Ice Cube plots a Comeback

You might think you’ve found a killer hook for a script – such as the true-life tale of an 11-year-old female quarterback who inspires her whole town to reclaim some of its glory – but selling the concept isn’t always easy.

Writer Nick Santora discovered that when he read an article about 11-year-old Jasmine Plummer, who led her team, the Harvey Colts to something called the Pop Warner Super Bowl (we’re told this is a good thing) and in doing so pulled the spirits of her poor US home town out of the mire. While Santora managed to track down the story, he still had hurdles. “I knew there was a story in there about how a girl can lift up a town," he blabbed to The Hollywood Reporter, “But the lead was an 11-year-old African-American girl. It was a tough sell."

Five years and many fruitless script pitches later, the idea- now titled Comeback finally attracted the attention of Ice Cube, who has just signed on to produce and play the girl’s uncle, a former high school American football star who helped her get the team in shape. And the project also has a director, in the unlikely form of Limp Bizkit frontman, who finally got his helming break with The Education Of Charlie Banks and now wants to tackle something a little meatier. Can’t wait to hear the soundtrack…