21 Jan – Following the huge letdown that is legendary cycling champion Lance Armstrong's admission of drug use, "Star Trek" director J.J. Abrams has decided to cash in by announcing that he will be turning the sportsman's life story into a feature-length film, according to Hollywood Reporter. Even before Juliet Marcur's upcoming book entitled "Cycle Of Lies: The Fall Of Lance Armstrong" has reached the bookshelves, Paramount Pictures and Abrams's production company Bad Robot had already bought the screen rights for the book, with plans to make a film about the seven-time Tour de France champion. Currently, no director, screenwriter, cast and release date have been set for the biopic.
Armstrong, 41, emotionally admitted to Oprah Winfrey in a two-part interview recently that he used the banned performance-enhancing drugs to win his record-breaking Tour de France titles, something that he had denied for years. The celebrated athlete has since been banned from cycling and any other athletic events for life. "I doped during all seven Tour wins," said Armstrong to Oprah. He added, "I don't want to necessarily talk about anybody else, I made my decisions, they are my mistake and I'm sitting here today to acknowledge that and to say I'm sorry for that." It was reported that "Brokeback Mountain" star Jake Gyllenhaal was previously attached to play Armstrong in a film by Sony but the project was abandoned when the sportsman, who has contributed a lot to cancer awareness in the society with his famous Livestrong foundation, started to struggle with his drug allegations.