Phil Knight's Memoir 'Shoe Dog' Will be Made Into a Netflix Movie
Netflix has optioned the rights to produce a biopic on Nike founder and former CEO Phil Knight's Shoe Dog, the streaming service announced Friday.
Frank Marshall will produce alongside Knight, while writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski (The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story and Ed Wood) will adapt the book for the screen.
Marshall and Knight first met in the 1980s on the set of Back to the Future. Marshall has also produced hits like The Sixth Sense, the Indiana Jones series and the Jason Bourne series.
"I’ve always been fascinated by Phil's story and how the company came to be," Marshall said. "It's an amazing tale about what the path to success really looks like, with its mistakes, struggles, sacrifice and even luck. It’s about how a company can grow with the right people, dedication, a belief in the power of sport and a shared mission to build a brand that would change everything."
Knight's 2016 memoir focuses on how he created the biggest sneaker brand in the world after borrowing $50 from his father. It remains on The New York Times bestseller list two years later.
This isn't Netflix's first experience with sports documentaries. Netflix and ESPN worked together to produce The Last Dance, a 2019 documentary series chronicling Michael Jordan's career with the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s. Jordan first signed a shoe deal with Nike in 1984.
