Football/Soccer Hollywood Mania

With the news that football/soccer (depends on what side of the pond you are) is set to hit Hollywood you have to question – why has it taken so long?

Apart from Bend It Like Beckham, which grossed $32million in the US – there has been very few daliances with the sport in Hollywood.  However, as the list below shows, it seems like a trend is about to hit.

If you live in the UK or anywhere other than the US this has been on the horizon for a while.  Purchase any mainstream daily newspaper in the UK or watch any Saturday Sport programme and you will see that football/soccer has more column inches and more airtime devoted to it than any entertainment news.

Maybe that’s it – football/soccer has morphed into entertainment and not just viewed as sport anymore.  With the players receiving film star wages, spin-off television documentaries and drama programmes and the players and coaches personal lives being turned into headline fodder, it was only a matter of time before someone started to make films about it.

So where will it end – will we see football/soccer fashion hit the catwalks of New York and LA?  Players appearing on Saturday Night Live?  Coaches on the Presidential campaign trails?  An explosion in ‘street football/soccer’?  Discussions regarding the off-side rule across states’ lines?

It’s going to be fun to watch…and I don’t even like the sport!

Coming Attractions

• Goal! (2005) Dir: Danny Cannon. Starring: Santiago Munez. Plot: US Latino makes the big time – at Newcastle
• The Goal (2005) Dir: Art Sims. Starring: Mario Lopez. Plot: Brazilian makes the big time – in the US
• Kicking & Screaming (2005) Dir: Jesse Dylan. Starring: Will Ferrell. Plot: Father coaches son’s team – with hilarious results
• The Yank (2005) Dir: Lexi Alexander. Starring: Elijah Wood. Plot: Former hobbit is caught up in the hooligan underworld
• Game of Their Lives (2005) Dir: David Anspaugh. Starring: Wes Bentley. Plot: USA beat England at the 1950 World Cup
• Linha de Passe (TBC) Dir: Walter Salles. Starring: TBC. Plot: Four Brazilian brothers try to make it – only one does
• Untitled (2006) German portmanteau production featuring several name directors
• Untitled (TBC) Dir: Michael Apted. Documentary about football and globalisation

Guardian Article: Hollywood wakes up to the call of the world’s biggest game
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