Gabrielle Union, Dwyane Wade, Ciara and Russell Wilson team up to produce inspirational story about former NFL star Vernon Turner
Gabrielle Union, Dwyane Wade, Ciara and Russell Wilson have teamed up to produce al story about former NFL star Vernon Turner.
Gabrielle Union and hubby Dwyane Wade are collaborating with ‘Level Up’ singer Ciara and her spouse Russell Wilson to produce a film about NFL star Vernon Turner’s moving life story and his meteoric rise despite tough challenges.
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The movie will be based on Turner’s self-published book ‘The Next Level: A Game I Had To Play’, Deadline reports.
In it, Turner outlines his tumultuous life circumstances being raised by a drug-addicted mother who died when he was just a freshman in high school. Turner was the oldest of five children, including two brothers and two sisters. He grew up in Brooklyn and faced difficulties as he found his way.
Later in high school, he developed his love for football. Over the span of his career, he played for teams such as the Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Rams, Detroit Lions, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. His career ran through the 90s, a dream that he never thought he’d never achieve after being told numerous times he’d never play for the NFL.
Turner career eventually ended in the NFL Europe league playing first for the Frankfurt Galaxy and then the Scottish Claymores reports ABC.
Turner said in a statement: “My most important mission is for this project to have the right group of individuals in place to help tell my story. Well, I struck ‘platinum’ with the additions of the talented actress/producer Gabrielle Union and her husband/future Hall of Fame NBA star Dwyane Wade, along with accomplished recording artist Ciara and her husband/NFL’s star quarterback Russell Wilson, joining my steadfast producers Brett Gursky, Josh Surkin, and Nicholas Katsapas from Magic Hour, and our unbelievably gifted writer Brad Gann.
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In a statement, Turner said: “I truly feel we have the right ingredients to accomplish my mission, which is to help change and save lives.
“My journey is an extremely powerful tale that must be told and, at the end of the day, I want this film to have a global impact.
“I came into this world under horrific circumstances, but I want to leave it with a legacy where my parents above will look down with enormous pride- and give a wink of approval.”
It seems to make sense that two athletes, Wade, a retired Miami Heat player and Wilson, a star quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks would join on board to tackle this inspirational project.
