A premiere snapshot featuring Éanna Hardwick as Roy Keane and Steve Coogan as Mick McCarthy in the forthcoming movie Saipan has been unveiled. The new cinematic project from Ireland aims to recount the circumstances that paved the way to the 2002 Fifa World Cup, delving into the intense conflict that emerged between the Irish football squad’s skipper and their coach. The row led to Keane’s ejection from the squad as they were training in Saipan.
The contentious relationship between these two figures attracted widespread media scrutiny and elicited diverse reactions both nationally and across the global sporting community. The creators of Saipan have labelled their film as an “authentic comedy of massive scale”, further declaring it as the “ultimate presentation of one of sports history’s most controversial disagreements”.
Developed from an early draft by Paul Fraser, known for his work on Heartlands, and brought to life by celebrated directors Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn, the film is slated for a theatrical launch in the upcoming year. The photo released by Wildcard and Bankside Films features Hardwick, a Cork native, clad in Ireland’s 2002 World Cup white jersey, and Coogan in what seems to be a sauna.
The movie distinguishes itself with a rich ensemble inclusive of BAFTA-nominated Hardwick and multi-Oscar nominee Coogan, alongside renowned actors like Sightseers’ Alice Lowe, Derry Girls star Jamie Beamish, The Young Offenders’ Alex Murphy, Bridgerton’s Harriet Cairns and The Batman’s Peter McDonald.
The project is a collaboration between producers Macdara Kelleher and John Keville from Wild Atlantic Pictures, known for Evil Dead Rise, Cocaine Bear, Black 47, and Trevor Birney and Oliver Butler of Fine Point Films who produced “Kneecap” and “No Stone Unturned”. Patrick O’Neill and Rachael O’Kane are the assigned Executive Producers.