In the words of future film director Joe Cornish and his collaborator Adam Buxton: “Ball ball ball, footie footie footie, ball ball ball, football.” Today brings the kick-off of the 2014 World Cup in (*googles it*) Brazil, with the first match kicking off at 4 p.m. EST between (*googles it again*) the hosts and Croatia in Sao Paulo. It’s the kick off to a month-long festival of football that will dominate the thoughts of hundreds of millions around the world, and as usual, barely penetrate the consciousness of most of America.
There are plenty of soccer fans in the U.S, though, and one of them appears to be Spike Lee, as hot on the heels of the first look at his new film “Da Sweet Blood Of Jesus,” the director has premiered a new short film he’s made, sponsored by Pepsi, to tie in to the tournament. Set in Rio and scored by a new Kelly Rowland track, it sees Lee following in the footsteps of directors like Idris Elba, who’ve also made films for the Beats of the Beautiful Game series. It’s unlikely to be remembered as a height of Lee’s career, but it’s fun to see him take a look at the Rio streets, and certainly succeeds in making us want to have a kick-around. Take a look below. [Live For Films]