top footballers score goal! with england manager
Three of Real Madrid's top players, David Beckham, Raul and Zinedine Zidane joined the set of Goal! to discover uncharted territory last Monday. All three footballers assumed roles in Goal!, the first film of a trilogy based on the life of a young Latino footballer who makes it in the Premier League, then goes on to play at Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League and finally plays for his native Argentina in the FIFA World Cup. The three football stars were filming several scenes under the direction of Hollywood A-list director Danny Cannon whose TV series C.S.I. was recently named "most successful TV series of all time".
The players had flown in for the day from Madrid and were joined on set by England manager Sven Goeran Eriksson who had also agreed to a cameo role in the 35-million Dollar production. Eriksson, suffering from a spout of flu, did not want to miss the opportunity nonetheless, and said: " This is a truly exciting project, and I thoroughly enjoyed being part of it. Football offers opportunities to many young and gifted players around the world, and Goal! tells an authentic story with excitement and style".
The first of three films tells the story of young Latino footballer Santiago Munez played by budding Mexican heart-throb Kuno Becker who gets a chance to break into the Premier League at Newcastle United. Based on a classic "rags-to-riches" script by the established Hollywood duo Ian Le Frenais and Dick Clement, the film is by no means a "football movie" even if it shows a plethora of exciting original action scenes of Premiership games. "Goal! tells a love-story and is a fast-paced action drama at the same time", said producer Mike Jefferies, whose original story the trilogy is based on. "Our objective was to create a powerful film that primarily appeals to young audiences around the globe and one which has football, the world's favourite game, as a backdrop. With over 1.25 billion people around the world actively involved with football, the time is overdue for a movie such as Goal!", he commented.
"David is a natural", said producer Matt Barrelle after the shoot. "He has an infectious charm and a powerful stage presence. We were equally impressed by the performances of Zidane and Raul who performed like "old pros" before the camera. Raul's dialogue with Santiago (Kuno Becker) was both entertaining and good fun. The three footballers fit into the scene perfectly", Barrelle concluded.
Monday was also the last day of a seven-week UK shoot for Goal! The production has moved to Los Angeles where the remaining three weeks will be filmed. " We are on schedule, on budget and on fire", said Co-Producer Danny Stepper. "The interest for the film world-wide is simply awesome!".
Buena Vista International, BVI, have acquired world-wide distribution rights, which guarantees for maximum market penetration. Separate distribution agreements have been made for the US. The first film is slated to have its European premiere in August/September 2005, to be followed by Goal! 2 in May of 2006 and Goal! 3 in the summer of 2007.
