FUNNY OLD GAME
A true underdog story…
NEXT GOAL WINS
DIRECTOR TAIKA WAITITI STARRING MICHAEL
FASSBENDER, OSCAR KIGHTLEY, DAVID FANE,
WILL ARNETT ETA 21 APRIL
It had everything that I require when I go to make a film,” says Taika Waititi (Hunt For The Wilderpeople), talking about new movie Next Goal Wins. “I describe it as Cool Runnings in the Pacific. Cool Runnings with football!” Indeed, this true story about the American Samoa soccer team bears comparison to the Jamaican bobsleigh classic. “I just wanted to do a sports film,” he continues. “I’d never done one before. I love sports movies. And I love underdog stories. Most of my films are about family and about people who don’t fit in!”
Based on the 2014 documentary by Mike Brett and Steve Jamison, Next Goal Wins follows the Polynesian team’s attempt to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup after years in the doldrums. “They were the lowest-ranked team on the FIFA table,” explains Waititi. “In the history of the country, they had never won a game or scored a goal. They went on to suffer the biggest international defeat in the history of international soccer. At the hands of Australia, 31-0. That probably works out around a goal every four minutes!”
In response, they brought in a new coach, Dutch-American Thomas Rongen. “There are amazing stories about the state of football when he got there,” says Waititi. “There was one football – one soccer ball! – on the island. He really turned that team around.” Playing Rongen is Michael Fassbender, in his first role since 2019’s X-Men: Dark Phoenix. “Not many people know, he’s extremely funny. I think he needs to do more comedies personally,” says Waititi. “He was taking a break at the time… but he read the script. He loved it and decided to break his sabbatical and come work with me.”
With Iain Morris, co-creator of Channel 4 sitcom The Inbetweeners, helping script, Waititi shot the film in Hawaii in late 2019, before he made his MCU return with Thor: Love And Thunder. When it came to filming the football scenes, he got assistance from those that shot the documentary. “To make them look bad was very easy because nobody in Polynesia or New Zealand knows how to play soccer! That was easy. We’re all so shit at it, because none of us grew up playing it. We all played rugby.” But some footie terminology did leave him baffled. “People would say, ‘Push up, push up!’ and I’m like ‘Why are they not doing pushups?’ I had no idea what was going on!”