Synopsis

Luc Vu, a die-hard sports fan, spends his days looking for work in Sydney’s western suburbs. When Luc receives notice that his little sister Anne is about to be taken into foster care following their mother’s death, he calls on his high school mates to lend him a hand. However, his six mates are even more lost than he is, drifting aimlessly in the suburbs, wasting their lives. The only thing they’ve ever been good at is playing footy. They guys enter The Holden Cup, a rugby league competition which offers as its first prize a new Holden Ute, the "great Australian dream". But in the following weeks, Luc struggles to look after Anne, and battles to live up to the expectations of his Grandad, a Vietnam War veteran who only believes in success. As pressure builds leading up to the Competition Final, Luc is forced to confront the reality that winning is the only option he has of keeping his family together.

What The Critics Say

"Footy Legends is very different to Khoa Do's award-winning feature debut, The Unfinished People, a gritty, documentary-style film about Cabramatta street kids. But as well as a couple of key cast members, it shares the previous film's intimate knowledge of the world it inhabits." Vicky Roach DAILY TELEGRAPH "...a heartfelt, feel-good winner that beautifully tackles two Aussie essentials: family and footy." FILMINK MAGAZINE "An exhilarating urban fairytale in a league of its own." Sue Williams AUSTRALIAN WOMEN'S WEEKLY "Footy is much more than a game to Luc and his mates. In Yagoona, where there is nothing much to do, football is their sport, entertainment and the chance to feel good about themselves. A good-hearted sports comedy about family, friends and football, Footy Legends, is the second film from acclaimed filmmaker and Australian Of The Year Khoa Do." Louise Keller URBAN CINEFILE "Despite the seriousness of the theme, FOOTY LEGENDS is essentially a light-hearted, feel-good affair, and on that level it’s very engaging indeed. 3 1/2 STARS." David Stratton ABC AT THE MOVIES

"The performances from the entire cast are natural, even subtle, but it's Anh Do who exhibits the makings of a true movie star. With his immensely likeable personality, cheeky smile and solid comic timing, Do carries the film with confidence. The outcome is predictable, but it's the journey to get there that's important. "Footy Legends" is a distinctly Australian film and deserves to be a hit at the box office." Mark Beirne OUR BRISBANE "Look, it's a film you really want to hug. I think it's just a lovely film." David Stratton ABC AT THE MOVIES "a very funny film, honest and touching & I absolutely loved FOOTY LEGENDS." Nicola Harrison ABC NIGHTLIFE "Footy Legends has a big heart and an inclusive sense of humour. The film might not be highly polished, but it nails the all-important feel-good finale. Few moviegoers will leave without a smile on their face." Vicky Roach DAILY TELEGRAPH "It's almost a film cliche. What it has is heart. I think it's so lovely to see that, you know, two of the people he worked with on THE FINISHED PEOPLE, Jason McGoldrick and Jane McDonald, he's included in this film, too. That was lovely to see. 3 1/2 STARS." Margaret Pomeranz ABC AT THE MOVIES

The Inside Story "Footy Legends isn’t a film about footy. It’s a film about family, about friendship, about finding a place for yourself in the world. It’s about realising broken dreams and ambitions. It’s about finding a way home," says 2005 Young Australian of the Year and "Footy Legends" director Khoa Do. That way home would lead to the idea for their latest film. It would take Khoa Do, and Ahn Do back to the western Sydney suburb of Yagoona. "Four years ago, whilst I was making "The Finished People", my brother Anh and I were having dinner one night when we thought; 'wouldn’t it be great to make a film with footy in it?' As we started talking, we realised that while Australia is a sports-mad country, we don’t have many films with sports in it," Khoa noted. "That night, we came up with the concept for the film, and realised that through sports, anything was possible; even for a bunch of lads from Yagoona." Khoa and Ahn knew that if they were going to tackle a sporting theme there would be a number of criteria's to meet. To be a success their story would have to be really refreshing and also unique. After completing their first draft Khoa approached producer Megan McMurchy. "From the beginning, I’d always thought that Megan would be a great producer to work with. Needless to say, from the first moment she read the script, Megan’s commitment to the film has been one hundred percent." It would be another two years before the script for "Footy Legends" was finalized. "Working with Anh and Suzie was a wonderful process, where we knew each others’ strengths and complemented one another," Khoa recalls. "Anh and Suzie were strong in finding authentic moments, editing dialogue and comedy, and I was more experienced in structure and drama." While it may have been a "wonderful process" that on paper sounds as if it wasn't all that hard a task, there's something I must point out. In the midst of this Khoa became the 2005 'Young Australian Of The Year'. This wasn't the only award Khoa received. Let's step back in time. In February 2001, he was awarded the 'Young Vietnamese-Australian of the Year' Award for his services in drama and work with youths in Sydney’s south-west. On Australia Day 2002, Khoa was awarded Bankstown City’s 'Young Citizen of the Year Award'. In 2003, Khoa was awarded a 'Centenary Medal' and the 'Yalumba Independent Spirit' Award for "The Finished People". When it comes to that 2005 award it should be noted that he is the first film-maker ever to have been awarded the accolade. That's a lot of achievment for the young lad whose family moved to Yagoona when he was twelve years old. "Most people travel past Yagoona when they’re on their way somewhere, but not many actually stop here," he said. "I guess there’s not much to do. Yagoona’s only claim to fame was that in the 1970s, the first-ever McDonald’s in Australia was built there." Sadly the same store made history when in "the late ‘90s, it was one of the first McDonald’s to close down." Khoa remembers joining the 'Yagoona Twin Willows' rugby league team because "with not much to do, we played footy." He says it wasn't much of a team. They were always getting thrashed and no-one in the team had any talent. "But it never stopped us from playing," he said. "We were out in the park, day and night, kicking that football around until all the synthetic came off. We loved our footy. It was something we looked forward to, something that brought us together, and most importantly, it was fun." So did their ethnic background create any setbacks? "When I grew up playing footy, we were always members of the team, and we were all striving to achieve the same goal. Our personal and ethnic backgrounds were never an issue. I’ve played alongside friends from every background, each with their unique talents, and this is one of the things I’ve loved most about playing footy." It was these memories which would eventually inspire the making of "Footy Legends". But back to that 2005 award. It certainly came as a great honour, but it wasn't until after Khoa had received it that it really hit home. Khoa recalls, "having just been told that morning that the recipient of the Award was going to spend the year travelling around the country speaking to school students, launching ceremonies, and making speeches, I couldn’t help but think to myself; 'how are we gonna make "Footy Legends" now? I’m never gonna be around." He remembers what a mad. mad year it was. Like when he attended a dinner with Princess Mary and Prince Frederick. He asked the Prince if a film about rugby league would do well in Denmark. Now that's something different to ponder over at dinner. When it came to pulling strings, being the 'Young Australian Of The Year' had its advantages he said because, "instead of making life tougher, the Award ultimately became a blessing." "For example," he says, "in one of our scenes, we needed council garbage trucks. We couldn’t get one anywhere and councils didn’t hire them out. So I thought – maybe I’ll give the local council a call. As soon as they realised our film was directed by a Young Australian of the Year who came from their area, we got free garbage trucks from both Fairfield and Bankstown City Councils. We used Fairfield’s trucks in the end because we were filming on Bankstown’s streets already, and wanted to get both councils in the film." There was another upside to "Footy Legends". It was the first time Khoa and Anh really worked. "In the past few years, Anh has been working mainly in comedy, and I in film. Whilst Anh had been involved in "The Finished People", it was only with "Footy Legends" that we really truly worked together for the first time in our careers," khoa revealled. "And growing up, we had both played a lot of footy, so it was the perfect project for us to collaborate on. In the process, I discovered that directing your brother was much more fun that I’d ever imagined, and really had extraordinary advantages. Anh knew the script intimately, is an absolute natural on camera, and has wonderful intuition." Once everything was in place, "Footy Legends" took just seven weeks to shoot. How was that achieved? Most probably because "a member of Khoa’s family was involved in just about every aspect of the filmmaking process," says producer Megan McMurchy. "With Anh as lead actor, co-producer and writer, Khoa as writer and director, Suzanne as writer, and Anh and Khoa’s sister Tram taking on the role of one of the stills photographers (with Mark Rogers)." The film is a delight to watch even if at times you feel you are on familiar ground. That is because in one way or another the theme of the storyline will hold true for many cinemagoers. It didn't matter where we grew up, most of us wanted out. We too had aspirations to do something special with our lives. Many of us were looking for a way out, a way to better ourselves in life. We've all wanted to find that something that would bring out the best in us. Best of all, we remember the struggle, the old neighbourhood, our old friends and yes, kicking the footy around with our mates. Khoa knows where I'm heading. "Watching the film now takes me back many years, to days on the football field, days out in the last light of dusk, chasing dreams that seemed so far away. One of my hopes with "Footy Legends" is to make a film where every kid from Yagoona to Penrith to Kalgoorlie, will believe that his dreams are possible." I for one, are convinced they will, Khoa. "Footy Legends" is a unique, feel-good movie. A triumph for multiculturalism and yet still, very much an aussie film. And a good one at that! Or as former Rugby League great Matthew Johns says: "Fairy tale stuff." The Verdict "The two central themes in "Footy Legends", family and football, are one's that all Australians are familiar with. For many aussies they are the two most essential ingredients of Australian culture. They have a universal appeal amongst the population no matter what code of football one follows. Khoa, Ahn and Suzanne Do have tapped into the heart that beats within this nation to produce a feel good film that will appeal to the vast majority of aussie cinemagoers. 3 1/2 STARS." Cast & Crew Bytes "FOOTY LEGENDS" stars .......
Anh Do ["Pizza", "Litle Fish" and "Solo"]; Emma Lung ["Garage Days", "House Of Wax" and "Peaches"]; AFI Award and 2002 Australian Film Critics Best Supporting Actor Award winner Peter Phelps ["The Line", "Lantana" and "Ned Kelly"]; AFI Award and Silver Logie Award winner Claudia Karvan ["High Tide", "The Heartbreak Kid" and "Paperback Hero"], Steven ["Blurred"] and Angus Sampson ["Darkness Falls", "Fat Pizza", "You & Your Stupid Mate" and "Kokoda"] as Lloydy.
"FOOTY LEGENDS" was .......
directed by Khoa Do ["The Finished People"]; screenplay by Khoa Do ["The Finished People"], Anh Do ["Footy Legends"] and Suzanne Do ["Footy Legends"]; Two Time Australian Guild of Screen Composers Best Music award winner Dale Cornelius ["Till Human Voices Wake Us" and "Strange Bedfellows"]; director of photography 2003 Cinematographer of the Year award and 2001 AFI Award winner Martin McGrath ["Proof", "On The Beach" and "Swimming Upstream"]; production design by Sarah Stollman ["Pelican Brief", "Soft Fruit" and "One Night The Moon"]; film edited by Four Time AFI Best Achievement in Editing Award winner Suresh Ayyar ["Peaches", "Bad Boy Bubby" and "The Interview"] and produced by Megan McMurchy ["Breathing Under Water"]. Run Time 90 minutes Rated PG [AUST] Copyright ©2006 - A Suitcase Films Production - All Rights Reserved Copyright Protected © 2006 - The Movie Pages & Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved