The Leicester City fairytale movie project got a fresh boost as Bedlam Productions have roped in the creator of Goal! The Dream Begins, Adrian Butchart, having already assigned the job to two Oscar-nominated scriptwriters, Briton Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson.
Adrian Butchart co-wrote Goal! and its sequel Goal! 2 Living The Dream... while Briton Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson are known for their role as screenwriters in The Fighter.
Leicester City took the football world by storm when they beat 5000/1 odds to win the Premier League last season. During their sensational campaign, Butchart claims to have thought of making a movie on Jamie Vardy, based on his transformation story from a factory worker to an influential Premier League striker.
However, he admitted his jaw dropped and his story expanded as the shocking season unfolded.
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Butchart, speaking to Mirror Sport from the United States of America, said: “It really proves the old adage that life is better than fiction.
“No-one could have foreseen the season that Leicester have had and we are absolutely delighted. We could never have predicted the twists and turns that have happened.
“While the central character in the film is Jamie Vardy, what happened over the span of couple of weeks (in the end of campaign), when we saw the other Leicester players come together as a team in his absence and prove that they have what it takes to win, has really brought them to the forefront.”
Jamie Vardy scored in 11 successive games, overtaking Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Premier League record. The movie it seems will be narrated through the eyes of the striker who has played a significant part in Leicester City’s rise from tier-two Championship to being Premier League winners.
Except the focus, the oscar-nominated duo feels the movie as a whole, has all the content that we expect to see in a great film, not just a sports film.
"The story represents everything we love in a movie," Tamasy told Deadline.
Johnson added: "This is more than a sports film, it's a once-in-a-lifetime story about the fulfillment of impossible dreams and the strength of the human spirit. It's also a hell of a lot of fun. I'm extremely excited and proud to be a part of it."
US-based Brit producer and screenwriter Butchart continued his thoughts which reasons with why he feels this movie could be a massive hit. Butchart continued, “When you make a movie about football you have to be very careful as it is so tribal.
“If you make a movie about established clubs like Manchester United say, or Liverpool , you run the risk of alienating all the fans of their rivals. We are lucky with Leicester because no-one seems to dislike them, it feels like the whole country wanted them to win.”
The movie is expected to be launched into production later this year. Rumour has it that Vinnie Jones could play ex-Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson.
