Moneyball may rise from the ashes after all
July 10, 2009 by Sherry
Moneyball has stalled but it’s not dead yet – Brad Pitt may get to play Billy Beane after all. Right now the studio has brought in Aaron Sorkin (creator of the amazing West Wing) to take a look at re-writing the script that caused production to halt right before it was due to start filming.
They’re also working on bringing in another producer, Scott Rudin who was behind movies like No Country For Old Men.
If all goes well, Aaron Sorkin will have a new script ready in time for the film to start filming in the Fall, with Brad remaining in the film.
If this does work out as planned now, it will be a very lucky thing. They easily could have lost Brad (even though it wouldn’t have been anyone’s fault). If he had a movie lined up for the Fall already he would have had to bail on Moneyball and they couldn’t have held him liable since he signed on for a specific shooting time.
Obviously this movie must mean a lot to Brad if he’s still interested in sticking around to film it. I haven’t been super excited about it mostly because I’m not really a baseball fan and I’m not a baseball movie fan either. Still, the story does sound different, and if Brad is still so attached that he’s willing to do the role in a completely different time frame than the original agreement, it must be worth something!
(source)
Image: Newscom
for some reason that i don’t know, i am not liking this movie and i’m hoping he’ll just drop this. lol. don’t h ate me.
anyway, i heard this movie will require him to be extra buff because his character loves to show some skin, don’t know if that’s true though.
I think Patrick Goldstein of LA times explains the background very well.
*******
….So why would Sony hire Sorkin when the studio already had a perfectly good shooting script, penned by the Oscar-winning writer Steve Zaillian? The most likely reason: The studio wanted to send a message to Brad Pitt that it was still absolutely, incontestably behind the picture. If Pitt were to walk away from the project, it could deal a fatal blow to the picture, which is already considered something of a commercial risk, since baseball movies have zero appeal outside of the U.S., meaning that the movie would have to make its investment back solely on the strength of its domestic box-office performance. Pitt is considered indispensable, since the studio has always known it had an extremely short list of A-list stars who could be both believable and bankable as the real-life Beane, a charismatic, fortysomething ballplayer turned crafty but cerebral baseball theoretician. When it comes to potential stars, the drop-off after Pitt is steep.
continued
The best way to keep a movie star on the hook with a project is to surround him with enviable, top-flight talent who exude an aura of class and respectability. Hence, the arrival of Sorkin, who isn’t just a gifted writer, but having worked in theater and TV as well as film, brings along an aura of writerly glamour and sophistication to any project. Ditto for Rudin, who has been the producer of a string of classy films, most notably “No Country for Old Men,” the 2007 Coen brothers film that won a best picture Oscar. As executive producer, Rudin brings a level of gravitas to the project, allowing everyone involved—starting with Pitt—to feel that this film could be a player at award season as well as with the masses at the multiplexes.
While Rudin is a canny judge of material, having stockpiled many of the best new novels available, his strength in recent years has also been as a marketing maven, being especially adept at positioning films and helping sculpt their images as critical successes. So it’s expected that he would assume the role of the film’s godfather, acting as a trouble-shooter, advisor and hand-holder whenever needed, especially during the post-production process.
continued
The true test of the film’s viability will be what happens after Sorkin turns in his new draft sometime in August. His script will have to satisfy three key parties: the Sony production brass, Pitt and any potential A-list filmmaker who would be stepping in as Soderbergh’s replacement. Sony already believes in the material and it’s easy to imagine a host of top filmmakers who’d be eager to work with a major movie star. The real closer will ultimately be Pitt, who has director approval on all his films, but even more important will be judging the script, not just on its intrinsic value, but by how many top filmmakers it brings to the table.
Studio chiefs greenlight movies, deciding which ones end up in the starting lineup and which ones are relegated to the bench. But when it comes to the complicated process of keeping “Moneyball” alive, the ultimate umpire will be Pitt, who will make the biggest call about whether this film, having made it around third base, ends up being safe at home.
*******
Between lines Goldstein is saying Sony wants to stay in good relationship with Brad and Bryan Lourd.
I live in Greece and baseball is not very popular here,but I personally like it,so a movie about baseball and with Brad sounds nice to me!!!And any good news for Brad is good news for me too!!!
Maybe it’s better that way,cause now he can enjoy some summer holidays with his family!
Brad has “director approval” as part of his contract, I guess that’s one of the benefits of being an A-List Star. It only makes sense for Sony to pull in the best talent they can find to keep Brad’s interest. I personally like baseball movies but would hate for it to fail at the box office. Movie critics make way to much of a movie failing especially when a big star is tied to it. Even though “A Mighty Heart” was nominated for a couple of awards it didn’t have any box office draw and wasn’t even able to pay for itself domestically and foreign combined. I was very moved by it and thought Angie was brilliant in it. Just too heavy of a subject at the time it came out.
A baseball movie would have appeal in Japan and some other Asian countries, as well as various Latin American countries. Besides, baseball is becoming a worldwide sport, not as big as soccer, of course, but still. And, remember, soccer is not that big in America but the “Bend It Like Becham” movie made some money here.
P.S.: I believe “A Mighty Heart” has broken even since it really didn’t cost that much to make.
I really wish that this move will be made but hopefully the shooting will begin sometime in the fall. In that way Brad, Angie and the children will have a proper summer vacation. I think that the movie will be a hit in not only North America but also in many Asian countries where baseball is very popular. BTW. Tomorrow (July 12) will be the twins´ first birthday. They´ll sure be celebrating it in LA. The older children sure will help their mum and dad to make this day extra special. God bless the JPs 4ever!