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Oscar-nominated screenwriters to pen movie about Leicester City's Premier League triumph

The Jamie Vardy biopic is being made by the production team behind The King's Speech

Jacob Stolworthy
Thursday 28 July 2016 10:31 EDT
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(Getty Images)

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Leicester City's 2015-16 Premier League triumph took the world by storm when the team beat heavyweight opponents (Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur) to lift the trophy in May.

Plans to make a film charting their unprecedented transformation into champions were quickly put in motion and now the project has acquired two Oscar-nominated writers.

Paul Tamasay and Eric Johnson wrote the screenplay of David O. Russell's boxing biopic The Fighter. Deadline reports that they are set to pen the as-of-yet untitled film alongside Adrian Butchart (Goal: The Dream Begins).

The film will be told through the eyes of striker Jamie Vardy who, having assisted in the team's rise from Championship to Premier League in 2014, stormed his way into the footballing history books after scoring goals in 11 consecutive games; he overtook Dutch ace Ruud van Nistelrooy to earn the feat.

Co-producer Simon Egan said: 'Gareth [Ellis-Unwin] and I are thrilled to be able to welcome Paul and Eric to the team. They were nominated by the Academy for The Fighter in the year that The King's Speech was in contention and we saw and heard firsthand how highly respected and talented they both are."

It was previously reported that Vinnie Jones was being lined up to play ex-Leicester City boss Nigel Pearson; Italian manager Claudio Ranieri took over.

Vardy's previous teams include Halifax Town and Conference Premier team Fleetwood Town. There is no official word on who will play the Sheffield-hailing striker, but if the man himself had his way, Ryan Reynolds would be the actor donning the studs.

Filming is expected to take place later this year.

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