BAFTA nominee Eanna Hardwicke is all set to play Ireland national football team and Manchester United legend Roy Keane in Saipan, according to a Variety report. The film also stars Academy Award nominee Steve Coogan as Mick McCarthy, Ireland's former manager who had a public fallout with Keane. Glenn Leyburn and Lisa Barros D’Sa will direct the film from an original screenplay by Paul Fraser. The director duo previously collaborated on the Liam Neeson-Lesley Manville starrer Ordinary Love and the Irish film Good Vibrations.
The film gets its title from a 2002 incident on the Saipan island where Keane fought with McCarthy, reportedly about the travel arrangements, training conditions, strategy, diet, and the latter's managerial competence. Consequently, Keane reportedly made a rude remark against McCarthy in the dressing room and caused a controversy before he flew back to his homeland. Kane played for Ireland only after McCarthy relinquished his managerial post in 2004.
Producers Macdara Kelleher and John Keville described it as a film regarding "the events leading up to Ireland’s incendiary 2002 World Cup campaign." Saipan is expected to go on floors later this year.