FROM THE NEWS ARCHIVES OF CINEMA CONFIDENTIAL

Xzibit, The Rock in "Gridiron Gang"
POSTED ON 04/15/05 AT 10:00 A.M.
BY ETHAN AAMES

The Hollywood Reporter reports that Xzibit is in final negotiations to join Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in Columbia Pictures' upcoming football drama "Gridiron Gang." Phil Joanou will be directing off a screenplay by Jeff Maguire.

According to the trade, Xzibit will play Malcolm, assistant coach of the team in the film, which was inspired by a 1993 documentary and follows a probation officer (Johnson) who forms a football team of juvenile inmates.