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 Affleck and his friend since childhood, actor Matt Damon,
will be among the producers of the as-yet-untitled movie for
Hollywood studio Warner Bros., the author, U.S. reporter Ken
Bensinger, told Reuters.
It is expected to focus on the role of American Chuck Blazer, a
former FIFA official. Bensinger said that actor John Goodman had
been mentioned as a possible option to portray the 70-year-old
Blazer, who has a curly white beard and has in the past tipped
the scales at more than 400 pounds.
A spokeswoman for Goodman said she was not aware of any
discussions about the part.
The deal was first reported on Friday by trade paper The
Hollywood Reporter.
Blazer, the former general secretary of CONCACAF, soccer's
governing body in North and Central America and the Caribbean,
has secretly provided U.S. prosecutors with information about
alleged bribery and kickbacks in connection with bidding to host
the 1998 and 2010 soccer World Cups.
Blazer pleaded guilty in 2013 to 10 criminal counts, according
to a plea deal unsealed by U.S. prosecutors earlier this month,
Seven current or former soccer officials were arrested on U.S.
corruption charges in a raid on a Swiss hotel in late May as
part of a wide-ranging investigation. The following week, FIFA
President Sepp Blatter - just days after being reelected - said
he would be stepping down.
The movie is to be based on Bensinger's proposed book "Houses of
Deceit", which went to a bidding war between Hollywood studios
after the FIFA scandal broke in May.
Bensinger, an investigative reporter for U.S. news website
Buzzfeed.com, said the book was still in its early stages and
was unlikely to be published before 2017.
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DIFFERENT PASSIONS
"I'm excited about the challenge of putting together this book and
the prospects for a movie. I think this story has amazing potential
to capture the interest of a wide range of people and not just
soccer fans, because it touches on fundamental human themes of
power, greed, corruption and justice," Bensinger added in a
statement.
That will make it very different from a FIFA-funded movie, "United
Passions," which explores the 111-year history of the organization
and attempts to show it as a force for good. The 2014 French movie,
which was first screened in the U.S. this month, has been widely
panned by critics and has been a massive box office flop.
Bensinger said that director Gavin O'Connor may be involved in his
movie.
Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc., declined to comment on
Friday, saying the studio did not comment about projects that may be
in development.
Blazer is now in hospital with cancer and unable to speak. But in
his pomp he chronicled his globe-trotting activities to spread the
good word for FIFA on his blog. He is pictured with Nelson Mandela
and soccer legends George Best and Pele. He can also be seen with an
exotic dancer, his parrot, and dressed up like a pirate.
The New York Daily News reported last year that he kept an apartment
in the city mainly for his cats and needed a fleet of mobility
scooters to get about.
(Reporting By Jill Serjeant and Mark Hosenball; Editing by Martin
Howell)
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