The soccer film Next Goal Wins arrives on digital on Jan. 16 (Blu-ray and DVD on Feb. 27) and will feature a behind-the-scenes look at the action. PopCulture.com obtained an exclusive clip of Michael Fassbender talking about his role in the film. He plays Thomas Rongen, a soccer coach who manages the American Samoa national team.
“The Thomas Rongen I portray in the film is not the Thomas Rongen that exists in real life,” Fassbender said. “I threw that out the window and just sort of re-invented the character, pretty much.” Fassbender stars in the flim with Oscar Kightley, Kaimana, David Fane, Rachel House, Beulah Koale, Uli Latukefu, Semu Filipo, Lehi Falepapalangi, Will Arnett and Elisabeth Moss.
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As the synopsis states, Next Goal Wins “follows the American Samoa soccer team, infamous for their brutal 31-0 FIFA loss in 2001. With the World Cup Qualifiers approaching, the team hires down-on-his-luck, maverick coach Thomas Rongen (Fassbender) hoping he will turn the world’s worst soccer team around in this heartfelt underdog comedy.”
Next Goal Wins debuted in theatres nationwide on Nov. 17 and made $14 million at the box office. Taika Waititi directed, wrote and produced the film which is based on the documentary of the same name. In an interview with the Associated Press, Waititi talked about shooting Next Goals Wins in Hawaii with a cast of mostly Indigenous actors.
“To be able to swim while you’re shooting and go to the beach before work and after work when the sun is going down and you’re losing light, go home, play with the kids, have dinner,” he said. “I understand now why Adam Sandler did all those films in Hawaii. A lot of people like to torture themselves in filmmaking. They want to go and live in the snow and eat carcasses and live the experience. I don’t. I grew up super poor and I don’t want to do that again. I basically hate working and want to retire, but if I have to work, I’ll make it as pleasant as I can.”
Waititi also talked about capturing Indigenous people in a celebratory way in the flim. “There needs to be respect,” he explained. “But I think Polynesian, Pasifika people, we’re very self-deprecating. We like to laugh at ourselves. If this was made by a Westerner or was a white-led film, it would be just too respectful and the kind of saccharine bulls—. That’s the reason Native Americans have been misrepresented for so long in film.”
