Soccer Movies on the Way

Rover · 03-01-2005, 02:39 PM

This article from The Guardian (UK) was on MLSnet's newsstand, so many of you may have already seen it. I'd heard about Goal! and The Game Of Their Lives, but the rest were news to me. They mention a total of eight films in various stages of production.

Lots of interesting information about the growth of the soccer in the USA, but this quote caused a triple take:

"Part of our ability to get the type of cash that can do justice to football is that we were able to tap into the fact that the sport is significantly hot enough in the States. Every studio head we went to see - and we met them all - had kids who play football. Now they get it over there. They understand the potential is enormous."

I'd not heard this sort of talk about money people outside the soccer business. Of course, Dave Checketts should have been a clue (and Uncles Phil, Lamar, Bob, Jorge, etc.)

Can you feel the momentum growing?

What a time to be an American soccer fan!

Here's the link:

http://film.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/Guardian/0,4029,1427756,00.html

Aero · 03-01-2005, 02:48 PM

That is pretty impressive. And very good to hear, especially coming from someone outside the US.

Deuce · 03-01-2005, 03:18 PM

Don't get me wrong here I think this really good news for the popularity of Soccer in America.

BUT!

Holy Cow! What kind of image are they trying to create for soccer fans...

Quote:

In The Yank - which will be called Hooligans in the US - Elijah Wood plays the role of a Harvard dropout who comes to London and gets involved with a West Ham gang.

The only thing I truly loathed about the Lord of the Rings Trilogy was the fact that Frodo Baggins(Elijah Wood) and Samwise Gamghee (Sean Astin) always looked as if they were on the verge of kissing each other in every scene!

Soccer is a very masculine sport around the world but in the USA it has, for many years, been percieved as a sissy or girls sport and casting the 'questionably masculine' Elijah Wood as a gang member is about as prudent as casting Richard Simmons as a mob hit-man!

I think that the Hooligan (The Yank) in particular will be met with much laughter and will not be taken seriously at all!
This is truly unfortunate because the rest of the offerings look quite promising... especially the April release of 'The Game of Their Lives'

I hope i am wrong and Elijah Wood can pull off the part of a member of a west ham gang, but I seriously doubt this particular film will help the efforts of soccer fans in the USA.

Czar Jake · 03-01-2005, 03:23 PM

I see your point Deuce, but I've seen Elijah Wood do some great acting in other films. I thought he was great in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, for example. I'll have to wait and see.

Rover · 03-01-2005, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deuce

Don't get me wrong here I think this really good news for the popularity of Soccer in America.

BUT!

Holy Cow! What kind of image are they trying to create for soccer fans...

See your point, but here's the good news--there are SEVEN other films. A couple of them look dumb, but the big change is that people with deep pockets are putting their money on the line for soccer movies. These are people who know the risks but have calculated the possible rewards and decided to back films centered on the soccer world.

Add this to the list of things I thought I might never see. Right behind getting an MLS team in Salt Lake City . . .