HBO Releases 'Paterno' Movie Trailer on Penn State Scandal Starring Al Pacino

The first trailer for HBO's Paterno, starring Al Pacino as former Penn State head coach Joe Paterno, was released on Friday.

According to PennLive.com's Candy Woodall, director Barry Levinson has said the movie is not a biopic that chronicles Paterno's life.

Rather, it "zeroes in on a two-week period" in October 2011 when he was fired after Penn State's football program was enveloped in a sexual abuse scandal involving former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. 

Levinson added that the movie doesn't aim to make a case one way or the other that Paterno may have known about Sandusky's abusive conduct prior to his arrest. 

"The film lays out the elements of the story and leaves you to make your own judgment," Levinson said. "There are times when you may feel one way, and times when you may feel a totally different way, and I think that's what makes the piece so compelling."

The movie, which does not have a firm release date, will debut sometime in the spring.