John Oliver laughs at FIFA's self-financed vanity-film flop, United Passions
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
If timing is everything in Hollywood, FIFA caught a tough break when the glowing FIFA movie it largely financed opened just days after the U.S. charged nine FIFA executives with corruption and racketeering, forcing the resignation of FIFA's powerful president, Sepp Blatter. And testing the adage that no publicity is bad publicity, the film, United Passions, brought in only about $900 in its U.S. opening weekend. On Sunday's Last Week Tonight, noted soccer fan and FIFA hater John Oliver enjoyed a minute (and four seconds) of schadenfreude.
"The reviews so far have been phenomenal," Oliver said, and he didn't mean that in a good way. You can watch Oliver's brief victory dance on FIFA's cinematic grave below, but be warned there is one slightly salty joke thrown in. Peter Weber
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Tourangelle-style pork with prunes recipeThe Week Recommends This traditional, rustic dish is a French classic
-
The Epstein files: glimpses of a deeply disturbing worldIn the Spotlight Trove of released documents paint a picture of depravity and privilege in which men hold the cards, and women are powerless or peripheral
-
Jeff Bezos: cutting the legs off The Washington PostIn the Spotlight A stalwart of American journalism is a shadow of itself after swingeing cuts by its billionaire owner
-
‘One Battle After Another’ wins Critics Choice honorsSpeed Read Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio, won best picture at the 31st Critics Choice Awards
-
A peek inside Europe’s luxury new sleeper busThe Week Recommends Overnight service with stops across Switzerland and the Netherlands promises a comfortable no-fly adventure
-
Son arrested over killing of Rob and Michele ReinerSpeed Read Nick, the 32-year-old son of Hollywood director Rob Reiner, has been booked for the murder of his parents
-
Rob Reiner, wife dead in ‘apparent homicide’speed read The Reiners, found in their Los Angeles home, ‘had injuries consistent with being stabbed’
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literatureSpeed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
