Sumith Prasad
The shooting of ‘Average Joe’ is scheduled to begin on August 28, 2023, in New Orleans, Louisiana, slated to conclude on September 29, 2023. The movie revolves around the true story of Joseph “Joe” Kennedy, a “football coach, who fought all the way to the Supreme Court for his right to pray.” When he started “offering a prayer on the field after each high school football game, the school district tried to shut him down, launching a seven-year legal battle that went to the Supreme Court — twice. ‘Average Joe’ is the story of an unlikely champion of religious freedom,” reads the logline.
Despite the production plans, the filming in New Orleans can be affected due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike. The city is one of the most appealing production hubs in the country. ‘True Detective,’ ‘Haunted Mansion,’ ‘American Horror Story,’ ‘Black Bird,’ ‘Django Unchained,’ ‘Where the Crawdads Sing,’ ‘The Big Short,’ ‘Your Honor,’ etc. are some of the projects filmed in the city.
Kennedy was a coach of the varsity football team of Bremerton High School, located in Bremerton, Washington. After every game, the coach prayed a “quiet and brief” prayer on the football field. He continued the practice for seven years with varying levels of participation from his students. Kennedy eventually lost his job due to his religious practice. A legal battle was followed, only for Bremerton School District to win cases in lower courts. However, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Kennedy, who was given a settlement of $1.7 million. He was then reinstated in Bremerton High School ahead of the 2023 season.
The biographical film is written by Stephanie Katz, who unofficially assisted Kennedy in writing his memoir ‘Average Joe: The Coach Joe Kennedy Story.’ Stephanie co-wrote Andrew Hyatt’s drama film ‘The Blind’ and ‘Can You Hear Me.’ As an actress, she features in ‘My Brother’s Keeper,’ ‘Dancer and the Dame,’ and ‘God’s Not Dead.’ Robert Katz, who executive produced multiple ‘God’s Not Dead’ films, produces the film. His other credits include ‘The Power of a Praying Wife,’ ‘The Blind,’ ‘Do You Believe?’ etc. The director and the cast of the film are yet to be announced.
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