'Titans' scribe penning another football film

Gregory Allen Howard, who penned inspirational football movie "Remember the Titans," is hitting the field again, coming on board to write a screenplay based on the life of quarterback Marlin "The Magician" Briscoe.

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Briscoe is acknowledged to be the first black starting QB and earned the nickname of "The Magician." The biopic is tentatively using that moniker as its title and will trace his rise as well as his fall into addiction and, naturally, his path to redemption.

Briscoe broke the color barrier in professional football, playing for the Denver Broncos in the American Football League and then for the Buffalo Bills. When the AFL merged in the NFL, he played for the Miami Dolphins. When he left the league, Briscoe became addicted to drugs, which saw him lose his home and auction off his Super Bowl rings. He also served time in jail. He rebounded by becoming a mentor for the Boys and Girls Club in Long Beach and starting his own football camp for kids.

West Omaha Films, founded by actor John Beasley along with David B. Clark and Terry Hanna, is producing the film. Leigh Steinberg of Leigh Steinberg Sports & Entertainment are partnering with West Omaha, with LSSE consulting in the production and marketing of the project.

"To be the first in anything is challenging. To be the first starting black quarterback, the thinking position, has real significance," said WME-repped Howard, who was also a writer on "Ali," starring Will Smith. "I'm going to tell this personal story of Marlin Briscoe and use football as a backdrop.