LOS ANGELES- Actor/director George Clooney will direct and star in the new football film "Leatherheads" for Universal.

Universal has been trying to get the picture made for almost a decade and is now shooting for an all-star cast with Renee Zellweger in negotiations to co-star in the film, Daily Variety reported Monday.

The romantic comedy is set against the formation of professional football in the 1920s.

The original idea for the movie is that it would revolve around an aging football player who convinces a college star to drop out and play in a new professional league.

Clooney and Soderbergh are currently working on "Ocean's Thirteen" and also worked together on this winter's awards hopeful "The Good German." The "Syriana" Oscar winner also has Tony Gilroy's "Michael Clayton" in the can. 

The movie will begin production next spring. Clooney is currently rewriting the script, according to reports.