A feature biopic about Fred Rogers, the iconic creator and star of the long-running children's show "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," appears to be in the works, Deadline.com reported.
"A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood," a script by Alexis Jolly, a former writer for "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," has been sold to Treehouse Pictures and is being molded into an eventual film.
"Fred Rogers was such an inspirational man for so many people. His keen ability to find the good in anyone, or anything, will make for a truly inspiring cinematic experience," Justin Nappi, a Treehouse producer, told Deadline.com. "In literally shaping the world around him to fit into his own unique perspective, he created what is arguably the most influential American children's television show of all time."
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Rogers began a career in television after studying music and theology and being ordained a minister in the Presbyterian Church. He was unsatisfied with how television programming addressed children so he decided to get into broadcasting. In 1968, "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" premiered on NET, which then became PBS, and aired through 2001. It won four Emmys and Rogers was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Emmy in 1997.
Rogers died of stomach cancer in 2003.
Rumors are swirling online about who could be tapped to play Rogers and capture his childlike gentleness. Jim Carrey, Matthew Broderick, Paul Rudd, and Neil Patrick Harris are some of the suggestions TODAY.com offered.
Speculation is also rampant on Twitter, with fans of the original show swapping ideas about who could play Rogers in a biopic.
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