New Line kicks soccer pitch into goal
Women's soccer comedy catches mid- to high-six figures
The deal is the first under producer Toby Jaffe and director Stephen Herek's new pact with the company (Daily Variety, July 19).
Story concerns a woman who leads her team to World Cup victory and is then recruited by a professional men's soccer team. There, she competes with, and eventually falls, for the lead player while helping the men's team to their own World Cup.
Chapman wrote "Consenting Adults" (1992) for Disney, and has a script, "What's the Worst That Could Happen," in development at MGM with producers John Morrissey and Larry Turman.
The soccer pitch was brought in to New Line by exec VP of production Lynn Harris and creative exec Matt Moore. They will serve as New Line's executives on the project.
Chapman is repped by William Morris Agency's Alan Gasmer and David Lubliner, who said the writer is also working on "Monsieur Amilcar," a remake of a French play, at Paramount with producers David Madden and Bob Cort.
Herek, helmer of "Mr. Holland's Opus," "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" and "Critters," is interested in directing the soccer movie, said Jaffe, who will produce.
Jaffe, who supervised "The Quick and the Dead" and "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein," is prepping the Martin Lawrence comedy "Blue Streak" for a Sept. 17 release.
