This year’s World Cup has not only been characterized by surprises but a lot of drama, from head clashes to bites to alleged match fixing, and more. But topping this year’s list of drama is Ghana’s $3 million World Cup fiasco, which has somehow gotten Hollywood’s attention, reports the Guardian.
SEE ALSO: World Cup 2014: Cameroon Calls for Investigation into Failures
Award-winning writer Darryl Wharton-Rigby is planning a Hollywood thriller spun off from the true and bizarre story of Ghana’s World Cup cash.
Ghana’s President, John Dramani Mahama, was forced to send a plane containing $3 million to Brazil for the players to split or witness the team go on strike. According to the team’s coach, Kwesi Appiah, the players were supposed to receive the money before the World Cup began for appearance fees.
The Black Stars, who at one point refused to train due to lack of payment, subsequently lost their final group match to Portugal 2-1 and exited the competition.
As for the film, the story centers on a courier tasked with bringing the $3 million (£1.76m) across the Atlantic to Brazil in an effort to stop the Ghanaian football team from quitting the competition due to lack of pay. Eventually, the $3 million is stolen after the courier is ambushed. He then has fewer than 12 hours to recover the money or face the wrath of his employers (and presumably the Ghanaian footballers).
And even though the movie is based on real-life events, fictional elements will be incorporated to further spice up the proposed film.
“The world has soccer fever and Hollywood has caught it,” said Wharton-Rigby, a former staff writer for “Homicide: Life on the Street,” the celebrated Emmy-winning TV series from producer David Simon, which predated the even more successful “The Wire.”
The screenplay has been optioned by U.S. production company Bugeater, whose founders Dan Mirvish and Barry Hennessey will produce the film.
Hennessy, an Emmy winner for reality TV show “The Amazing Race,” said, “I’ve shot extensively in both Ghana and Brazil, and this is a perfect project to capture the raw energy that both countries have to offer.”
Wharton-Rigby’s 1998 film “Detention” won the best director prize at the Urban World film festival. The thriller is the second football-related project to emerge in the past few weeks, following news that Hollywood studio Warner Bros plans to capitalize on U.S. World Cup fever with a remake of “Escape to Victory.”
SEE ALSO: Football Fan Battle: Which African Team Has Most Creative Fans in Brazil?
A physical education teacher, Alfred Kattola, owes his life to the quick thinking of two…
An 11-year-old girl, Tia Gordon, has endured misdiagnoses of sickness bugs and migraines by medics…
Serena Williams is undoubtedly one of the greatest tennis players to grace the court. In…
At the age of sixteen, LeAnna Roberts made headlines when she graduated from the University…
Will.i.am is a musician, producer, technologist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Born Williams Adams, the musician turned…
Ohemaa Nyanin has been named the general manager of the WNBA Golden State team. Nyanin,…
Meet Allen Onyema; he is the founder of Nigeria’s largest carrier, Air Peace. The Nigerian…
Alicia Keys has reached a new milestone with her musical "Hell's Kitchen" as it has…
Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles decided to commemorate her first wedding anniversary to NFL star…
Authorities in Pennsylvania have arrested and charged a 26-year-old man who was seen allegedly attempting…
British female darts player Deta Hedman withdrew from the Denmark Open over the weekend after…
A New York-based Ghanaian couple accused of fatally beating their 5-year-old son was on May…
Former beauty queen Elizabeth Hunterton, who was abandoned in an airport as a newborn in…
It was an act of goodwill with no intended expectation in mind. Donating his only…
Get to know Ms. Catherine Kuupol, a mineral engineer who has provided metallurgical technical services…