafted by any NFL team, then failing a tryout with the Green Bay Packers, to being a stocker at the Hy-Vee store in Cedar Falls while playing for the Barnstormers, whom he led to the Arena Bowl championship game before signing with the Rams after a tryout and being assigned to the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe, a six-team European league sponsored by the NFL. The league was an outgrowth of its predecessor, the World League of American Football, and was designed to help promote the sport in Europe. NFL Europe was also used as a developmental league for NFL prospects and produced many players who later starred in the NFL.

After serving as a third-string quarterback for the Rams in 1997 and 1998, Warner got his chance after Green went down with a season-ending knee injury in a preseason game against the San Diego Chargers, and went on to make NFL history, leading the Rams to their 14-2 record into the playoffs, where St. Louis defeated the Minnesota Vikings 49-37 in the Divisional Playoff game, survived a very tough 11-6 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship Game and won Super Bowl XXXIV in Atlanta, defeating the Tennessee Titans 23-16.

The movie is produced by Kevin Downes, Andrew Erwin and Jon Erwin and is directed by both Andrew and Jon Erwin. The movie was made by Kingdom Story Company, Erwin Brothers Entertainment and City On A Hill Productions and will be released by Lionsgate. It's based on Warner's autobiography "All Things Possible: My Story of Faith, Football And The First Miracle Season."

The movie's scheduled release date is Friday, Dec. 10. Other details about the film, including its World Premier, are to be announced.

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