Mark Wahlberg working with David O. Russell on priest film

OHMYGOSSIP — Mark Wahlberg is working with David O. Russell on a film about a famous priest.
The 45-year-old actor and the director – who worked together on ‘The Fighter’ and ‘Three Kings’ – are developing a script for a movie about Father Stu Long, an American football-playing priest who suffered from a muscular degenerative disease and died in 2014 aged 50.
Speaking in a Facebook Live, Wahlberg said: “David O. Russell and I right now are working on developing a script on Father Stu, who was an amazing priest from Helena, Montana.
“He was a very tough guy who was a fighter, a football player… anything but a spiritual guy.
“He found his calling, and decided, after falling in love with a woman, that he wanted to become a priest.
“He suffered from this horrible muscular degenerative disease but was still ordained as a priest and passed away, but not before he was able to inspire thousands upon thousands of people.”
It is not known how far along the project is but Wahlberg has clearly done plenty of research on Stu as he continued to roll out information about the priest.
He added: “To tell you a little more about Father Stuart Long, he played football for the Bruins and continued the sport at Carroll College, according to the Helena Independent Record.
“After segwaying into boxing, his planned career as a prizefighter was squashed when he had to get reconstructive jaw surgery. He eventually moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in movies.
“He performed in comedy clubs and filmed commercials, but he left that too, finding the industry seedy.
“He suffered a motorcycle accident when he was driving to work at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, and the accident set him on the religious path.”
Stu used to help people in poor New York City neighbourhoods but returned to Helena when he was left wheelchair-bound due to his disease in 2010.

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