It is more than likely that you have heard of the latest football film to hit our screens – GOAL! The reason being is that it is set in Newcastle and its central plot features a Mexican footballer, Santiago Munez, played by Kuno Becker, who is handed a chance of a lifetime to play for… you've guessed it, Newcastle United.  | | Kuno at the Newcastle premiere |
British-born director Danny Cannon (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer) presents Newcastle in a way few films have done in the past – but then again, Newcastle has never looked so good as it does now, with Cannon capturing the recent regeneration with sweeping aerial shots. So what of the story? It begins in Los Angeles, with Mexican immigrant Munez dreaming of playing football professionally but is forced to work for his father’s gardening company. A scout in LA, Glen Foy (Stephen Dillane), notices Munez shine on the pitch in a local league game and persuades Newcastle’s German manager Erik Dornhelm (Marcel lures) – imagine a cross between Arsene Wenger and Sven-Goran Eriksson – to give him a trial with the Magpies. All-star cast Cue trials (excuse the pun) and tribulations as Munez seeks to break into the first team. The very same first team is aiming to win a Champions League spot – Newcastle fans who go to see the film will be hoping that life imitates art this season! His love interest comes in the form of nurse Roz Harminson, played by Anna Friel, who does more than an able job of her Geordie accent. The film also features a number of cameo appearances from real-life footballers, such as Real Madrid’s Zinedine Zidane and Raul.  | | Anna Friel and Kuno Becker |
Because most of the filming took place last season, ex-Mag Jermaine Jenas and loaned-out Laurent Robert feature in the film, as does captain Alan Shearer, who is now a veteran of the silver screen following on from his parts in The Match and Purely Belter. The Magpies skipper’s big scene comes in the club gym when he delivers his one and only line – although he won’t win an Oscar for his role as ‘Himself’, he does deliver the line with aplomb. The Geordie folk are portrayed in good light, but what else would you expect from scriptwriters Dick Clement and Ian Le Frenais who penned Auf Wiedersehen Pet and The Likely Lads. And the football scenes, shot inside an impressive looking St James’ Park, are okay, but not in the class of the final act from Escape to Victory. See the pictures from the Newcastle premiere of Goal! and listen to interviews from the stars. Thanks to Giles Taylor for the interviews and Steve Plimmer for the photographs.
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