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Exclusive: The extraordinary exploits of convicted fraudster Russell King will be recounted in King of All Cons (Wt), a feature doc that has just gone into production. Emmy-nominated Dash Pictures is making the film with Sky in the UK and Matthew Lorenzo Productions, the indie set up by the titular Lorenzo, a former Sky Sports presenter.

Individuals who King duped included Sven Goran Eriksson, the one-time England soccer team manager, as part of an infamous scheme to buy Notts County, the world’s oldest soccer club. The film will use a mix of archive and interviews with the main players on the story, including Eriksson — who disclosed a terminal cancer diagnosis in January. Former England soccer star Sol Campbell also features.

King’s other nefarious exploits include negotiating a deal to extract all of North Korea’s mineral reserves. The action in the film moves between Bahrain, North Korea, London’s plush Dorchester Hotel,...

Legendary football broadcaster Jeff Stelling is launching his debut football podcast Football’s Greatest. Across forty weekly episodes, Jeff will talk to 121 of the most successful footballers the game has ever seen, including European Cup Winners Cup’ winner Paul Merson, Champions League winner James Milner, Double winner and former Germany Captain Michael Ballack, Scotland and Celtic legend Charlie Nicholas, former England manager Glenn Hoddle, and World Cup Winner Sir Geoff Hurst.

While too much time is spent on 1966 and all that Matthew Lorenzo’s profile draws out a hitherto unseen vulnerable side to the striker turned insurance salesman

The current flood of football documentaries shows no sign of abating; the recognition certain teams and individuals enjoy means that it’s not likely to any time soon. Geoff Hurst, the hat-trick hero of the 1966 World Cup final, is no doubt a natural subject for the “legacy” strand of these things: along with the likes of Jack Charlton, Bobby Moore and Bobby Robson, Hurst stands for a misty-eyed idea of Proper Football, when men were gods on the pitch and ordinary semi-dwelling blokes off it.

Hurst was all this and more, even if this profile focuses, football-wise at least, on that three-goal game at the expense of almost everything else. (Though that title might need a bit of nudging since Kylian Mbappé pulled...

New Delhi, Dec 30 (Ians) Arguably the greatest player to play football, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, aka Pele (82), breathed his last at a Sao Paulo hospital on Thursday after losing a prolonged battle against cancer.

The three-time World Cup winner had a colon tumour removed in September 2021 and neither his family, nor doctors, specified whether it had spread to other organs. He was recently under ‘elevated care’ related to kidney and cardiac dysfunction.

Portuguese soccer great Cristiano Ronaldo paid a heart-touching tribute to the ‘Black Pearl’, soon after the news of his demise was madepublic.

Taking to his Instagram handle, Ronaldo wrote: “My deep condolences to all of Brazil, and in particular to the family of Edson Arantes do Nascimento. A mere ‘goodbye’ to the eternal King Pele will never be enough to express the pain that the entire football world is currently embracing.

“An inspiration to so many millions, a reference yesterday,...

After a thrilling final saw Argentina beat France on penalties, the awards for the 2022 World Cup were also announced with some of the biggest names in football were recognized, with Lionel Messi from Argentina was confirmed as the best player at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

The Argentinian forward won the Adidas Golden Ball, which is awarded to the best player by the FIFA Technical Study Group (Tsg).

Kylian Mbappe from France and Luka Modric from Croatia came second and third respectively.

Golden Ball – Lionel Messi (Argentina)

This was Messi’s World Cup – and that was rubber-stamped as he was named the player of the tournament.

The 35-year-old finally got his hands on football’s biggest prize, scoring seven goals enroute to hoisting the trophy high into the Qatar night.

He became the first man to score in the last 16, quarter-final, semi-final and final of the same edition and wins...

Sky has greenlit documentaries on England World Cup winner Geoff Hurst, serial killer Fred West and music producer Phil Spector. Scroll down for the full slate below.

The shows come on a seven-strong slate at the Edinburgh Television Festival, which also includes Whales with Steve Backshall, a follow-up to the nature presenter’s Shark series, along with Secret World of Sound [working title] about animal behavior.

Intrusion: Stasi Fc uses personal testimony from survivors and an extensive archive to tell the compelling story of how The Stasi, East Germany’s secret service, abused football to destabilize the last oasis of free speech in the country, meanwhile. Finally, The Good Fight Club will follow a dynamic, young team of mixed martial arts fighters from South East London in training.

The slate, which is led by Matthew Lorenzo Productions’ Hurst: The First and Only, telling off the life of the man who scored a...

Which film won this year’s Palme d’Or? Did anyone not have a cameo in Absolutely Fabulous? Tackle these celluloid conundrums and more

TV quiz | Politics quiz | Sports quiz | News quiz | Music quiz

Which action movie star said of the Rio Games: “It’s a sore point I never got to the Olympics. They got seven million for the diving per year. They deserve it. The divers now are just terrific. I started too late. I should have done a different sport.”

Jason Statham

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Dolph Lundgren

Jean-Claude Van Damme

Which footballing icon did Twentieth Century Fox use to promote its movies Independence Day: Resurgence, X-Men Apocalypse Now and Deadpool?

Wayne Rooney

Geoff Hurst

Ryan Giggs

Alan Mullery

Who of the following did not have a cameo in Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie?

Christopher Biggins

Judith Chalmers

Sophie Raworth

Ruth Langsford

Which director responded to poor reviews by quoting...

Read More: Kaleidoscope Acquires NYC Dirty Cop Documentary 'The Seven Five'  Kaleidoscope has announced the acquisition of  worldwide rights to "Bobby," a documentary exploring the fascinating life of Bobby Moore, soccer legend and World Cup-winning captain. The documentary features exclusive interviews with fellow soccer greats like Pele, Paul Gascoigne, Sir Geoff Hurst and Russell Brand and follows Moore from his success on the field to his personal tragedies off of it. "Bobby" is directed by Ron Scalpello and produced by Matthew Lorenzo.  With the 50th anniversary of England's famous World Cup win approaching, Kaleidoscope is thrilled to announce its worldwide acquisition of the film (excluding the UK and Ireland). "We are proud to be involved with such a cinematic tribute to an iconic sporting hero," said Anthony Bruckner, director of sales at Kaleidoscope. "We are delighted to be introducing 'Bobby' to an international...

Richard Sellers/Empics Sport

Football is becoming more and more about money by the day, and in turn this is separating the bigger clubs from smaller clubs more and more too. The size of a club used to be entirely based on success and silverware, whereas no it is becoming too easy to buy success and with takeovers happening left, right and centre, there are many new additions to the top clubs in the world.

What then, separates these clubs from one another? The answer is of course their history, and no other club has a history quite like West Ham United. Our biggest achievement is of course successfully “winning” the World Cup in 1966. I jest, but the actuality of the situation is that Bobby Moore, Martin Peters and Geoff Hurst; three of West Ham’s greatest players at the time; played a major part in securing England’s only World Cup triumph.

'Amazing Greys' has been axed after just one series. The ITV game show hosted by comedian Paddy McGuinness and presenter Angela Rippon - which saw youngsters take on talented old aged pensioners, including chef Prue Leith and footballer Geoff Hurst, in a variety of challenges - has been cancelled after just six episodes due to poor ratings. The show, which was broadcast on Saturday nights following 'Britain's Got Talent', opened with a respectable 5.2 million viewers in April but struggled to retain its popularity, reaching just 2.9 million viewers for the final episode last month. A source told The Sun...

The list of celebrities taking part in the latest Pointless specials has been announced.

Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osman will be joined by famous faces for six new primetime episodes of the hit game show, kicking off on Saturday, April 12.

The first special will have a 1970s theme, with Wizzard and Yes stars Roy Wood and Rick Wakeman facing actors Paul Henry and Madeleine Smith, and Sally Thomsett and Anna Karen, and children's television stars Ed Stewart and Sally James.

Elsewhere, Sir Geoff Hurst and George Cohen MBE will team up in the World Cup special, facing Peter Shilton and Steve Bull, Hope Powell and Casey Stoney, and Graeme Le Saux and commentator Jonathan Pearce.

The Eurovision Pointless special is a thing to behold, with Bucks Fizz's Cheryl Baker and Mike Nolan trying to prove their wits against Martin Lee and Sonia Evans, Dana and Johnny Logan, and Jemini's Chris Cromby and Gemma Abbey.

This week's bumper-packed edition of your super sensational soaraway Empire Podcast features the greatest hat-trick since Sir Geoff Hurst benefited from the largesse of a Soviet linesman: McConaughey! Oldman! Jonze!Back of the net! We have Matthew McConaughey talking about his Oscar-nominated role in Dallas Buyers Club, and how the Money Chant from Wolf Of Wall Street came about.In off the post! Then there's national treasure Gary Oldman, star of RoboCop, reeling off a string of startling impressions including all Four Beatles.30-yard screamer! And we finish off with a chat to all-round genius Spike Jonze, director of the acclaimed Her.All that, plus the podcast team - Chris Hewitt, Nick de Semlyen, Phil de Semlyen and Ali Plumb - review the week's new releases, discuss the week's biggest movie news and pay a heartfelt tribute to the late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman.What are you waiting for? It's just a click away.

Pointless Celebrities is returning for a new series on BBC One later this summer, it has been confirmed.

Radio 1 DJs Scott Mills and Gemma Cairney, England footballing legend Sir Geoff Hurst, and comedy duo Brendan O'Carroll and Christopher Biggins are among the stars signed up for the latest run.

Chefs Antony Worrall Thompson and Jean Christophe Novelli and former boxing champion Joe Calzaghe will also take part in the series.

Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osman return as hosts of the quiz show that is searching for 'pointless answers'.

The winning celebrities take home a cash prize for their respective charities.

Pointless repeats are currently airing on weekdays on BBC One.

Sepp Blatter, the man in charge of world football, took to micro-blogging website Twitter today and called for the introduction of goal line technology (Glt). He Tweeted:

“After last night’s match ‪#Glt‬ is no longer an alternative but a necessity.”

His Tweet comes in the wake of yet another storm to hit the game. In England’s 1-0 victory over the Ukraine last night, Marko Devic had a goal disallowed and replays showed the ball had in fact crossed the line.

Goal line technology could be given the go ahead by the International Football Association Board (Ifab) as early as July 5th. ‘Hawk Eye’, one of the two systems being trialed, debuted successfully in England’s friendly against Belgium this month.

The Premier League have previously stated their willingness to use Glt.

Sepp Blatter’s comments will come as a massive step forward for Glt after dragging his heels...

“It’s payback season.”

As unbelievable as this sounds when said aloud, this is an actual line from Danny Donnelly’s woefully inadequate cinematic debut.

Kicking off with some rather obvious cutaways of a footballer who clearly isn’t Adam Deacon performing keepy uppy, Payback Season is the story of one young man’s rise from the gutter of inner city London to the glory and glamour of life as a pro footballer.

Jerome Davies (Deacon) has been anointed as the new wunderkind of English football, and as such he’s been rewarded with all of the superficial trappings that go hand in hand with this title. Davies is still keeping it real though, and regularly returns to the estate he grew up on to hang out with his family and friends. While his bona fide family want none of the excess his new life can afford, his blud brothers...

Sir Geoff Hurst has defended the majority of football agents. The World Cup winner, who plays an agent in new movie Payback Season, told Digital Spy that his "gentlemanly" character was "quite true to how I feel it should be played". "In every walk of life you've got the majority of people who are good in a profession," Hurst said. "A small percentage let their profession down and those are the ones you hear about. I think it's the same with agents." He added: "98 agents out of 100 are very good for their clients. The odd 2% are not particularly good and they don't represent the people who do their job. "They're probably thinking about the money and not thinking about their career." Asked how much of a responsibility clubs have to take care of younger players, Hurst said: "Clubs have a responsibility (more)...

Adam Deacon has said that Sir Geoff Hurst is a "really good actor". The former England footballer, the only man to ever score a hat-trick in a World Cup Final, plays Deacon's agent in upcoming movie Payback Season. Asked what it was like to work with Hurst, Deacon told Digital Spy: "Obviously you're seeing his name on the call sheet and you're thinking 'this guy is a ledge', but he's very humble with it and he's quite quiet and reserved. "I think he's a really good actor. He seemed a bit worried at the start. I felt that anyway. Then we had a little chat, and I was like 'Geoff, don't think of it as acting, just think what you would say in that situation'. "When you've got cameras there, and directors, you think acting becomes this big thing. Like you have to do something majorly (more)...

Just when hope is being restored to the UK film industry and a series of great-looking, home-grown features are being churned out on the lowest of budgets, but with an abundance of imagination and heart, along comes a film which threatens to severely upset the balance.

A sloppy montage finds talented athlete Jerome (Adam Deacon) working his way up the ranks to Premier league footie star. A kid from the estate done good, he still finds time in his hectic A-list status to visit his mum and younger brother back at his old stomping ground.

Running into his old crew whilst visiting his family one day, he invites them out for a night on the town where he treats them to the perks which come with his enviable lifestyle. Agreeing to help out ringleader Baron with some money woes, his misplaced sense of loyalty and friendship brings him a whole heap of trouble,...

Wuthering Heights, Shame, and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy make an awesome threesome for Britain

European film festivals tend to be wary of British cinema. They love our actors, but our film-making is rarely highlighted. In the past I have bemoaned entire competition line-ups at Cannes or Venice in which not a single British film has appeared, although the old triumvirate of Mike Leigh, Ken Loach and Stephen Frears has generally kept journalists on the Lido or Croisette in copy over the last couple of decades. I can't recall a time when British cinema looked like it was the most vital and respected in the world, but this past fortnight at the 68th Venice film festival made it look that way.

Steve McQueen's Shame, Andrea Arnold's Wuthering Heights and Tomas Alfredson's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy were three of the best-reviewed and most talked-about films here, all premiering in a three-day burst last week,...

London, Aug 5: Retired English footballer Sir Geoff Hurst has landed a role in a new movie.

Hurst, 69, who is the 1966 World Cup hero, will play football agent Adam Avely in the new movie named 'Payback Season'.

"As an avid football fan and lifelong West Ham supporter, working with Sir Geoff Hurst is an amazing development," the Sun quoted writer and director Danny Donnelly as saying.

"I've already spoken to him on the telephone and can't wait to see him on our set and have the opportunity to work with him," he said.

The film, by Pure Film Productions, also stars actress Nichola.

Danish director plans two edits of his new film, which will deal with 'the erotic life of a woman from infancy to middle age'

The big story (softcore edit)

One day, "Naughty Lars von Trier being naughty again" won't be enough of a headline to grab our attention. But for now, the Danish enfant terrible is back among our pages, cackling away about his plan to make two edits of his next film, Nymphomaniac - a softcore cut for the sensitive, and a hardcore version for those who thought The Idiots a touch conservative.

Previously, Von Trier has handled such fluff as genital mutilation and the end of the world. Nymphomaniac will deal with child sexuality, following "the erotic life of a woman from infancy to middle age," according to Von Trier's producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen. "Lars wants to see the sexual arousement of a girl [on screen]," Jensen added. "If Lars...

Three-goal hero of England's 1966 World Cup win set to play football agent in Danny Donnelly's new film Payback Season

The England World Cup-winning striker Sir Geoff Hurst has signed up for a role in a new British film about a young man who swaps life on a council estate for a career as a professional footballer. The movie, Payback Season, will feature Hurst in the role of a football agent.

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, writer and director Danny Donnelly said: "As an avid football fan and lifelong West Ham supporter, working with Sir Geoff Hurst is an amazing development. I've already spoken to him on the telephone and can't wait to see him on our set and have the opportunity to work with him.''

Payback Season will star Kidulthood's Adam Deacon, who takes the lead role of Jerome. The movie, described as an urban thriller, will also feature Anna Popplewell,...

Football icon Sir Geoff Hurst is reportedly being lined up for an appearance on the next series of Strictly Come Dancing. The 69-year-old sportsman, famed for scoring a hat-trick in England's historic 1966 World Cup victory over West Germany, is said to have topped a BBC wishlist for the show's forthcoming ninth series. "Geoff is one of the ­country's most legendary sporting heroes and the BBC are keen to sign him up," an insider told The Mirror. "Strictly bosses think he'd be hugely popular, especially with the show's older viewers. "Geoff is still very fit so the gruelling (more)...

Blown calls should be a thing of the past by now. New technology is helping refs avoid big flubs, catching fouls when they turn a blind eye or zeroing in on too-close-to-call plays through Matrix-style instant replay. We've already seen how successful these innovations have been deployed in tennis with its "Hawk-Eye" officiating; soon, this tech could be coming to football and also ... football.

A report out this week claims the NFL is in discussions with Cairos Technologies about possible "chip-in-ball technology." The German-based firm would be implanting microchips in footballs to help referees more accurately determine whether the pigskin had indeed passed first-down or touchdown lines. Cairos is also said to be bidding to bring the same technology to the soccer pitch. Both sports have been plagued with blown calls for years, and while the NFL currently uses instant replay for contentious calls, soccer has been especially tech-agnostic.

Chip-in-ball...

'The World Cup's here. I'm feeling irrelevant'

This is a tricky month for film reviewers. The medium on which our livelihood depends, usually so dominant and super-sexy, is now upstaged by the World Cup. Generally, a World Cup-themed film does get released. This year it was the Italia 90 documentary One Night in Turin; in 2006 it was Sixty-Six, about a boy's coming of age in the year of Bobby Moore. But reviewing these films just reminds everyone how irrelevant you are. We need to work now on a glut of World Cup-related films to be released during Brazil 2014, so critics can participate more fully in football fever. What about:

Jewel (dir Stephen Frears) Set in Bogotá, Colombia, during the 1970 World Cup, the action spans the four days Bobby Moore was under arrest on the trumped-up charge of stealing a bracelet from a jewellery shop. This awful experience strengthens his marriage: cue...

Team games and the performing arts could not survive without them and nor could aspiring young talents

It is in the nature of being an understudy that yours is not a place in the spotlight. Yet team games and the performing arts could not survive without them and nor could aspiring young talents. Mostly, being an understudy is unrewarding work, learning a big role or keeping match fit in case the star drops out unexpectedly, which generally they don't. Patience and an acceptance of audience disappointment have always been essential attributes. Occasionally, fate summons the understudy to the frontline with lasting consequences – Geoff Hurst standing in for Jimmy Greaves in the 1966 World Cup, Anthony Hopkins taking over at the National Theatre when Laurence Olivier went down with appendicitis. For such understudies, the rest is history and knighthoods beckoned. For the others, the majority, being an understudy is simply about dreams of what might have been.

19-year-old Fabian Moritz from Laatzen in Niedersachsen is an internet sensation, re-enacting football matches in Lego

Binned the vuvuzela already? Are those lips cracking trying to get those low Fs? You could always plunder your children's Lego box for instant World Cup relief instead. It is never too late to start, as 19-year-old Fabian Moritz from Laatzen in Niedersachsen, Germany, discovered. A fan of Hannover 96 football team, he constructed an entire stadium out of those generic connectable plastic brick links. He started with the pitch and the goals around the 1998 World Cup in France, and assembled the rest from friends and family over the next 10 years. He began with local matches first, filming re-enactments in stop motion animation. The fan movements were the worst. Making between 100 and 200 figures jump out of their seats when a goal is scored takes time, and the hours just fly past in his storeroom studio...