Soccer match-fixing thriller ‘The Big Fix’ set at Fox – Asif Kapadia to helm Maradona docu film

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LOS ANGELES, Jan 30, (RTRS): 20th Century Fox and Chernin Entertainment are developing soccer match-fixing thriller “The Big Fix” with directing team Adil El Arbi and Billal Fallah on board.

Fox-based Chernin Entertainment is producing, based on Brett Forrest’s ESPN Magazine article “All The World Is Staged,” published in 2012.

The film will follow three characters — Chris Eaton, a former police officer who helped uncover the scandal while serving as top enforcement agent at the sport’s ruling body, the Federation Internationale de Football Association; Singaporean fixer Raj Perumal; and a player whose family is threatened, based on a composite of several players.

Producers have obtained Eaton’s life rights. Perumal was first jailed for match-fixing in 1995 in Singapore, then built up a match-fixing network in Europe, Asia and Africa by focusing on players in less prominent leagues. He was arrested in Rovaniemi, Finland in 2011 for having a false passport after her was spotted scolding three players from the local team.

Prolific

“One week later, Chris Eaton, FIFA’s head of security, arrived in Rovaniemi,” the article said. “He knew exactly who Perumal was. Eaton informed Finnish investigators that they had just caught the world’s most prolific criminal fixer of soccer matches, an elusive figure whom Eaton had been chasing for the past six months. Perumal had rigged hundreds of games across five continents, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in fraudulent gambling winnings for Asian and European syndicates.”

Kira Goldberg is overseeing “The Big Fix” for the studio.

Arbi and Fallah, who are based in Belgium, directed the gang drama “Black,” which had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in September. The story centers on a 15-year-old girl in a black gang in Brussels who must choose between loyalty and love when she falls for a Moroccan from a rival gang.

Variety’s Peter Debruge gave the film a strong review: “The first of its kind in Belgian cinema, this easily exportable, minority-driven drama has the potential to launch the careers of its young directors and cast, driving its star-crossed ‘West Side Story’ formula into the 21st century.”

The filmmakers are repped by CAA, Management and Ken Lambrechts in Belgium. The news was first reported by Deadline Hollywood.

Asif Kapadia, the director of the Oscar-nominated “Amy,” is to helm a feature documentary about the soccer player Diego Maradona. The film will be handled internationally by Altitude Film Sales and introduced to buyers at Berlin, with US sales being handled by Cinetic Media.

Altitude Film Distribution has taken UK rights to the film, titled “Maradona.” The company also distributed “Amy,” which took ?3.76 million ($5.39 million), making it the highest-grossing British documentary of all time at the UK box office.

The Maradona movie has the same filmmaking team behind it as “Amy” and their previous documentary “Senna” — Kapadia, James Gay-Rees and Chris King. Those three will be joined as producers on the film by Paul Martin, the producer of “Ronaldo.” It is being fully financed by Julian Bird’s Lorton Entertainment.

Kapadia will have access to hundreds of hours of never-before-seen footage from Maradona’s personal archive.

Kapadia said: “I’ve long been a fan of Diego Maradona. I was taken by his character, his genius, honesty, passion, humor and vulnerability. I was fascinated by his journey, wherever he went there were moments of incredible brilliance and drama. He was a leader, taking his teams to the very top, but also many lows in his career. He was always the little guy fighting against the system, against the wealthy, the powerful and he was willing to do anything, to use all of his cunning and intelligence to win.”

He added: “I first wanted to make a film about Maradona even before I directed ‘Senna,’ so I’m very excited to have this opportunity. Diego is the greatest player of all time but with flaws and weaknesses. His life was one of extremes, but somehow, ever the street fighter, he has survived to tell the tale.”

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