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The podcast that explores the cinema of the 1990s arrives at 2001’s Mike Bassett: England Manager. Listen to it here.

In this episode of At the Movies in the 90s, your host A. J. Black is joined by recurring guest, podcaster Matt Latham of the Ask Us About Loom podcast, as part of our short series of football films tied into Euro 2024, to discuss the 2001 spoof documentary comedy Mike Bassett: England Manager…

Find A. J. on Linktr.ee: https://linktr.ee/ajblackwriter

Find the podcast on Linktr.ee: https://linktr.ee/atthemoviesinthe90s

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The post Podcast | At the Movies in the 90s – Mike Bassett: England Manager (2001) appeared first on Film Stories.

The World Cup only happens every four years, and each tournament brings with it its own ups, downs, trials, tribulations, surprise contenders, and thrilling finales. The 2019 Women's World Cup saw the USA win the trophy for a second consecutive tournament; Qatar 2022 gave Lionel Messi a fairy tale ending at last.

Almost sounds like something out of a movie, doesn't it?

Luckily, soccer has been the topic of many films through the years. In this article, we will detail 14 of the best-known, including comedies, biopics, romance, murder mysteries, and documents of real-life tragedies. Along the way, you'll find everyone from the legends of the sport, including the sadly departed Pelé and Diego Maradona, to Hollywood superstars such as Sylvester Stallone and Will Ferrell. Within the bounds of "The Beautiful Game," almost anything is possible.

Mike Bassett: England Manager (2001)

Our first movie, "Mike Bassett: England Manager," is a mockumentary that stars Ricky Tomlinson...

Wrexham Afc, the Welsh soccer club recently taken over by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, is to be the subject of “A League Apart,” a British romantic comedy from Mad As Birds, producers of “The Vanishing,” starring Gerard Butler.

To be directed by S.J. Evans (“Hiraeth”), the film will follow Phil, a lovable yet down-on-his-luck man obsessed with his failing Wrexham Afc soccer team. His American girlfriend, Christina, wants more out of life and love and Phil must prove that she is more important to him than his soccer team winning.

While “A League Apart” is a work of fiction, its climax is centered around the real-life 1992 Fa Cup clash between bottom of the league underdogs Wrexham and reigning Division One champions, Arsenal.

The project is in the final stages of development, with plans to begin filming in the summer of 2021.

Celyn Jones, BAFTA Cymru best actor winner for “Manhunt,...

Tom Hanks tinkering with teamsheets as Ranieri, Idris Elba barking orders as captain Morgan, and Tom Hiddleston smashing in the goals … a surefire lineup to get them queuing at the turnstiles

Film producers like nothing more than a chest-burstingly uplifting, against-the-odds, underdog-come-good, overcoming-adversity story, and Leicester City’s tilt at the Premier League title is about as chestburstingly uplifting as they come. So just as football journalists have been sharpening their pens and documentary-makers loading up their editing suites over the past few weeks as the Foxes have been closing in on the championship, film production executives will have begun the unseemly jostle to get Leicester City: The Movie in the works.

But how to go about it? The first issue is where to pitch it. Notoriously, most films about football – about British football, at least – have been pretty bad: hamstrung between the need to appeal to the widest possible only-vaguely-interested audience (ie,...

Tom Hanks tinkering with teamsheets as Ranieri, Idris Elba barking orders as captain Morgan, and Tom Hiddleston smashing in the goals … a surefire lineup to get them queuing at the turnstiles

Film producers like nothing more than a chest-burstingly uplifting, against-the-odds, underdog-come-good, overcoming-adversity story, and Leicester City’s tilt at the Premier League title is about as chestburstingly uplifting as they come. So just as football journalists have been sharpening their pens and documentary-makers loading up their editing suites over the past few weeks as the Foxes have been closing in on the championship, film production executives will have begun the unseemly jostle to get Leicester City: The Movie in the works.

But how to go about it? The first issue is where to pitch it. Notoriously, most films about football – about British football, at least – have been pretty bad: hamstrung between the need to appeal to the widest possible only-vaguely-interested audience (ie,...

Speculations have been on about Sid Mallya’s Hollywood ventures but now it seems like there is some solid development on his acting debut.

Looks like Sid Mallya is all set to finally make his silver screen debut, having landed himself his debut film – an international production that shows off Sid’s true blue Brit side. Directed by Calcutta based Q, produced by Steve Barron (who’s other comedies include Dan Akroyd’s Coneheads and Mike Bassett: England Manager), the film story is centered on the quizzers scene in the early 80s in India. It is a smart and witty teen comedy. Director Q has created quite a stir in the indie film circuit with festival hits like Tasher Desh and Gandu.

“Being an independent content focused film, it’s not too massive a production and has both a British and an Indian team working on it since a large...

Football on TV - it's a hard nut to crack.

Sure, there's blanket coverage of the sport itself - plus highlights shows - but when it comes to dramatising the beautiful game, things are a little more thin on the ground.

With this season drawing to a close and the 2014 World Cup getting underway in a little over a month, here's a look back at five times that telly took aim at footy - the results, as you'll see, are variable!

The Hurricanes (1993-1997)

This animated effort from '90s cartoon legends Dic Entertainment charted the misadventures of a fictional soccer team and their coach Jock Stone - a character based on Celtic Fc's 1951–57 manager Jock Stein.

The Hurricanes was top notch entertainment for kids - with a rocking theme tune - and there was a respectably high level of actual football content, even if our heroes always pitted their...

A sequel to 2001's Mike Bassett: England Manager will begin shooting later this year.

Titled Mike Bassett: Interim Manager, the comedy will see Ricky Tomlinson reprise his role as the fictional football coach as he's brought back into the national team setup to assist German coach Jorgen Mannstein.

Steve Barron, who directed the first film, will return to oversee the sequel alongside screenwriters Rob Sprackling and John R Smith.

"Bassett was the last England manager to take the national team to Brazil. We reached the semis then, who knows what we could achieve this time?" Barron said.

Footballer and actor Andy Ansah, who starred in Dream Team and coined Soccer Am's "unbelievable tekkers" segment, is so far the only other cast member confirmed to return from the previous film.

"As the years have gone by, Bassett seems to have dug deeper into football folklore," Barron added of the hapless fictional coach.

They're mean, green and on the screen. Matt takes a look back at Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a film that became a 90s phenomenon…

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was probably the most important thing in the world to me in the early 90s. More important than school, more important than football, more important than even Ghostbusters.

Pizza became my favourite food, I took karate lessons and I collected everything my pocket money would allow. Birthday and Christmas lists were predictably Turtle-centric and my bedroom was a shrine to the green machine.

I remember the first time I saw the film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, very clearly. I was getting ready for school when my dad got home from the night shift. He called me into the living room and sat me down in front of the television. The film started to play, with me none the wiser as to what I was watching.

British actor Ricky Tomlinson has donated a massive $1.5 million (£1 million) to a leading children's hospital in England.

The Mike Bassett: England Manager star pledged the cash to his native Liverpool's Alder Hey Children's Hospital, where bosses will use it to help pay for a 15-apartment extension to house the families of sick kids.

He says, "I have been very lucky in my life and it is such a worthwhile charity. The charities I support are all for kids, they are our future. When it comes to money you can only spend so much, I'm not into cars or racehorses or anything like that.

"The house provides a vital lifeline to parents and families who come to hospital with their critically ill children. These apartments will be able to give them much needed support during an incredibly difficult time."

It isn't the first time Tomlinson has given up his hard-earned cash to charity - in 2008, he donated $300,000 (£200,000) to the Human Milk Bank Appeal at a Chester, England hospital to help provide breast milk for premature and sick babies.

It's been confirmed Eddie Izzard is set to make a rare dramatic appearance for Sky 1/HD. The Emmy Award-winning comedian will star as Long John Silver in an adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s literary classic Treasure Island. Written by Stewart Harcourt (Hearts & Bones, Poirot, Marple) and directed by Steve Barron (Merlin, Arabian Nights, Mike Bassett: England Manager) this new adaptation promises to take a fresh and bold approach to the classic tale of treasure hunting and skulduggery.

The first official trailer for Touchstone Pictures’ Gnomeo and Juliet is now online, and if you’re looking for a cheap giggle it might be just the ticket! Featuring the voices of James McAvoy, Emily Blunt, Jason Statham, Patrick Stewart, Michael Caine, Maggie Smith, Julie Walters, Stephen Merchant and Matt Lucas, the film is an animated retelling of William Shakespeare’s classic Romeo and Juliet and, well, you get the rest.

The film is directed by “Shrek 2” helmer Kelly Asbury and written by “Mike Bassett: England Manager” scribes John R. Smith and Rob Sprackling, the film is due in theatres next year. It’s not exactly pushing boundaries and some of the English accents sound a little flat even for me, but if your looking for light entertainment then you’ve come to the right place! Check it out below:

The greatest love story ever told, starring…garden gnomes?...

Deep-sea psychic who shot to fame for his uncanny football predictions is subject of film The Murder of Paul the Octopus

World Cup heroes make easy subjects for stirring cinema, be they real-life (The Game of their Lives, Zidane, The Miracle of Bern) or, usually more lucratively, fictional (Goal!, Sixty Six, Mike Bassett: England Manager). And now it seems the big star of this year's contest is to follow suit, for production has already wrapped on The Murder of Paul the Octopus, a fictional take on the eight-limbed beastie whose knack for predicting the match outcomes won him worldwide fame.

The film, a co-production between China Film Group Corporation and Beijing Filmblog Media Company, was shot over the past few weeks in South Africa using a body double, owing to the indisposition of the real Paul, who has gone into retirement. Release is scheduled for August. According to Sky News,...

Lily Allen reportedly provided vocals for an Atomic Kitten song when she was 14-years-old. The 'Not Fair' singer lent her voice to the theme tune for 2001 film Mike Bassett: England Manager, The Sun reports. It is believed that the vocals from the girl group were not strong enough for 'On Me 'Ead', with songwriter Keith Allen - Lily's father - opting to add his daughter to the recording. A source said: "When the Mike Bassett soundtrack was put together, the deadlines were really tight. "The (more)...