Andre Agassi's 'Open': We Cast the Movie

Few sports autobiographies have generated as much buzz as Andre Agassi's 'Open: An Autobiography.'

After all, not many sports legends have been married to a tabloid-tested red-carpet starlet (Brooke Shields) and a tennis immortal (Steffi Graf) or had his abusive, domineering father force him to play for the family's life savings as a child against a football god (Jim Brown).

Throw in a little crystal meth dabbling and a deep well of inner turmoil, and you've got yourself the makings of a great biopic. Which we feel duty-bound to cast, so that Hollywood doesn't have to. We'll serve first:

Colin Farrell as Andre Agassi
Before the publication of 'Open,' everybody thought of Agassi as tennis' bad-boy-rock-star-turned-mellow family-man. Sorta like what's happened to Farrell, who used to be known as much for his profanities as for his acting. Plus, what would you give to see Colin rock that mullet wig?


James Gandolfini as Mike Agassi
Agassi paints his father as evil incarnate, a man who mercilessly drives him to reach the top of the tennis pyramid. According to Andre, his dad pulled a gun during a road-rage incident and traveled with a handful of salt and pepper in anticipation of a street fight. And who does volcanic rage better than Gandolfini in full Tony Soprano mode?

Jessica Biel as Brooke Shields
You know how the actor or actress you cast is always prettier than the real-life person? Well, that kind of narrows the field when you're casting Shields, whose world-class face earned her a modeling career as a 'tween but who didn't really get adult respect until she married Agassi and scored with 'Suddenly Susan.' Biel has Brooke's leonine look, and would not only pull in adolescent boys but also complete the scruff-with-the-sweetheart thing that Agassi and Shields did so well.

Blake Lively as Steffi Graf
Well, for starters, Lively looks like someone who could jump the net from a standing start. We can also picture her as the survivor of Peter Graf, a tennis parent who by all accounts was nearly as overbearing as Mike Agassi. And even though 'Gossip Girl' is primarily a weekly chick flick, Lively can easily attract as many male eyeballs as Graf did.


Steve Harris as Jim Brown
Not only does Harris bear a passing resemblance to the Hall of Famer, but he just scored a recurring role on 'Friday Night Lights,' and played football at Northern Illinois University. Now he just needs to get his tennis game together. But how good would it have to be to lose convincingly to a little kid?

Adam Carolla as Pete Sampras
Throughout his career Sampras usually beat Agassi one-on-one, but was accused of having no personality. So Corolla would have to dial down his comic impulses. But this could totally be Corolla's transition into a serious dramatic career. (What, being the voice of Spanky Ham on 'Drawn Together' didn't do that?) Besides, at some point the universe has got to correct the fact that Jimmy Kimmel did better after 'The Man Show.'