Al Pacino as Miami Sharks coach Joe d'Amato

The latter range from Hollywood legend Charlton Heston as The Commissioner, through Oscar nominees James Woods (as the team doctor) and Ann-Margret (as the Sharks’ co-owner), to rapper-turned-movie actor LL Cool J (seen recently in Deep Blue Sea), and newcomers Jim Caviezel (The Thin Red Line) and Aaron Eckhart (In the Company of Men).

Cameron Diaz and Ann-Margret as co-owners Christina and Margaret Pagniacci

Also featured are former football great Jim Brown and a squad of current gridiron stars, plus US TV staple (and rising movie actor) Jamie Foxx as Willie Beamen, the quarterback whose meteoric rise to top form threatens Jack Rooney’s job and Coach D’Amato’s sense of professional loyalty. No matter how good you are at what you do, Stone hints, there’s always someone younger, stronger and smarter just behind.

Lauren Holly as Cindy Rooney

“Any Given Sunday is rooted in football the same way human life is rooted in War and Peace,” says Stone. “Football is conflict in one of its most brutal form: it’s our version of gladiator games in our own empire. It’s not for nothing that I named the championship award in the film the ‘Pantheon Cup’. Football is a pagan rite in which men and women are able to exorcise their demons in ritual play.

“The spotlight only goes to the stars, but people forget the concept of a team. There is only one winner at the end of the day. It’s like politics.”

the coach with his injured star quarterback Jack ‘Cap’ Rooney (Dennis Quaid)