The Scottish-born star Gerard Butler has been set to headline in Dynamo, a true story based on the nonfiction novel ‘Dynamo: Defending the Honour of Kiev' by Andy Dougan.
As Butler likes football (he played for charity last year) and is a lifelong Celtic fan, and will next star in the soccer comedy Playing for Keeps, it will be easy for him to appear in a story which chronicles a historic game dubbed ‘The Death Match' between an occupied Ukrainian soccer team and their Nazi invaders during WWII.
More precisely, the 42-year-old thesp will take on the role of Nikolai Trusevich, the all-star goalie who leads his team and encouraging the entire city of Kiev to fight back against the Nazis.
Dynamo is scheduled to shoot in Europe next year with an adapted screenplay by Eli Richbourg (The Phantom of the Opera).
Butler can now be seen in theaters in Chasing Mavericks and he recently wrapped production on White House siege thriller Olympus Has Fallen, set for release on April 5th, 2013. Not to mention that How To Train Your Dragon 2 is currently in the works.
In 1942 in German-occupied Ukraine a football match took place between the Luftwaffe and a team from a local bakery largely comprised of members of the all-conquering pre-war Dynamo Kiev side. The match became an allegory of resistance; its consequences were brutal yet inspiring. A version of the story is the inspiration for the film Escape to Victory but this book uncovers the truth behind a legendary encounter, restoring to the centre of World War Two a moment of extraordinary poignancy and bravery.
Source: Deadline
