Having a Ball

Total Film joins Taika Waititi and Michael Fassbender for a kickabout on the set of feel-good sports movie Next Goal Wins to find out how one of the worst teams in international football inspired a true underdog story.

It’s a bright and sunny day on the picture-perfect island of Oahu, Hawaii, where Taika Waititi is wandering around a football pitch in shorts, flip-flops and a fluorescent orange baseball cap. The Jojo Rabbit director sports a huge smile on his face as he weaves his way through players and movie cameras. He’s clearly in his element.

It’s December 2019 and Total Film is on the set of Next Goal Wins, a low-key comedy about the American Samoa football team and their attempt to qualify for the 2014 World Cup. This comes after the squad’s embarrassment of a notorious 31-0 defeat to Australia years prior in what’s described as the ‘worst loss in international football history’.

Inspired by a British documentary of the same name, Waititi is very open about the fact that the story has been changed to maximise its Hollywood potential. ‘As the great quote goes, never let the truth stand in the way of a good story,’ the director chuckles, sipping a tequila on the rocks in a hotel conference room the night before we’re on set. ‘I’ve definitely taken liberties, but it’s better to adjust certain things for a more cinematic experience. Essentially, it is the same story.’

Waititi is a hands-on director who seems to revel in being spontaneous on the sun-kissed set. After each section of the script has been recorded, he lets the actors improvise before suggesting new ideas and jokes – much to the delight of the cackling crew members crouched behind the cameras.

‘That’s Taika’s style in every single scene we do,’ explains producer Garrett Basch, standing at the side of the pitch during the set visit. ‘We’ll always do it straight from the script and then we’ll allow the actor to do their own version of it. Then it reaches a point where Taika starts feeding them lines – and that’s where some of the best material comes from. I think he’s always worked that way.’

This is a rather different approach for Michael Fassbender, who plays a Dutch football coach called Thomas Rongen in the film. Rongen is brought in to lead the American Samoa team to victory – or at least to score just one goal in their attempt to make a name for themselves in international football. ‘I’m used to learning a script, which I did before I arrived in Hawaii, but the script had changed by the time I got here,’ confesses the actor. ‘With Taika’s process, we throw it all out of the window and go with the flow. I’m really enjoying it.’

When you look at Fassbender’s cinematic CV, he’s known for tackling dramatic roles rather than comedic characters – but Waititi is full of praise when it comes to the comedy chops of the actor. ‘It’s been a real delight to discover how funny Michael is,’ he explains. ‘I emailed his agent and said, “I forbid you from letting him do any more dramas.” It’s been great. Also, I like working with people who don’t freak out at changes on set. It’s always done in the service of the story and it’s always about trying to make things better, which is what we’re both trying to do.’

The filming location for today is Waipio Soccer Complex, where the team is shooting several scenes from the end of the movie – but we won’t go into any spoilers. It’s day 18 of a 30-day shoot and there’s a very laid-back vibe on set. ‘Why Hawaii?’ ponders Waititi. ‘In American Samoa, there’s really no infrastructure for filmmaking – but Hawaii’s got a big TV and film industry. Plus, the documentary team says Hawaii looks exactly the same as American Samoa. It’s been perfect.’

Festival Fever

Cut to September 2023, and the completed film has premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. We’re far away from the football pitch and ensconced in the swish environs of the Louix Louis restaurant on the 31st floor of the St. Regis Toronto.

Between scoops from a plateful of ravioli, Waititi is reflecting on last night’s premiere, with the film finally complete after delays due to the pandemic and Waititi’s work on 2022 MCU hit Thor: Love and Thunder. ‘It was a long time coming,’ he says. ‘It’s four years since we shot this film… But, yeah, that crowd were really receptive and loud. It’s great.’

The enforced break enabled Waititi to come back to Next Goal Wins with fresh eyes. Not that the film underwent massive changes after the hiatus, but what would become one of the strongest story strands was brought further to the fore.

‘One of the main things was focusing a little bit more on the Jaiyah and Thomas relationship, just because it seemed like the most interesting thing,’ says Waititi, of the relationship between fa‘afafine (transgender or third-gender) player and coach. ‘We shot way more footage than is in the film, just exploring different characters. But then at the end of that, you don’t want a film like that to be too long. You want it to just get to the point, because it’s supposed to be a small, fast journey, and it’s about the game.’

Having now seen the finished film, TF asks if the role of a director is anything like a football coach. ‘In some ways… Because I do get frustrated when people aren’t good,’ he laughs. ‘I don’t yell at them, but I let them know that I get fucking frustrated, and I’m like, “How come nobody’s good?”’ He laughs again. ‘Like Thomas, I have to learn and remind myself that it’s a make-believe job what we do. It’s not a real job. It’s a privilege to be able to do it. There are a lot of stresses about it, but it’s a game. It’s just play.’

For all the irreverent comedy in Waititi’s films (What We Do in the Shadows, Hunt for the Wilderpeople), he admits to taking it all very seriously sometimes. ‘I have to remind myself: fucking chill out. Because once what you do starts feeling like a job, and like it’s work, you’ve got to reassess.’ It’s a sentiment that chimes with the happy-go-lucky spirit of the film, and the island lifestyle that helps (somewhat) loosen Thomas’ more tightly-wound attitude.

‘I have to teach myself all the time: be happy, have fun, nothing matters,’ says Waititi, turning philosophical. ‘We all take this game so seriously, filmmaking, because humans are such egomaniacs. We all think we’re going to be remembered. In 50 years, no one’s going to remember any of us. So just chill out. It’s OK. Don’t worry. You’re not special, and you’re not going to be remembered!’ He breaks out into another laugh. ‘We’re just human beings. We’re just clumsy bits of fucking meat and bone, wandering around on a floating rock. That’s it. So don’t take everything so seriously. Just be happy in this moment, and don’t work yourself to death.’

‘I have to teach myself all the time: be happy, have fun, nothing matters’

Taika Waititi

All that said, it often feels that Waititi himself is actually one of the busiest people in the business, having previously juggled Marvel movies with more intimate indies, and with his name linked to Star Wars, TV projects and more.

‘I love having a lot of things to do. I think, also, that just because my name is attached to something in a press release, it doesn’t mean I’m working,’ he laughs. ‘I’m actually pretty lazy, and I’m just getting away with things. Something happens when you get to a certain age. You’re like, “I don’t want to do as much, and I really love lying on a beach.”’

Part of his drive to take things easier means he’s looking to shoot his next film in his native New Zealand. If he shoots a film in 2024 he says it’s likely to be Kazuo Ishiguro adaptation Klara and the Sun. Not that he subscribes to the ‘one for me, one for them’ approach that directors are sometimes said to use to find the balance between blockbuster films and smaller, more personal passion projects.

‘I think they’re all for me,’ he laughs. ‘Definitely the money’s for me, if I do a big film. I think it’s more just, you know, do you want to work with a lot of other people, and have a little less control? Or do you want to have full control over whatever you’re doing, and it’s going to be a smaller film? It’s just a difference between big and small.’ Not that Waititi has a preference. ‘Because they still feel like they’re my films,’ he says. ‘Maybe when it is “one for them” – those people probably feel like they’re being controlled quite a lot.

I certainly don’t have that.’ It’s hard to ever imagine Waititi not playing by his own rules.

NEXT GOAL WINS OPENS IN CINEMAS ON 26 DECEMBER