Leatherheads is a 2008 American sports comedy film from Universal Pictures directed by and starring George Clooney.

The film also stars Renée Zellweger, Jonathan Pryce, and John Krasinski and focuses on the early years of professional American football.

In 1925, Jimmy "Dodge" Connelly is captain and veteran of the Duluth Bulldogs, a struggling professional American football team.

Chicago Tribune newspaper reporter Lexie Littleton has been assigned to find proof that Carter's war heroics are bogus.

Carter's manager resorts to shady dealing to cover it up, even bribing the original witness to change his story.

Carter is ordered to simply say he got too much credit for his war actions, but must give a hefty part of his paycheck to the American Legion.

In an interview on the Late Show with David Letterman, Clooney mentioned the plot is loosely based on the life and antics of Johnny 'Blood' McNally.

Clooney later explained that "We wanted to call them the Eskimos, but because we were drinking in the movie, the NFL said we couldn't use the actual names.

[3] Filming locations mainly included locations in Chattanooga, Tennessee, upstate South Carolina around Anderson, Greenville, Ware Shoals, Greer and Travelers Rest, as well as Boiling Springs and western North Carolina around Statesville, Greensboro and Winston-Salem, specifically at Hanes Middle School and the Winston-Salem Millennium Center.

[citation needed] The crew and cast headquarters during the Winston-Salem scenes were based in the nearby town of East Bend, in Yadkin County, North Carolina.

[citation needed] In its opening weekend, the film grossed $12.6 million in 2,769 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking No.

"[12] Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "Clooney, the film's director and star, can't make up his mind how to approach the story.

"[13] Todd McCarthy of Variety wrote: "Arch and funny in equal measure, this looks like a theatrical non-starter that Clooney fans and football devotees might be tempted to check out down the line on DVD or on the tube.

[citation needed] While he did not contest the ruling of the WGA, Clooney said that he did not want to exclude Brantley and Reilly, agreeing that they deserved the first position credit for their work, but felt that his "major overhaul" of the 17-year-old script to turn it into a screwball comedy left only two of the original scenes intact.