Football has probably reached the apex of its professional sports dominance in the U.S., so it’s time for an NFL-sanctioned movie!  Tony Krantz (The Big Bang) will produce and direct Week 14, a drama said to be in the vein of Crash.  The script by Ron Shelton (Bull Durham) chronicles “the last three weeks of the NFL’s regular season as seen through the eyes of fictional players, coaches and their significant others.”

Krantz’s production company Flame Ventures will accept studio bids in the coming weeks; sources tell Variety that interest is “already high.”  The NFL is protective of its brand, so the material is PG-13 and targeted toward all four quadrants.  More after the jump.

The first round of the NFL Draft kicks off tonight, and while fans across the country are busy prognosticating/praying, Disney is capitalizing on the excitement with an NFL Draft-inspired TV spot for the upcoming Pixar flick Brave.  It’s actually a pretty smart product integration, as it’s been obvious from the previous trailers that the Mouse House has been trying hard to lure the male crowd to the female-centered movie.  It’s a bit ridiculous to think that young males won’t go to a movie just because a female is the main character, and we’ve learned from The Hunger Games that strong, independent female protagonists are an enormous draw when done well.

Nevertheless, this spot does have some fun jokes and is packed with NFL-related references.  Also, somewhat surprisingly, there’s a pretty racy gag involving a certain female body part.  I guess we can expect a scandalous PG rating for the latest Pixar pic.  Hit the jump to watch the spot.  The film features the voices of Kelly Macdonald, Emma Thompson, Billy Connolly, Kevin McKidd, Craig Ferguson, Robbie Coltrane, and Julie Walters.  Brave opens in 3D on June 22nd.

While NBC has been streaming Sunday Night Football online and to Verizon phones for a little while now, the biggest football Sunday has yet to be made available legally online…until now. The Associated Press has revealed that NBC and the NFL are teaming up to stream Super Bowl XLVI on both the league and the network’s websites as well as through Verizon’s NFL Mobile app. Users streaming the game to laptops, tablets and mobile phones will get to see additional camera angles, in-game highlights and live stats. More importantly, the big game on February 5th will likely feature some cool new movie trailers, since that’s what’s really important on Super Bowl Sunday. That and the nachos and wings. This could set a new precedent for Super Bowls to come and will certainly make the audience even bigger.

ESPN has just announced an eight-year, $15.2 billion deal, with the National Football League that will allow it to shoot Monday Night Football Games in 3D, starting in 2014.  The new deal will run from 2014 to 2021 and includes a provision for 3D broadcast rights.  While many, myself included, are starting to lose interest in 3D, I saw a post converted football game at Sundance and thought the 3D looked great and it definitely added a new dimension to watching the game.

The fact is, the NFL has never been more popular, as more and more are playing fantasy football.  This new deal might spur regular folks to buying 3D TV’s, and in turn, cause more 3D Blu-ray sales and more TV shows to be broadcast in 3D.  So the big question is…would you buy a new 3D TV to watch football?  I’m definitely curious.

Whether you thought they were the best football team or not, the New Orleans Saints certainly had one of the best stories in the NFL last year. Traditionally the NFL makes a documentary on the previous year’s Super Bowl winner’s path to victory, and this year is no different. The Associated Press is reporting that Brad Pitt will join a list of elite actors who have lent their voices to the documentary series, including Alec Baldwin, Morgan Freeman, Gene Hackman, Ed Harris, Martin Sheen, Bruce Willis and James Gandolfini. The NFL has said that Pitt was chosen to narrate this year’s film because of his humanitarian efforts in New Orleans after Katrina.

NFL Films’ documentary, America’s Game: 2009 New Orleans Saints, will be airing September 8^th, the night before the Saints begin their NFL season against Brett Farve and the Minnesota Vikings on September 9^th. The film will air on the NFL network at 9 p.m. EDT.

After raising Old Spice’s sales exponentially following his Emmy-nominated spots, Old Spice spokesperson Isaiah Mustafa is taking his manly musk to the silver screen. In an interview with THR, the former NFL wide receiver turned actor announced that he has been cast in the Warner Brothers comedy Horrible Bosses. In regards to the role, Mustafa says:

“It’s a smaller role, but who wouldn’t want to be in one of these funny, irreverent comedies? The cast is great. I’m playing a cop because I play these authoritative characters well. I don’t know exactly who I’m in the scene with — maybe Jennifer Aniston!”

While this is great news for Mustafa and his career, I must admit this may cause some annoyance on my behalf as people already confuse me for the guy and his being in a mainstream comedy probably isn’t going to help matters (Note: this is a complete lie). For more info on the film, Mustafa’s future projects, and to see him in action, hit the jump.