Taika Waititi talks about his new film Next Goal Wins!
New Zealand filmmaker, Taika Waititi, 48 has a new film Next Goal Wins that premiered in Los Angeles on 14 November 2023. Taika spoke about Hollywood and his this new project.
Taika Waititi on his new film Next Goal Wins
New Zealand filmmaker, Taika Waititi is ecstatic about his new film Next Goal Wins. It premiered in Los Angeles on 14 November 2023 and will hit theaters on 17 November 2023.
The story is about the infamously terrible soccer team from the American Samoa region. It shows how the new coach Thomas Rongen (portrayed by Michael Fassbender) tries to improve the performance of the team. Taika wrote, directed and produced this film. He is for underdog films:
“All of my films are underdog stories really,”
“Listen, no one wants to go see a film about winners who keep winning, that’s boring. You’ve got to start somewhere and go somewhere, so it’s about change.”
He added:
“I really wanted to see Pacific Islanders on screen, I want to see indigenous people on screen,”
“Hollywood still has a ways to go with diversity and how they deal with that without it being tokenism, so I think the key to that is allowing native people to tell native stories.”
Big budget films to small films
Taika is tired of big budget films. The recent superhero films of Marvel did not do well at the box office. Taika states:
“I don’t know. I’m a bit fatigued by working on those big films, studio films, which is why I’ve come back to do smaller films like this; my next film will be a smaller one.”
But Taika does not want to do away with superhero films. He said:
“there’s always a place for them and they’re always inspirational. As a little kid, those are the things I loved, going to see these big movies set in outer space to take a great escape from where we are. So I hope they continue.”
Cast of Taika’s film
Michael Fassbender played the character of coach Thomas Rongen. Revealing why he chose Michael for the role, Taika said:
“Michael was the one who the script resonated with him and he got it on an emotional level.”
Michael revealed:
“I was so enchanted by the story and captivated by this incredible human story of positivity.”
He wanted to work with Taika too. One of the real-life heros portrayed in this film is Jaiyah Saelua. Samoan actor Kaimana played the role. Jaiyah was the first transgender footballer who competed in the FIFA World Cup qualifying match.
He said:
“so surreal to think that someone is playing me in a Hollywood feature film. These things just don’t happen for people like myself who are from American Samoa, one of the smallest countries in the world.”
Jaiyah loved the film and happy that audiences need to see and know about trans realities that are in the film. He was grateful to Taika for doing a screening of the film in July 2023 for the people of American Samoa.
Short bio on Taika Waititi
Taika Waititi is an actor and filmmaker from New Zealand. More bio…
