Angelina Jolie to produce Jim Thorpe movie with Native American lead

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Martin Sensmeier will play Jim Thorpe

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“As Native Americans it is crucial that we tell our own stories. Thorpe’s is a vital one, and ‘Bright Path’ will break barriers.” —Mohegan chairman Kevin Brown

Hollywood is coming calling with a new project on legendary athlete Jim Thorpe. Mega-movie-star Angelina Jolie will produce the Bright Path: The Jim Thorpe Story, and Martin Sensmeier (The Magnificent Seven, Wind River, Westworld) will star as Thorpe.

In 1912, the multi-discipline, two-time gold-medal Olympic champion from Sac and Fox Nation represented the United States “while his citizenship went unrecognized during a period of cultural genocide against Native Americans,” reads the Hollywood Reporter, which announced the project. Thorpe went on to play Major League Baseball, professional football and founded the organization that became the NFL.

Sterlin Harjo, a member of the Seminole Nation with Muskogee heritage, wrote the original screenplay. He has criticized big Hollywood for its portrayal of Indigenous peoples. “It’s not up to Hollywood to change Native representation in the media,” he says on his website. “They have failed at it for decades. It’s up to us…”

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