John McEnroe hits out at upcoming biopic Borg vs McEnroe starring Shia LaBeouf
The tennis star questioned how the film could be made without his input
FILMING has begun for Borg vs. McEnroe, the upcoming biopic about the 1980 Wimbledon championship match between John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg.
However the movie has received some criticism from McEnroe himself, who claims that nobody from the team has ever contacted him about the production.
“I don’t know if they are planning on doing the whole movie without input or any type of arrangement from me or Bjorn,” he told Vanity Fair. “I haven’t seen anything, and they’ve already started the movie.
“It doesn’t seem like they are all that interested in talking with me. I don’t know how you can do it without ever meeting me. Maybe you could talk to a few of my friends. I can barely remember what I was like 36 years ago when I was 21 years old. It could be entertaining. If it’s good, it’d be cool. Let’s hope.”
The tennis star also took the opportunity to lay into Shia LaBeouf, who is set to play him in the film.
The actor drew comparisons between himself and McEnroe, claiming they're both, “passionate. Perfectionist. Narcissistic. I’m a bit of a caricature also."
However the eighties icon isn't quite convinced, continuing, "Supposedly he’s crazy, so maybe that works. I’ve never talked to him, so I don’t know how he could play me.”
There has also been some raised eyebrows from McEnroe about the actors re-enacting the tennis match.
“It’s difficult even for tennis players to re-enact what they did,” he added. “So how in the hell is an actor going to do it on a court? It looks fake. They look like actors who can’t play.
"You see these guys, they go out there and they barely even know how to play tennis.
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"Hopefully they’re focusing on stuff off the court. Unless they intertwine it [with] real footage. Then it would be cool, maybe.”
On LaBeouf, he added, “It’s the actual hitting of the ball I worry about. I don’t know who his body double is, but let’s hope he’s lefty, for starters.”
The movie is set for release next year.