{"id":147481,"date":"2025-08-15T09:44:21","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T09:44:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/147481\/"},"modified":"2025-08-15T09:44:21","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T09:44:21","slug":"dallas-verily-storyworks-to-develop-tv-series-on-legendary-athlete-jim-thorpe-dallas-innovates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/147481\/","title":{"rendered":"Dallas’ Verily Storyworks To\u00a0Develop TV\u00a0Series on Legendary Athlete Jim\u00a0Thorpe \u00bb Dallas Innovates"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of America\u2019s greatest all-around athletes was born in 1888 on a Sac and Fox Reservation in Oklahoma. Jim Thorpe would go on to become the first Native American to win an Olympic gold medal for the U.S., and made his mark not just as a pro football legend but as a pro baseball and pro basketball star, too.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thorpe\u2019s achievements led the Associated Press to call him the \u201cgreatest athlete\u201d of the first 50 years of the 20th century. He would go on to play baseball for the New York Giants, Atlanta Braves, and Cincinnati Reds, and pro football for six different NFL teams.<\/p>\n

Now Thorpe\u2019s life story is in early development for a scripted drama series by Dallas-based Verily Storyworks, a newly launched storytelling studio and IP development company founded in January by Barry Capece.<\/p>\n

Building \u2018a better mousetrap\u2019 for film & TV production
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

Barry Capece<\/p>\n

Capece\u2014described in his LinkedIn profile as a \u201cdiversified 30X entrepreneur, attorney, business leader, and seasoned venture catalyst\u2014told Dallas Innovates he grew up making 8-millimeter movies as a kid in Pennsylvania, and later interned at a film production company. At his father\u2019s urging, he went to law school and became a lawyer. But he never gave up his filmmaking dreams.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Over his career in entertainment law and entrepreneurship, he focused on a wide range of projects, including opening a Houston nightclub called The Velvet Elvis. In the 1990s, he opened a version of the club on Walnut Hill Lane in Dallas, and moved to the city himself. \u00a0<\/p>\n

But filmmaking was never far from his mind. Along the way, he had several never-produced brushes with film production success, including a pilot project on Cal Ripken\u2019s career, a CBS drama series project featuring Shelley Duvall, and other concepts that didn\u2019t get picked up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Then, last January, Capece launched Verily Storyworks out of Dallas. Aiming to devise \u201ca better mousetrap\u201d for film and TV development and production, he plans to turn epic, true-life stories into programming projects, powered by crowdfunding and a search for new screenwriting talent.<\/p>\n

\u201cContent drives everything, and stories are in high demand,\u201d Capece told us. To deliver both, he aims to become \u201cthe best architect\u201d of what he calls \u201cblueprints\u201d for film and TV productions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe particularly look for true stories,\u201d he said. \u201cHence the name Verily, which means truly. Once we package them, we have four options. We either co-produce, license them, sell them, or option them.\u201d<\/p>\n

His ultimate goal? \u201cTo become recognized as the preeminent storyteller for stories adapted for entertainment projects. To be clear, we aren\u2019t doing documentaries. We\u2019re just doing true stories meant for the entertainment market.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Jim Thorpe project is how he first plans to do that. \u201cTHORPE\u201d\u00a0aims to tell the story of how Thorpe overcame \u201ctragedy, oppression, and racism to become one of the greatest athletes of all time,\u201d chronicling five decades of the legend\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

\u2018Collaborating with Thorpe family members\u2019<\/p>\n

Capece says he\u2019s developing \u201cTHORPE\u201d in collaboration with Thorpe family members and leading Native American and cultural historians\u2014aiming to tell more than just a sports story, but a sweeping narrative about \u201cidentity, perseverance, and the enduring human spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have the entire Thorpe family on board, committed,\u201d he told us. \u201cThey\u2019re going to be doing some of the promotional pieces, sizzle reels. We have things that others can\u2019t have or can\u2019t get.\u201d<\/p>\n

John Thorpe, grandson of\u00a0Jim Thorpe, said in a statement provided by Verily that he has high hopes for the project.<\/p>\n

\u201cJim\u2019s story deserves the time, depth and respect only a series of this scope can deliver,\u201d Thorpe said. \u201cWe are proud to see Verily telling his story the right way and invite others to be part of preserving his legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Calling on public to invest in project<\/p>\n

Capece and Verily Storyworks are currently calling on the public to invest in \u201cTHORPE,\u201d \u201cgiving everyone a chance to co-create the soon-to-be chronicle of American triumph.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018THORPE\u2019 is the ideal story that needs to be told. It is more than a television series\u2014it\u2019s a long overdue tribute to a great man and the greatest athlete in modern history,\u201d Capece said in a statement. \u201cHis epic story deserves to be told with authenticity, purpose and devotion to his legacy. At Verily, we don\u2019t only ask the public to watch this story, we open up the opportunity to be a part of the process of building it with us. That\u2019s how storytelling should be: fan-led, fan-driven, and fan-invested.\u201d<\/p>\n

Capece said participating public investors in the project\u2019s development phase will become \u201ccapital ambassadors\u201d and will own a piece of the project\u2019s intellectual property, \u201cplaying an active part in bringing this long-overlooked story to life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Verily\u2019s funding and screenwriting plan<\/p>\n

According to Verily Storyworks\u2019 website<\/a>, the company aims to curate true-life stories long overlooked by Hollywood and present them as \u201cpremium projects-in-development.\u201d Once public investors have helped bring projects closer to production, Verily says it will develop the projects through its StoryQuest emerging writers program, which is \u201cdesigned to discover, nurture, and champion the next generation of storytellers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe program creates a bridge between raw talent and real-world opportunity via Verily\u2019s mission to tell authentic stories,\u201d Verily says on its website, \u201cand to amplify diverse and underrepresented voices\u2014while cultivating a vibrant community of emerging writers poised to shape the future of entertainment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAt Verily, we believe the greatest stories are already out there waiting to be told,\u201d Capece added in a statement. \u201cWe\u2019re all about developing the most compelling stories into global entertainment, and we want all to have a chance to be part of the journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

Capece calls StoryQuest part of his \u201cbetter mousetrap\u201d for content production.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe look for great stories, that\u2019s number one,\u201d he told us. \u201cBut we also look for great writers.\u201d He calls StoryQuest \u201ca farm system and a filtering system for future writers.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re filling in gaps that are missing in the industry,\u201d he added. \u201cThere is a massive gap for writers.\u201d<\/p>\n

More on the crowdfunding plan<\/p>\n

Capece said that while funding from traditional investors and potential network partners could be part of future projects, crowdfunding is key to his vision for Verily Storyworks.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want that regardless of how much capital the company is sitting on itself,\u201d he said. \u201cWe always want 5,000 people that have a small ownership in something, because [they\u2019ll be] ambassadors to the project that bring great value way ahead of time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The founder said his publicly sought \u201ccapital ambassadors\u201d will serve as \u201ca little marketing force out there, a grassroots marketing force that has a vested interest\u201d in his projects\u2019 success.<\/p>\n

Capece cited Legion M, a fan-owned entertainment company that has raised over $25 million in crowdfunding\u00a0from more than 58,000 investors since its founding in 2016.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking at a development which is a much less expensive opportunity for people to participate in the intellectual property,\u201d Capece said of the \u201cTHORPE\u201d project. \u201cEverything we negotiate will be negotiated on behalf of that intellectual property, which we own as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two other projects loom<\/p>\n

While he hopes to guide \u201cTHORPE\u201d to fruition as a three-season TV series, Capece already has two other projects in mind. One is \u201cJazz Messengers,\u201d a feature film set in New York in the mid-1950s focused on bebop musicians like Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk, \u201ca sort of \u2018American Graffiti\u2019 set among these jazz superstars.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The other, \u201cInto the Light,\u201d is about a dramatic, true-life mine rescue operation that happened in his native state of Pennsylvania in 1963. \u201cThe story has never been told, and they tried to many times,\u201d he said of the faith-based project.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t miss what\u2019s next. Subscribe\u00a0to\u00a0Dallas\u00a0Innovates.<\/p>\n

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\tR E A D\u00a0\u00a0 N E X T\t<\/p>\n