Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci is credited as co-executive producer on HBO’s “Paterno,” a film starring veteran actor Al Pacino in the title role.
The film follows the story of the once legendary and now disgraced Penn State football coach Joe Paterno.
Scaramucci, who tweeted a trailer for the movie last week, called it an excellent snapshot of “human nature and our flaws.”
.@hbo 5 Years in the making. Outstanding Film on human nature and our flaws. Paterno (2018) Official Trailer ft. Al Pacino | HBO https://t.co/0XO8jJLYVm via @YouTube
— Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) April 4, 2018
The Hollywood Reporter noted Scaramucci’s involvement in the project while he was still at the White House, but the story didn’t really gain traction until “the Mooch” confirmed it in an interview the New York Times ran on Friday.
“I just gave them the dough,” he said during a brief telephone conversation the other day.
Officially, he is a co-executive producer of “Paterno,” having bought the rights to a book about the saga at Pennsylvania State University several years ago with a producing partner, Edward R. Pressman.
Scaramucci, who had met Paterno personally, called him “an honorable man” who made the mistake of misjudging someone’s character.
I met Joe Paterno twice (’92 & ’96) he was an honorable man. He made the mistake–not understanding evil comes in the form of many faces
— Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) January 22, 2012