Tim Roth, Gerard Depardieu and Sam Neill star in 'United Nations' - a bizarre vanity project funded by FIFA.
FIFA, world football's governing body is no stranger to controversy and ridicule, but even by Sepp Blatter's standards, this is ridiculous. You may not be familiar with United Passions, a vanity project by the organisation to play up its hapless leader. It cost £19 million to make and has taken just £125,000 at the box office.
Tim Roth plays Sepp Blatter in the bizarre, mainly FIFA funded movie, 'United Nations'
Bizarrely, the movie boasts a stellar cast including French actor Gerard Depardieu, Sam Neill and the hugely accomplished Tim Roth, who plays Blatter. The movie was shown at the Zurich Film Festival on Sunday, which only 120 people turning up at the 500 capacity venue.
It's only been screened in seven countries and took just £4,000 in Portugal, £1660 in Serbia and £90,000 in Russia. The movie went straight to DVD in France and will not be shown in the UK.
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With Blatter reportedly signing off the script, the movie has been ridiculed for its sugar-coated portrayal of FIFA's top man and his decisions. In one scene, Roth tells FIFA marketing executives, "The slightest breach of ethics will be severely punished."
Gerard Depardieu also appears in United Nations, which went straight-to-DVD in France
On being played by a man known for his stellar performances in Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, Blatter said of Roth, "In this case the casting was well done. We have some common, let's say, qualities."
In June, FIFA's finance director Markus Kattne revealed that the organization financed 90 per cent of the film's budget - £17.1 million.
"It is, you'll be entirely unshocked to learn, a bad film; the narrative sags, the script stinks, the occasional laughs are unintentional and Depardieu gets out-acted by his own nose," said SB Nation's Andi Thomas in his review of United Passions.
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