A Glimpse At ‘The Joe We Know’
February 19, 2012 at 12:17 am Ryan Jones 4 comments
The premise was simple: Gather as many of Joe Paterno’s former lettermen as possible in a limited timeframe, get them in front of a camera to share their memories of playing for—and learning from—the legendary coach, and compile them in a film to be presented to Paterno on his 85th birthday.
The filmmakers’ only disappointment was that they didn’t finish it in time for Joe to see it.
Instead, The Joe We Know is a posthumous tribute, an hour-long collection of remembrances by former Nittany Lion football players. Presented last week as a birthday present for Sue Paterno, The Joe We Know was screened Saturday night in State College for an invitation-only audience, most of them former lettermen and their families. Those of us lucky enough to be in the State Theatre were treated to an hour of terrific, high-pitched Joe impersonations, anecdotes that ranged from hilarious to tear-jerking, and countless variations on a theme we’ve heard so often over the past month: former players who credit Joe Paterno’s role in helping them grow from boys to men.
Beyond this one-hour film, The Joe We Know is an ongoing project; the filmmakers hope to continue filming former player thought next spring, with additional footage compiled at thejoeweknow.org. The site is still a work in progress, but you can go there now to check out a handful of short clips. You can also sign up for email updates on the progress of the project, including when it might be made more widely available.
For those in or near Happy Valley, the film will be shown twice Sunday. As of late Saturday night, tickets were still available.
Ryan Jones, senior editor
Entry filed under: Joe Paterno, Penn State football, State College. Tags: State Theatre, Sue Paterno, The Joe We Know.
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1. cindy | February 19, 2012 at 12:26 pm
Cannot wait to see this..Please keep me informed..RIP JoePa!
2. Amy J | February 20, 2012 at 9:48 am
It would be great for this to be shown sometime during the Blue-White game weekend, too.
3. Linda '84 | February 20, 2012 at 7:44 pm
Was up at UPark this weekend. Had a great time. One thing we didn’t do was take in this movie. So wish we had squeezed in the time. Love you, Joe. Always have. Always will
4. More on ‘The Joe We Know’ « The Penn Stater Magazine | February 22, 2012 at 5:26 pm
[...] of the interesting things about watching The Joe We Know—the new film in which former football players talk about their relationship with Joe Paterno—is trying to [...]