After successful collaborations on such sports-themed features as HOOSIERS and RUDY, director David Anspaugh and writer Angelo Pizzo are teaming for a third time, tackling soccer in "The Game of Their Lives" for Crusader Entertainment. Principal photography is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of next year.
The project, based on the book of the same name by Geoffrey Douglas, is the true story of the American soccer team that, in a stunning upset, defeated England in the 1950 World Cup. At that time, the tournament barely registered on America's sports radar, so the United States sent a hastily assembled band of amateur and semiprofessional players, composed chiefly of working-class immigrants. Considered the underdogs, the Americans took on the seemingly unbeatable English squad with surprising results.
"David and Angelo have made two enduringly popular American sports sagas in 'Hoosiers' and 'Rudy,' " Crusader CEO Howard Baldwin said. "We are so excited to bring them onto this project, which is a perfect vehicle for their considerable talents. Given the recent stellar performance of the American soccer team and America's newfound enthusiasm for a game that has always captured the rest of the world's imagination, we are enormously excited about this edge-of-your-seat, real-life sports drama."
The project is especially fitting for Crusader, a production company founded by billionaire businessman Philip Anschutz, who happens to have interests in four Major League Soccer teams -- the Los Angeles Galaxy, Chicago Fire, D.C. United and Colorado Rapids.
The GAME book was published in 1996 by Henry Holt & Co.
Thanks to Daily Variety
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