Jonathan Saba Acquires Sports Betting Rights “Gaming The Game” Presentation

Producer Jonathan Saba (“Butcher’s Crossing,” “Jay and Silent Bob Reboot”) has acquired the rights to adapt Sean Patrick Griffin’s novel “Gaming The Game: The Story of the NBA Betting Scandal and the Gambler Who Made It Happen “. Saba will produce with a script by Marc-Edouard Léon.

According to an official newspaper, the sports betting expose “explores the fascinating world of sports betting through the eyes of Jimmy ‘The Sheep’ Battista who, starting in the early ’90s, helped run with a motley crew of the Delaware County. Pennsylvania, one of the most respected betting syndicates that has ever existed: The Animals.

“The revelation that a professional referee was betting on his own matches has shaken professional sport. However, this story goes much deeper and everything you think you know is only the beginning,” Saba said. “The Animals were a living paradox, unpretentious but sophisticated, crude but clever, hardworking but indifferent to ostentatious symbols of material success. These are the kind of original and complex characters that actors dream of embodying.

Saba is currently chief content officer for distributor Saban Films, based in Los Angeles. His other producing credits include “Knox Goes Away,” “The 4:30 Movie,” “Fatman,” “Cult Killer” and “Paradice City.”

Leon previously served as co-producer on “Lioness,” Taylor Sheridan’s war drama series for Paramount+. The series boasts an all-star cast including Zoe Saldana, Nicole Kidman and Morgan Freeman.

The negotiations were led by Saba and lawyers Vince Ravine and Judith Karfiol. Leon is represented by Ian McKnight at Anonymous Content.