Ben Affleck and Matt Damon Reunite To Produce Film About Chuck Blazer And The FIFA Scandal
Written by: Diane Scavuzzo with Zainab Younus
FIFA in the Movies – Ben Affleck and Matt Damon want to bring the soccer world to the box office and promise more excitement than Gérard Depardieu.
“United Passions” – a great slogan encapsulating the emotion of soccer players and fans around the world – is also the name of the biggest movie flop of all times. It is a movie that should have been red carded before it ever left the editing room.
Opening in the midst of the recent arrest of FIFA officials for corruption, bribery and money-laundering, the $30 million FIFA financed United Passions opened at box office opening weekend in the United States on June 7, 2015 and only grossed $918 in the U.S.
What promises to be better is actor-director Ben Affleck and actor Matt Damon feature film about FIFA’s corruption scandal that has rocked world soccer.
FIFA – is it the scandalous, corrupt official governing body for soccer or something more? While devout soccer fans around the planet revere FIFA and have long suspected foul play – most Americans are unsure what these four capital letters really mean. With the reputation of the world’s Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) in serious jeopardy, the pro-FIFA propaganda film United Passions was really poorly timed.
What is FIFA? FIFA is the world’s soccer organization – and this 111-year-old organization has 209 members and runs soccer – from where the World Cup is played to the rules of the game. The FIFA movie, “United Passions”, glorifies the time of Jules Rimet to Sepp Blatter – FIFA’s leaders. Boring? Perhaps, but with an estimated budget of €24,000,000 (roughly $26.4 million) and an all-star cast including Gérard Depardieu, you would expect at least 1% return at the box office. READ Hollywood Reporter’s Article on the “Mess”
“United Passions” was not expected to ever rival “Jurassic World” with its continued roar at the movie box office – this dinosaur movie is now in its third week and has sold astounding $1.2 billion Worldwide with a domestic total of $500.1 million. In stark comparison “United Passions” made less than $1000 during its stateside opening weekend—the lowest in U.S. history.
A film produced by FIFA about FIFA seems to spark little interest but a movie on the scandal could be different. Everyone loves a good scandal and FIFA’s enduring saga of corruption promises to please even the most discerning movie-goers.
A critique of FIFA may be just what audiences want and Buzzfeed’s investigative reporter, Ken Bensinger’s new book Houses of Deceit details the scandal through the eyes of American Chuck Blazer, an F.B.I. informant.
Who is Blazer? Blazer started as a Westchester County soccer dad and rose in the ranks of the soccer world—both in the U.S. and internationally. Corruption plagued opportunities infiltrated Blazer’s world and he has since plead guilty to 10-count charge including, but not limited to, money laundering, wire fraud and income tax evasion.
It is reported that Simon & Schuster will publish the tell-all book in 2017. The movie rights are already a hot property.
While the world waits for the release of the book, Warner Bros. has won the bidding war for the rights to bring the book to big screens. Batman actor, Affleck will join his Good Will Hunting co-star Damon in producing this film that is yet to be titled.
No word yet on who will be cast for this screenplay, however Bensinger has said he envisions the role of Blazer to be played by John Goodman.
If we look at the bidding war which has ensued for the rights to the book, it is safe to say that the Affleck – Damon production will gross more at the box office than United Passions.
FIFA has rocked our world soccer and many soccer professionals have spoken out in response. In an interview with CNN Tonight, world champion Michelle Akers talked of her disappointment as she called it “a kick in the gut.” She went on to say, “It’s personal to me because we give our heart and soul to the game and then they’re spending millions, billions of dollars on excess. It’s hard to reconcile.”
Perhaps both Bensinger’s book and Affleck and Damon’s movie will provide the soccer world an accurate recount of how exactly one of the world’s and soccer world’s biggest scandals began and unfolded.
Notes: “Jurassic World” box office figures according to Rentrak.
Images Courtesy of Twitter/@kenbensinger & Project Green Light
RELATED ARTICLES: FIFA OFFICIALS INDICTED FOR CORRUPTION, FIFA CORRUPTION CHARGES IMPACT THE NASL, SEPP BLATTER RESIGNS AS FIFA PRESIDENT
