Posted by: Brad Sturdivant
I’m not going to say it’s impossible to make a good movie about soccer, but I will say of all the sports, soccer poses the biggest challenge to being accepted by American audiences. Personally, I’ve enjoyed recent films like THE DAMNED UNITED and even THE GOAL, even though the latter was not well received. But if there’s one film that gives me hope, it’s Clint Eastwood’s INVICTUS. If it’s possible to make a well received film about rugby, then soccer/football should have no problem. Next up to the challenge is director David Whitney (KANDAHAR BREAK), who wants to bring the story WARTIME WANDERERS to the big screen.
It’s a true story about the 1939 Bolton Wanderers F.C. team that had all 15 players enlist in the British military after a rousing speech by team captain Harry Potter Goslin. They became known as the The 53rd Field Regiment of the Bolton Artillery and saw actual action across Europe. The cool/ironic thing about them is that of all the action they saw, only Goslin failed to make it through the war alive.
The film still needs a lot of financing and some other details worked out, but if all goes well, Rupert Grint will play the team joker, Matthew McNulty (LITTLE ASHES) will play the star player, Bradley Walsh will play the Sergeant that looks after them and Sean Maguire (MEET THE SPARTANS) will play Goslin.
Source: The Guardian
