The seed for the Fever Pitch film started to grow almost as soon as the book was complete. It sort of shaded in what obsession really is.” “And I really wanted to keep that for the film. “So, it sort of worked for both genders, or people who liked football and people who didn’t. “I was trying to say 'I know you think we’re morons, but this is what happens.' And then the guys were behind me saying 'Yeah, that’s exactly how I feel.' That was one of the things that I was trying to do.
“I think that probably helped me to see the book as an explanation of a mindset. “When I wrote the book, I knew that the first three important people to read it would be women,” Hornby explained. It told a story of a character, Paul Ashworth, and his battle to balance a devoted obsession for his football club with his attempts to settle down with a woman, played by Ruth Gemmell, who had no interest in football whatsoever. Just like the book, the film struck a chord with its audience. It culminated with the famous 2-0 win against Liverpool at Anfield on the final night of the season, when Michael Thomas’ injury-time strike gave Arsenal their first league championship success since 1971. Hornby played a major part in its production, adapting and fictionalising his own story, with the main theme focused around Arsenal’s historic title winning 1988-89 campaign. The film, which featured Colin Firth in the lead role, was released in 1997 and was based loosely on Hornby’s memoirs.
I think if you get the feelings right, then people will identify with it no matter who they support.”Īs well as winning awards and selling millions of copies worldwide, Fever Pitch is one of the rare examples of a football book which made the successful transition to the big screen. "So, it was very gratifying to see how it was received. “I hoped that football fans would recognise themselves in it,” Hornby tells GOAL.
Nick Hornby’s 'Fever Pitch' is also considered by many critics as the book that redefined the football-writing genre following its publication in 1992.Īnd it’s still as popular now as it was all those years ago when it landed on the shelves and told the story of Hornby’s obsession with Arsenal as he grew from boy to man while standing on the Highbury terraces.
0 kommentar(er)
