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Given his growing tendency to line up half of Hollywood to appear in his films, anyone cast in a Wes Anderson movie might worry just how much screen time they’ll end up getting.

Not Fisher Stevens.

After minor roles in The Grand Budapest Hotel (a concierge), Isle of Dogs (the voice of a mutt called Scrap) and The French Dispatch (an unnamed magazine story editor), he’s now set to make a similarly background appearance in Asteroid City, Anderson’s latest, and featuring arguably the director’s most ludicrous array of top-tier talent to date (a list so long, it may test the wide lenses of Cannes’ red carpet paparazzi when it bows May 23). And very happily so.

“I’m around. I mean, you’ll see me in the film. But I wouldn’t say it’s my Oscar-winning performance,” Stevens tells The Hollywood Reporter, adding that blink-and-you’ll-miss-it or not,...

Here’s the latest episode of the 365Flick podcast, part of the ever-growing podcast roster here on Nerdly. If you haven’t heard the show yet, you can check out previous episodes on Libsyn, whilst we’ll be featuring each and every new episode as it premieres.

365Flicks Podcast – Episode 92: Deuce or Juice

The lads are back in the booth to bring you there no nonsense Regular Schmegular episode and this week we cover all the usual sections, minus 1 because they hit a snag… The Intro and Pimpage takes up about 15 minutes because Chris wants everyone to know that he filming his short this week “What you cant see” and I am his Clapper guy.

Then its News time where we address the Harvey Weinstein in the room, talk about the Justice League run time that has us both a bit worried and Star Trek: Discovery has been renewed for a second season.

This week saw critics pan the latest Dan Brown thriller, Inferno, the Guardian included. Can you match the following scathing critiques to the one-star films that received them?

”Napalms the screen with waves of pornographic consumerist vulgarity…dredged directly from Tinseltown’s festering scrotum.”

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back

Entourage

The Intern

Ted 2

"The whole dreary business drags interminably on, with not a single amusing or ingenious idea in its echoing metal head: a cynical franchisebot, machine-tooled to clank into cinemas and gouge money out of people."

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Iron Man 3

Transformers: Age of Extinction

Terminator Genisys

"Could be one of those rare and terrifying serial killer cases where the psychotic culprit apparently intends to bore and embarrass everyone to death with bad acting."

Solace

Child 44

Regression

Criminal

"Blanchett gives a toe-curlingly awful and Razzie-worthy turn in this tiresome aria of liberal self-pity and self-importance.

The Guardian film team’s daily round-up of the latest movie news and reviews

Your daily update of the latest news and reviews from the Guardian film team. Now showing: Tim Roth makes his excuses for Seb Blatter vanity project United Passions; Forbes releases its annual list of the best value actors in Hollywood; and the very worst films of the year are decided.

Follow us on Twitter (GuardianFilm, Henry, Ben, Catherine and producer Rowan) and check out our Facebook page. Comment on the show below.

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Remember the movie United Passions that came out earlier this year, which starred Tim Roth as noted soccer rapscallion Sepp Blatter? (Speaking of, pretty bad day for the former FIFA president.) Not many people do! The FIFA "origins story" football drama was universally panned — turns out, viewers aren't too keen on propaganda these days — and it currently holds a rousing 0 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. So, what would possibly entice a well-respected thespian such as Roth to star in this futbol flop? That sweet, sweet FIFA money, baby! And his family, definitely his family. As he candidly explained in a recent Reddit "Ama": The film is awful (can’t say that because I haven’t seen it) I hated doing it, it was the wrong film but for the right reasons. I had two kids in college so I had to make a decision and it was probably poorly...

The FIFA scandals that have been rocking the world of football (or soccer, if you are from America) have been the subject of major news outlets for weeks now. The abysmal failure of the FIFA-funded biopic United Passions didn't helm matters. But, a much less flattering project about the seedy underbelly of FIFA will be coming from Warner Bros and producers Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. Warrior... Read More...

Well, this was pretty inevitable. With the various scandals involving FIFA continuing to unfold, and with further embarrassment added by the flop of "United Passions" (our review), the movie produced by the soccer organization that now has the distinction of being the lowest grossing film in U.S. history, it was only a matter of time until the downfall of the group he led was brought to the big screen. And Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are going to make it happen. Read More: Review: FIFA Drama 'United Passions' Starring Gerard Depardieu, Sam Neill, And Tim Roth The duo will produce the Gavin O'Connor directed adaptation of Ken Bensinger's upcoming book "Houses Of Deceit." It will tell the story of American FIFA exec Chuck Blazer aka Mr. Ten Percent, who helped popularize soccer in the United States, but also became embroiled in bribery and corruption, with Bensinger...

The FIFA scandal that finally unseated organization president Sepp Blatter broke just as FIFA’s own promo movie, United Passions, landed in theaters. The film hit with a flat thud in the Us, but a new project in development now has the potential to fare much better. This one is a FIFA scandal movie with Gavin O’Connor (Warrior) set to […]

The post Gavin O’Connor Directing FIFA Scandal Movie appeared first on /Film.

The Fifa film United Passions may have proved an unholy embarrassment for Roth, but this low-key kidnap drama shows he is still an excellent actor

At last, a smidgen of good news for Tim Roth, after the fiasco that is his Fifa film, United Passions. Another film, Mexican crime thriller 600 Miles, has come along to remind us that Roth is in fact – most of the time – a pretty good actor. Roth plays an Atf agent who finds himself shanghaied over the border to Mexico and, despite a wavering accent that lurches occasionally back to his native London, his quiet, intense presence is just right for the role.

600 Miles is actually Roth’s second Mexican film of recent vintage; Cronica, in which he played a palliative nurse, earned excellent notices when it premiered at Cannes. (But that was Bf: Before Fifa.) 600 Miles comes from the same stable: directed by Gabriel Ripstein,...

Last weekend, Jurassic World scored the biggest ever Us opening, while United Passions set a new low. The disparity shows that today’s cinema is no place for those without a sure grip on marketing, the media – and keeping on-message

One is a hubris-laden epic about a terrifying predator of reptilian cunning savaging his way to the top of the food chain; the other was the one that made $500m at the box office. In one of those twists of perfect statistical synchronicity, the week in which Jurassic World broke every opening-weekend record also saw United Passions – the magnificently ill-timed Fifa biopic starring Tim Roth as Sepp Blatter – register one of the lowest opening Us weekends in recent memory, taking just $918.

As part of its historic worldwide haul of $524.4m, Jurassic World played in 4,274 cinemas to claim a new Us debut record of $208.8m. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, whose...

With the Women.s World Cup in full swing, and the recent Sepp Blatter controversy making headlines across the world, FIFA, the governing body of international soccer, has been all over the place lately. All that attention had little to no impact at the box office, however, as the FIFA origins drama United Passions became the lowest-grossing film in U.S. history. Just how bad did United Passions tank? Well, according to The Hollywood Reporter, on ten screens over the course of the June 6 weekend, it managed to earn $918. This puts it ahead of, or behind depending on your perspective, such non-notable movies at I Kissed A Vampire and Last Flight of the Champion, which we haven.t heard of either. Those films, a rock musical based on a web series and a terribly animated space adventure, earned $1380 and $1493 respectively during their theatrical campaigns. FIFA put up 90% of the budget...

Frederic Auburtin’s £17m drama made just $918 from 10 cinemas last weekend and has now been pulled from screens by its distributor

Fifa wanted to call it Men of Legend or The Dream Makers. But even a somewhat more toned down title has not been enough to stop United Passions being named as the lowest-grossing film in Us box office history.

The Hollywood Reporter has now confirmed the self-congratulatory project, starring Tim Roth as controversial outgoing president Sepp Blatter, scored the puniest total of all time in North America. With a final weekend return of just $918 from 10 cinemas, Frederic Auburtin’s £17m drama - Fifa paid most of the costs - lines up ahead of such titans of modern cinema as 2012 vampire rock musical I Kissed a Vampire ($1,380) and 2013 animated adventure Last Flight of the Champion ($1,493).

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United Passions director Frédéric Auburtin has spoken out the pressure of working on his flop football drama, which Fifa wanted to call ‘Men of Legend’

It’s the biggest box office turkey of the year so far and currently boasts a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but the jabs just keep on coming for Fifa’s failed football drama United Passions.

Related: United Passions review – Fifa propaganda is pure cinematic excrement

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A version of this story first appeared in the June 26 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe. Opening in the wake of the arrest of 10 FIFA officials under investigation by the FBI for corruption, bribery and money-laundering, United Passions, the propaganda-filled film about the world soccer body FIFA, was an instant — and epic — flop. It grossed just $918 in the U.S. during the June 6 weekend. But even before the scandal broke, the $30 million movie was plagued by a battle between FIFA, which put up

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Thierry Frémaux has said that the French star lobbied hard for an official screening of the football flop – eventually shown on the beach – but that he himself ‘did not find the film horrible at all’

The artistic director of the Cannes film festival has said that United Passions, the much-ridiculed Fifa-funded hagiography, was screened at last year’s festival only after he was badgered by its star.

“Gérard Depardieu was very insistent,” Thierry Frémaux told the Associated Press. “He really wanted us to show it.”

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Frederic Auburtin has had to put up with a lot of abuse lately. As the director of United Passions, the movie about the founding of world soccer body FIFA, the French filmmaker behind such titles as The Bridge (1999) and San Antonio (2004), has received the worst reviews of his career. The film is “a ham-fisted...cringeworthy, self-aggrandizing affair” wrote The Hollywood Reporter critic Frank Scheck about the $30 million period drama starring Gerard Depardieu, Sam Neill and Tim Roth. Jordan Hoffman of the Guardian goes further, saying the movie, which purports to tell this founding story of

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Pizza and movies go together like peanut butter and jelly, or peanut butter and jelly pizza and the movies. Not a fan of those toppings? Whatever.

So while Domino’s is working overtime to remind you that they aren’t actually terrible and that they serve things other than pizza, Pizza Hut has come up with a brilliant, Diy way to bring you cheesy goodness, and also some pizza.

Via The Verge, Pizza Hut has developed a box that will transform into a movie projector. All you need is a smart phone. Order a Pizza Hut pizza, get it delivered in one of four different, artistically designed boxes, then pop out the lens that’s included into the front of the box, and finally prop up your phone with the small, three pegged pizza holder to project videos directly through the lens in the box onto a nearby wall.

And there you have it!

Final weekend numbers show the FIFA-financed United Passions opening to a miserable $918 at the U.S. box office. Writer-director Frederic Auburtin's film beyond bombed in its limited debut in 10 theaters. Initial numbers reported by The Hollywood Reporter showed the film earning $607 on Friday and Saturday; updated numbers show the figure to be $634. United Passions earned another $284 on Sunday, according to those with access to figures. United Passions also debuted on VOD, but rental and sales figures were not immediately available. The timing of United Passions' debut in the U.S. couldn't have been

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Even its own film can’t save FIFA. The self-financed movie “United Passions” failed to score at the box office, generating a pathetic $607 in the U.S. on its opening weekend. The unfortunately-timed movie dramatizing the founding and history of the world governing body of soccer opened Friday in limited release in New York and nine other cities. Even soccer-mad Europeans have avoided the on-screen debacle. The film premiered at last year’s Cannes film festival, but six months after its release in Europe had made just $190,000. Also Read: Espn's Bob Ley Breaks Down FIFA Bribery Scandal, Laughs Off Viral...

One would think that the controversy swirling around FIFA and its disgraced chief, Sepp Blatter, would attract curious patrons to theaters to see the organization.s funded and sponsored origin drama United Passions. Well, the opposite actually happened, as the French film opened in 10 theaters in the U.S. this weekend and earned $607 on Friday and Saturday. Not per theater. Total. That stench in your nose is coming off of the box-office tally for United Passions, which The Washington Post reports cost somewhere between $25 and $32 million to make. Directed by Frederic Auburtin, the film stars Tim Roth as Sepp Blatter, and traces the founding of FIFA and the rise of its World Cup competition. In addition to Roth, the film stars Sam Neill, Fisher Stevens, Thomas Kretschmann and Gerard Depardieu. To prove that this is a real movie, I.ll share with you the trailer. Now, it.s possible that...

Despite starring Gérard Depardieu, Sam Neill and Tim Roth – as Sepp Blatter – ‘preposterous hagiography’ takes just £397 at box office on Us opening weekend

After perhaps the most ill-timed cinematic release in history, Fifa’s self-funded hagiography, United Passions, took just $607 (£397) on its opening weekend in the Us.

The film opened just days after Us prosecutors charged 14 football officials with racketeering, money laundering and fraud to spark the crisis that forced the resignation of Fifa’s president, Sepp Blatter.

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The FIFA-produced movie United Passions mustered only $607 (£397) during its Us debut over the weekend - as world football's governing body battles a corruption scandal.

United Passions was almost completely funded by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, and tells the story of its history.

The film includes a highly favourable portrayal from Tim Roth of Sepp Blatter, the FIFA boss who announced his resignation last week amid corruption allegations.

United Passions boasted an expensive $30 million budget, but The Hollywood Reporter cites Rentrak in finding that it had little intrigue for Us residents.

United Passions mustered just over $600 in the ten screens it debuted on this past weekend, with Phoenix's FilmBar reporting that just one ticket was sold for the film.

This overall Us debut total does not include video-on-demand revenue for the film, which also stars Gérard Depardieu, Fisher Stevens and Sam Neill.

The film's best cinema total came from the Laemmle in North Hollywood,...

Even bad publicity is usually good publicity — except in the case of the FIFA-financed film United Passions, which was quickly red-carded at the U.S. box office this weekend. Writer-director Frederic Auburtin's film beyond bombed in its limited debut in 10 theaters, earning a measly $607 on Friday and Saturday, according to those with access to Rentrak figures. The FilmBar theater in downtown Phoenix reported a gross of just $9, meaning only one person bought a ticket to see United Passions, which details the history of the now-embattled FIFA. Read More FIFA Corruption Scandal: The

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When Sepp Blatter first appears, played by Tim Roth, in United Passions, a new Fifa-commissioned movie history of the deeply troubled organisaton, another character describes him simply as “good at finding money”. And perhaps it was Blatter himself who found sufficient cash behind the sofa cushions at Fifa’s Zurich HQ to cover most of the $30m budget for this laughable, 110-minute hagiography, which has high production values, low motives and excellent comic timing – if only in its release date.

If North Korea’s Kim Jong-un had rewritten “The Interview” as a paean to his brilliant, saintly reign, it could not possibly be funnier than “United Passions,” the mostly FIFA-funded $29 million historical drama about the soccer group. Since FIFA stands accused of over $150 million in bribes and reportedly has $1.5 billion in the bank, “United Passions” must have seemed like a good deal. Bothered by pesky journalists and prosecutors who indicted 14 FIFA folks? Pay for a nicer story! It probably cost a couple of years’ worth of FIFA ex-president Sepp Blatter’s salary. Also Read: Sepp Blatter to Resign as...

Fraud. Corruption. Bribery. Money laundering. Racketeering. These are just a few of the accusations being levelled at FIFA as the FBI investigates football's governing body.

The arrests and accusations are stacking up, and with president Sepp Blatter resigning just days after his re-election, now seems like curious timing to release a feature film painting FIFA as squeaky-clean saints of football.

United Passions, starring Tim Roth as Sepp Blatter, Gérard Depardieu as Jules Rimet and Sam Neill as João Havelange, has opened in Us cinemas today (June 5) to the kind of critical drubbing that makes Adam Sandler look like Martin Scorsese. What did FIFA expect from a film they funded 90% themselves?

We round up five of the most scathing critical appraisals below:

The Guardian (Jordan Hoffman)

"Even without the current headlines, United Passions is a disgrace. It's less a movie than preposterous self-hagiography, more appropriate for Scientology or the Rev Sun Myung Moon.

Produced and largely financed by FIFA, no one should've been surprised that "United Passions" would largely act as an electronic press kit for the very wealthy non-profit soccer organization. Certainly, Sepp Blatter's resignation, the ongoing investigations into fraud and various other criminal activities, and the increasing spotlight on the human rights violations in Qatar, where workers are literally being worked to death in slave labor conditions to build stadiums in time for the 2022 World Cup, put a much more pointed contrast between the fictions of the film, and the actual reality of FIFA's operations. But the real surprise of "United Passions" is that had these recent scandals never come to light, FIFA's hubris would've been just as gallingly obvious in this dramatically inert picture. After all, what else could one call a defensive, hagiographic, self-idolizing movie about the global rise of soccer told from the point of view of executives who never put one.

Two hours of wretched, self-congratulatury Fifa history is disastrous cinema, but valuable proof of corporate insanity. And Tim Roth as Sepp Blatter – why?

Related: Own goal: Is Fifa's glory tale the most embarrassing film imaginable?

So where did Fifa’s money go ? Considering that the film United Passions was principally bankrolled by the now-shamed sports organisation, it isn’t unfair to say some of the dough must have ended up in the pockets of Tim Roth, Gérard Depardieu, Sam Neill and Fischer Stevens.

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Update: On June 2, 2015, news broke that Sepp Blatter would resign as president of FIFA, as he became the target of a federal investigation. He said in a speech, "Although the members of FIFA have given me the new mandate, this mandate does not seem to be supported by everybody in the world of football."

Frédéric Auburtin’s absurdly hagiographic drama United Passions purports to tell the history of FIFA — the world’s governing institution for soccer — from its 1904 founding up until its announcement of South Africa as the host country for the 2010 World Cup. Auburtin takes pains to paint FIFA in the most glowing possible light, eliding entirely controversies that have dogged it for decades, including numerous accusations of...

The IMDb page for United Passions, a feature film that was largely financed by world soccer governing body FIFA, reads: "The saga of the World Cup and the three wholly honest and ethical men who created it." With FIFA embroiled in a growing corruption scandal — and today’s news that embattled president Sepp Blatter has resigned after 17 years in the post — is Friday's theatrical and VOD release the most poorly-timed ever, or a stroke of serendipitous good fortune? Screen M…...

Football's international governing body FIFA may currently be engulfed in a corruption scandal, but that isn't stopping the release of the controversial film they produced and financed.

United Passions, which premiered at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival to much critical ire, will be released theatrically in Us cinemas on June 5 through Screen Media Films.

The $19 million-budgeted project was 90% funded by FIFA and tells the origin story of the organisation with three of their long-serving presidents taking centre stage. Tim Roth stars as Sepp Blatter, Gérard Depardieu is Jules Rimet and Sam Neill takes on the role of João Havelange.

Blatter was re-elected FIFA president earlier this week just days after the FBI launched an investigation into 14 of the organisation's officials on charges of wire fraud, racketeering and money laundering in the Americas.

Despite FIFA's controlling influence on the United Passions production, Roth has previously stated that he wanted to inject his...

In light of the corruption scandal engulfing FIFA in the past 48 hours, it's perhaps easy to forget that the very existence of a such a group was at one time incredibly far-fetched. Now the organization tells their own story in the FIFA financed "United Passions," and today we have an exclusive clip from the film.  Co-written and directed by Frédéric Auburtin ("Special Correspondents"), and starring Fisher Stevens, Thomas Kretschmann, Tim Roth, Sam Neill, Jemima West, Richard Gillane and Gérard Depardieu, the movie chronicles how FIFA and the World Cup came to be. But as you'll see in the scene below, getting a continent of soccer playing nations to agree to the same rules was no easy feat. Nor was convincing them that the sport was one that would become the most popular the world has ever seen.  "United Passions" opens on June 5th. Watch below.

It’s not yet out in the UK, but the trailer for this Tim Roth and Gérard Depardieu-starring official Fifa movie does not bode well

Some topical films are ripped from the headlines. They are admired for their tough contemporary news sense and great timing. None of this applies to what could be the most intensely embarrassing film imaginable – United Passions, a drama about the history of Fifa and those fascinating flawed heroes in charge. It stars Tim Roth as the saturnine and rather handsome Sepp Blatter and plays like the most self-pitying opening ceremony in World Cup history with a huge amount of special pleading.

United Passions was made last year in (relatively) easier times, with the co-operation of Fifa itself; it still awaits a UK release. All we have seen is the trailer, which has a car-crash fascination – like a weird mixture of Chariots of Fire and The Godfather.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Tim Roth was one of the most exciting of a new generation of British actors. He worked with everyone from Robert Altman to Mike Leigh before playing Mr. Orange in Quentin Tarantino's breakout "Reservoir Dogs," which brought him to the attention of an even wider audience, landing him parts in everything from major blockbusters to auteurist pictures like James Gray's "Little Odessa." Things have been more mixed recently: Roth moved into U.S. TV for the procedural show "Lie To Me," and has struggled to book the right kind of roles since it ended, with disasters like last year's Cannes opener "Grace Of Monaco" and the unintentionally hilarious FIFA movie "United Passions" on his recent résumé. But with a reunion with Tarantino coming up in "The Hateful Eight," and with his leading role in the first English-language film from Mexican director Michel Franco...

FIFA movie United Passions has unveiled its first trailer.

The biopic, which stars Pulp Fiction's Tim Roth as Sepp Blatter, delves into the football governing body's 110-year history.

Gérard Depardieu will play Jules Rimet, the man who created the World Cup and served as FIFA president from 1921 to 1954. Sam Neill will play João Havelange, the body's seventh president and Thomas Kretschmann is Adidas founder Horst Dassler.

"Blatter is apparently good at finding money," a grave voice intones in the trailer, before Roth's Blatter secures a commercial ball contract with Adidas to keep FIFA in business.

£16 million of United Passions' £19 million budget came from FIFA, according to The Guardian. Blatter himself is said to have worked on the script.

The film will premiere at this year's Cannes Film Festival in the cinéma de la plage strand.

The French actor, who left his home country for Russia following a proposed change in tax law, has partnered with watch manufacturer Cvstos

The French actor Gérard Depardieu has partnered with Swiss watch manufacturer Cvstos to launch a line of new timepieces under the banner "Proud to be Russian".

A post on the Cvstos Facebook page from earlier this month shows Depardieu – also sporting a pair of fetching leopard-print glasses – dressed in the new Challenge Jetliner watch, which features Russia's national crest of a double-headed eagle picked out in red gold. The new watches cost up to $30,000 (£18,000).

Depardieu's pride stems from the fact he was allowed to become a Russian citizen early last year, with his new passport delivered to him personally by Vladimir Putin. He bought a property in Mordovia region, saying after registering the flat, "this region doesn't have oil or gas but has rich people who...

Paris – Gerard Depardieu's untitled soccer history film has scored Tim Roth for the pivotal role of Sepp Blatter, the current president of the sport's international governing organization, FIFA. Paris-based production shingle Leuviah Films confirmed the casting of Roth for the film that is currently shooting in Azerbaijan, France and Brazil. Tentatively titled F2014, it chronicles the history and founding of FIFA up through the present day. Depardieu plays Jules Rimet, FIFA's longest-serving president, the founder of the World Cup and its namesake trophy. Roth will take on the tenure of Blatter, who has served as FIFA's president

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Jenny's Wedding

Katherine Heigl, Tom Wilkinson, Linda Emond and Grace Gummer are set to star in Mary Agnes Donoghue's indie comedy "Jenny’s Wedding". Filming begins on Monday.

Heigl will play the title character, who causes a massive sea change in the lives of her closely knit, highly conventional family when she finally decides to marry. [Source: Variety]

Captive

Michael K. Williams ("The Wire," "Boardwalk Empire") has signed on to Jerry Jameson's thriller "Captive" at Bn Films. Williams plays a lead detective in the film that begins shooting this weekend in North Carolina.

The story follows a single mother (Kata Mara) who is taken hostage by an escaped, quadruple murderer (David Oyelowo). During the ordeal, she reads aloud chapters of the book "A Purpose Driven Life" to her captor, leading to a surprising epiphany for both her and the convict. [Source: Deadline]

F2014

Tim Roth will portray controversial FIFA president Sepp Blatter in "F2014,...

Whether Tim Roth makes a believable Sepp Blatter or not, Fifa seems a strange topic for the silver screen

• The Gallery: send in your ideas for the Fifa film

By his own admission, Tim Roth is "really, really crap" at auditions and despite the very real potential for career suicide, decided as a fledging actor that he would never do them. It is a rule he once broke when a young up-and-coming director got him hideously drunk before the pair adjourned to Roth's apartment to slur and belch their way through the script for an indie movie about the events before and after a botched diamond heist. The director was Quentin Tarantino, the movie was Reservoir Dogs and apart from the occasional mis-step, the respective careers of both men have flourished over more than two decades since.

While it is inconceivable to think there is enough alcohol in the world...

Tim Roth will portray FIFA president Sepp Blatter in a new movie about the football governing body's 110-year history.

The film, provisionally titled F2014, will see the Pulp Fiction star as controversial Swiss Blatter and French actor Gerard Depardieu as FIFA's longest-serving president Jules Rimet.

Blatter said of meeting Roth: "It was a very interesting get-together. I had read a lot of the CV and all the realisations [films] that this Tim Roth has made.

"I was very eager to meet him, and I have just realised that really we have something in common. We have some common, let's say, qualities."

The 77-year-old also praised the casting as "well done".

F2014 is expected to shoot in Azerbaijan, France and Brazil, for a release next year to mark FIFA's 110th anniversary and the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Blatter, who has been in office since 1998, was the victim of a Twitter hacking earlier this year,...

President of football's governing body hails casting of English actor, who will star with Gérard Depardieu in French production

Behind-the-scenes international intrigue, cronyism and allegations of vast corruption schemes: the story of Fifa, football's governing body, is surely ripe for a dramatic Hollywood retelling.

But a film in the works, starring Tim Roth and Gérard Depardieu, looks likely instead to be a sanitised version of its history and a hagiography of Sepp Blatter, its controversial president.

The film project is provisionally titled F2014 and will be released next year, to coincide with the 110th anniversary of Fifa and the World Cup in Brazil. It will be shot in Azerbaijan, France and Brazil, according to the Azerbaijani ministry of culture. Roth will play Blatter, while Depardieu will play Jules Rimet, the longest-serving president in Fifa history, whose name adorns the World Cup trophy.

The film is being made by Leuviah Films,...