Hollywood executives are loath to make films about football because it is a minority sport in America, writes Jack Malvern
IF ever there were a film eligible for an action replay, it is Escape To Victory. The 1981 football film, which starred Sylvester Stallone and Michael Caine alongside a cast of professional footballers, including Pele and Bobby Moore, is notable for being virtually the only drama about the sport that bears repeated viewing — if only for the wooden nature of some performers.
Doug Liman, who directed The Bourne Identity and Mr And Mrs Smith, is revamping the movie for Warner Bros, one of several Hollywood studios revisiting successful films of the 1980s. The writer will be Gavin O’Connor, whose credits include Warrior, a boxing film for which Nick Nolte received an Oscar nomination in 2012.
England footballers who find themselves at a loose end after their early departure from the World Cup may wish to sharpen their acting skills in case Liman wishes to copy the original film’s use of professionals. The cast also included Ossie Ardiles, the Argentinean who played for Tottenham Hotspur, and players from Ipswich Town, then one of the strongest teams in England.
The players were thrust into an unlikely Second World War drama in which the German authorities set up a football match between their national team and a group of prisoners of war. The prisoners had planned to escape at half time, but, facing defeat against a bunch of cheats, they decided to stay on and and fight for glory in the goal mouth.
Casting directors for Victory, which the original was also called in America, may want to use retired footballers who have taken up acting.
Eric Cantona, formerly of Manchester United, put in a creditable performance in Elizabeth in which he shared the screen with Cate Blanchett. Vinnie Jones, the former Wimbledon hard man, triumphed in Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch.
David Beckham may also have the stature to promote the film, although it would be a departure as he has previously played only himself.
Hollywood executives have been loath to make films about football because it is a minority sport in America, but Team USA’s match against Portugal in the World Cup this week had attracted 18.2 million viewers.