Fifa scandal poised to get the Hollywood treatment in Ben Affleck-produced film
The Gone Girl and Batman star is reportedly close to signing a deal to co-produce a new movie about disgraced American Fifa executive Chuck Blazer
Ben Affleck is understood to be close to finalising a deal to co-produce a new film about the Fifa scandal.
The Batman and Gone Girl star is in reportedly in the final stages of negotiating contracts to make the movie telling the story of Chuck Blazer, the American executive at the centre of the ongoing scandal at football’s governing body Fifa.
US studio Warner Bros. has won a bidding war for Houses of Deceit, a book about Blazer’s role in the affair by investigative reporter Ken Bensinger, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The film will be made by Entertainment 360, the production house Affleck runs with his fellow Hollywood star Matt Damon.
Gavin O’Connor, who recently finished the Affleck thriller The Accountant for the studio, is lined up to direct.
Deceit tells the story of Blazer, the executive who helped build up the popularity of “soccer” in the US, eventually joining the Fifa executive as a committee member. He earned the nickname "Mr. Ten Percent" for his skill in negotiating sponsorship and television deals.
But according to reports about the ongoing FBI investigation into the financial dealings of the sport’s body, Blazer is now widely believed to have turned informant on his former Fifa colleagues.
Deceit recounts the story of how Blazer was allegedly approached by two FBI agents and persuaded to help them.
