February 25, 2005 For more information: Frank R. Scatoni 619-807-1887 frank@ventureliterary.com "No Kill Date" Academy Award–Winning Producer Ed Saxon Options NY Times Bestseller The Miracle of St. Anthony On February 15, 2005, Academy Award–winning producer Ed Saxon optioned the rights to Adrian Wojnarowski’s The Miracle of St. Anthony: A Season with Coach Bob Hurley and Basketball’s Most Improbable Dynasty. Venture Literary partners Greg Dinkin and Frank R. Scatoni will executive produce. St. Anthony High School in Jersey City is a beacon of hope. Though the school constantly teeters on the brink of bankruptcy, it is held together by two feisty Felician nuns and a relentless, charismatic basketball coach. A former probation officer and the son of a Jersey City cop, Coach Bob Hurley has been courted by Division I programs, but always knew that leaving St. Anthony meant the school's doors would soon close for good behind him. His mission for his players is to get them out of Jersey City, which has created quite a paradox: For them to leave, he must stay. Saxon said, "Bob Hurley is the kind of great character on which great films are based. After reading Adrian’s book, I would have been crazy not to try and turn it into a picture. The story of Bob Hurley is a story of hope and passion that is immediate and enormously suspenseful." Hurley’s genius and commitment have led to 800 victories, two national championships, five NBA first-round draft picks, and more important, a program that has sent nearly a hundred players (including sons Bobby to Duke and Danny to Seton Hall) to college on full scholarships—all without having a gym at the school. In the fall of 2003, Hurley put it all on the line, and fought to build a team of young men he called "the most dysfunctional group I’ve had in thirty-two years" into champions, while keeping the school he loves alive to continue its educational mission at any cost. In The Miracle of St. Anthony, one of America’s most acclaimed sportswriters, Adrian Wojnarowski, brings the stories of the coach and his players to life. A four-year starter torn between what he could’ve been and the pull of the streets must prove to his teammates that he can lead when it really counts. A senior haunted by a family tree of drug dealers tries to redeem himself in his coach’s eyes. And the privileged son of a suburban Connecticut family who has come to Jersey City to play for Hurley and feed his NBA dreams must find a way to win when his shooting stroke goes cold. The Miracle of St. Anthony is a stirring portrait of basketball and life in the inner city, a heartrending story of hope that is already considered a true classic. Saxon’s credits include The Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia, and Adaptation. Among Saxon’s current projects are I Know This Much Is True, based on the bestseller by Wally Lamb, and Luna, based on the book by Julia "Butterfly" Hill. To learn more about Venture Literary, visit: www.ventureliterary.com. To learn more about Gotham Books, visit: http://www.penguinputnam.com/static/packages/us/about/adult/gotham.htm. To learn more about Ed Saxon, visit: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0768324/