spanish duo reach 'goal!' babelsberg studios to co-produce
Spaniard Jaume Collet Serra, who directed Warner Bros.' "House of Wax," will helm from a screenplay by Dick Clementand Ian La Frenais ("Still Crazy"). Jose Vicuna's Impala and Jose Luis Olaizola's Anola also will provide production services.
Pic is produced by Los Angeles-based Milkshake's Mike Jefferies and Matt Barrelle and Mark Haffam. Shooting begins in October in Madrid and London.
"Goal," which opens Sept. 30 in the U.K., follows a wet-behind-the-ears Latin American kid (Kuno Becker) as he begins playing for England's Newcastle United.
In "Goal! 2," he gets his big break, transferring to Real Madrid, the team that boasts many of soccer's biggest stars.
Pic also toplines Alessandro Nivola, Anna Friel and Stephen Dillane. Major Spanish roles will be cast shortly.
Soccer stars David Beckham and Zinedine Zidane feature in second-unit footage shot in Tokyo and this week in Madrid, where Becker and Nivola trained with Real Madrid.
Vicuna told Daily Variety: "At a time when many young soccer players move from one country to another, you always ask how they face up to the fame and money. 'Goal! 2' deals with this."
The Walt Disney Co. has taken North American rights to "Goal." Village Roadshow has Australia, Toshiba Japan and Epsilon Germany. Buena Vista Intl. has the rest of the world.
