- Moneyball (film)
-
Moneyball 
theatrical release posterDirected by Bennett Miller Produced by Michael De Luca
Rachael Horovitz
Brad PittScreenplay by Steven Zaillian
Aaron SorkinStory by Stan Chervin Based on Moneyball by
Michael LewisStarring Brad Pitt
Jonah Hill
Philip Seymour HoffmanMusic by Mychael Danna Cinematography Wally Pfister Editing by Christopher Tellefsen Studio Scott Rudin Productions
Michael De Luca ProductionsDistributed by Columbia Pictures Release date(s) September 23, 2011 (United States) Running time 133 minutes[1] Country United States Language English Budget $50 million[2] Box office $88,141,291[3] Moneyball is a 2011 biographical sports drama film directed by Bennett Miller and distributed by Columbia Pictures. The film is based on Michael Lewis' 2003 book of the same name, an account of the Oakland Athletics baseball team's 2002 season and their general manager Billy Beane's attempts to assemble a competitive team. In the film, Beane (Brad Pitt) and assistant GM Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), faced with the franchise's unfavorable financial situation, take a sophisticated sabermetric approach towards scouting and analyzing players, namely "submarine" pitcher Chad Bradford (Casey Bond) and Scott Hatteberg (Chris Pratt).
Columbia Pictures bought the rights to Lewis' book in 2004.[4] After a number of years in development, the film was featured at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival[5] and was released on September 23, 2011 to critical acclaim.[6]
Contents
Plot
Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) is upset by his team's loss to the New York Yankees in the 2001 postseason. With the impending departure of star players Johnny Damon, Jason Giambi, and Jason Isringhausen to free agency, Beane attempts to devise a strategy for assembling a competitive team for 2002 but struggles to overcome Oakland's limited player payroll. During a visit to the Cleveland Indians, Beane meets Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), a young Yale economics graduate with radical ideas about how to assess players' value. Beane tests Brand's theory by asking whether he would have drafted him, Beane having been a Major League player before becoming general manager. Though scouts considered Beane a phenomenal player, his career in the Major Leagues was disappointing. After some prodding, Brand admits that he would not have drafted him until the ninth round and that Beane would probably have gone to college instead. Sensing opportunity, Beane hires Brand as the Athletics' assistant general manager.
The team's scouts are first dismissive of and then actively hostile towards Brand's non-traditional sabermetric approach to scouting players. Rather than relying on the scouts' experience and intuition, Brand selects players based almost exclusively on their on base percentage (OBP). By finding players with a high OBP but characteristics that lead scouts to dismiss them, Brand assembles a team of undervalued players with far more potential than the A's hamstrung finances would otherwise allow. Despite vehement objections from the scouts, Beane supports Brand's theory and hires the players he selected, such as unorthodox submarine pitcher Chad Bradford (Casey Bond). Following the free agent signings, Beane finds that he also faces opposition from Art Howe (Philip Seymour Hoffman), the Athletics' manager. Tensions between them already high because of a contract dispute, Howe disregards Beane and Brand's strategy and plays the team in a traditional style despite their unsuitability. Beane is eventually forced to trade away the lone traditional star player (Carlos Peña) to force Howe to use the new recruits.
Early in the season, the Athletics fare poorly, leading critics within and outside the team to dismiss the new method as a dismal failure. Beane convinces the owner to stay the course, however, and eventually the team's record begins to improve. Ultimately, the Athletics win an unprecedented twenty consecutive games, setting the American League record. Their streak is capped with a victory over the Kansas City Royals. Like many baseball players, Beane is superstitious and avoids attending or sometimes even following games as they are in progress. His family convinces him to go to the A's game against the Royals, as Oakland is already leading 11–0 after the third inning and appears set to continue their winning streak. Beane arrives, only to watch the team go to pieces and allow the Royals to even the score. Finally, the A's do clinch the victory with a walk-off home run by one of Brand's picks, Scott Hatteberg. Despite all their success, the A's again lose in the first round of the postseason, this time to the Minnesota Twins. Beane is disappointed, but satisfied at having demonstrated the value of his and Brand's methods.
In closing, the film notes that Beane passed up the opportunity to become the general manager of the Boston Red Sox, despite an offer which would have made him the highest paid GM in baseball history. Also noted is Boston's World Series victory soon after in 2004, based on the theories that Beane pioneered.
Cast
- Brad Pitt as Billy Beane, general manager of the Oakland Athletics
- Jonah Hill as Peter Brand, Beane's assistant general manager
- Philip Seymour Hoffman as Art Howe, the manager of the Oakland Athletics
- Chris Pratt as Scott Hatteberg, A's first baseman
- Casey Bond as Chad Bradford, A's submarine relief pitcher
- Stephen Bishop as David Justice, A's outfielder
- Royce Clayton as Miguel Tejada, A's shortstop
- David Hutchison as John Mabry, A's utility player
- Kathryn Morris as Tara Beane
- Robin Wright as Sharon, Beane's ex-wife and mother of Casey
- Kerris Dorsey as Casey Beane
- Cast notes
- "Peter Brand" is a composite character partly based on Paul DePodesta, who did not want his name used in the film.[7][8]
- Robert Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, makes an uncredited cameo appearance as former A's owner Stephen Schott.[9]
- Spike Jonze has a small uncredited role as Alán.
- Musician Joe Satriani appears as himself, performing the The Star-Spangled Banner on electric guitar.
Production
Stan Chervin developed the first initial drafts of the screenplay after Columbia Pictures bought rights to Lewis's book in 2004, however, once Brad Pitt committed to the project in 2007 Chervin dropped out. Steve Zaillian was signed to write a second screenplay, and David Frankel was signed to direct.[10] Steven Soderbergh was subsequently signed to replaced Frankel.[11] When asked how the film would dramatize and make entertaining a book about statistics, Soderbergh said:
I think we have a way in, making it visual and making it funny. I want it to be really funny and entertaining, and I want you to not realize how much information is being thrown at you because you're having fun. We've found a couple of ideas on how to bust the form a bit, in order for all that information to reach you in a way that's a little oblique.[12]
Scott Hatteberg and David Justice were slated to play themselves in the movie.[13]
On June 19, 2009, days before filming was set to begin, Sony put the picture on hold.[11][14] Zaillian's and Soderbergh's plan for the film called for elements considered non-traditional for a sports movie, such as interviews with real-life players. Soderbergh was dismissed, and was ultimately replaced by Bennett Miller.[15] Aaron Sorkin wrote a third version of the screenplay,[11][15] which turned the character of Paul DePodesta, to have been portrayed by Demetri Martin, into a composite character, for which Jonah Hill was cast.
Filming began in July 2010.[16] Filming locations included Fenway Park, the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum, Dodger Stadium and Blair Field,[17] while studio shooting took place at Sony's Culver City studios.
Critical reception
Moneyball has received high critical acclaim. The review tallying website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 164 of the tallied 173 reviews were positive, for a score of 95% and a certification of "fresh" stating: "Director Bennett Miller, along with Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill, take a niche subject and turn it into a sharp, funny, and touching portrait worthy of baseball lore". 38 out of 39 of the sites tallied reviews from "top critics" (members of major news outlets or other critics the site considers prominent) have been positive.[18] In comparison, Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gave the film an average score of 87 based on 41 reviews.[19]
The film has received a similarly positive response from audiences. A CinemaScore analysis found that people who had just seen the film gave it an average letter score of 'A'.[20]
Awards and honors
Award Category Result 2012 People's Choice Awards[21] Favorite Drama Movie Pending References
- Notes
- ^ "Moneyball (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. 2011-09-05. http://www.bbfc.co.uk/AFF283042. Retrieved 2011-09-09.
- ^ Kaufman, Amy (September 22, 2011). "Movie Projector: Brad Pitt vs. 'Lion King,' 'Dolphin Tale' for No.1". Los Angeles Times. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2011/09/brad-pitt-moneyball-dolphin-tale-abduction.html. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
- ^ "Moneyball (2011)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=moneyball.htm. Retrieved October 9, 2011.
- ^ "Beane a sex symbol in 'Moneyball' movie?". SFGate.com. October 18, 2008. http://articles.sfgate.com/2008-10-18/sports/17137214_1_moneyball-brad-pitt-sexiest-man. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
- ^ "TIFF 2011: U2, Brad Pitt, George Clooney Films Featured At 2011 Toronto International Film Festival". The Huffington Post. 26 July 2006. http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2011/07/26/tiff-brad-pitt-2011-george-clooney-u2_n_909633.html#s316195&title=U2. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
- ^ "'Moneyball' To Get the Ball Rolling Sep. 23". Entertainment Weekly. November 24, 2010. http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/11/24/moneyball-release-date-sony. Retrieved December 10, 2010.
- ^ http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903927204576573271216641158.html
- ^ http://articles.latimes.com/2011/sep/20/sports/la-sp-plaschke-20110921
- ^ Good, Owen (2011-08-06). "Hooray! Now We Know Why Bobby Kotick is in that Brad Pitt Movie". Kotaku. http://kotaku.com/5828379/hooray-now-we-know-why-bobby-kotick-is-in-that-brad-pitt-movie.
- ^ Siegel, Tatiana (2008-10-16). "Columbia pitches Moneyball to Pitt". Variety. Retrieved 2011-07-02.
- ^ a b c Ditzian, Eric (September 23, 2011). "'Moneyball' Cheat Sheet: Everything You Need To Know. Brad Pitt baseball movie almost didn't happen.". MTV Movie News. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1671241/moneyball-brad-pitt-jonah-hill.jhtml. Retrieved October 26, 2011.
- ^ "Steven Soderbergh: The Girlfriend Experience". SuicideGirls.com. 21 May 2009. http://suicidegirls.com/interviews/Steven%20Soderbergh%3A%20The%20Girlfriend%20Experience/. Retrieved 2009-05-21.
- ^ Stiglich, Joe. "A's notebook: Lights, camera, action ... for Moneyball," InsideBayArea.com (May 26, 2009).
- ^ (June 21, 2009). "Production On Moneyball Film Halted". LATimes.com. Retrieved 2011-07-02.
- ^ a b (April 12, 2010). "Finally, It's Batter Up For 'Moneyball'". Deadline.com. Retrieved 2011-07-02.
- ^ (July 30, 2010). "'Moneyball' shoot brings back memories". SFGate.com. Retrieved 2011-07-02.
- ^ Ugland, Devin (October 3, 2011). "Brad Pitt’s ‘Moneyball’ shot at Blair Field". Daily 49er. http://www.daily49er.com/sports/brad-pitt-s-moneyball-shot-at-blair-field-1.2644701?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Daily_49er&utm_campaign=Daily_49er_2011104120#.Tosn3HLGDoY. Retrieved October 4, 2011.
- ^ "Moneyball". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixter. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/moneyball. Retrieved October 8, 2011.
- ^ "Moneyball". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. http://www.metacritic.com/movie/moneyball. Retrieved October 8, 2011.
- ^ Kaufman, Amy (September 26, 2011). "'Moneyball' is a hit, but 'Lion' is box-office king". LATimes.com. Retrieved October 26, 2011.
- ^ Nominations Announced for the 'People's Choice Awards 2012'
External links
- Moneyball at the Internet Movie Database
- Moneyball at AllRovi
- Moneyball at Box Office Mojo
- Moneyball at Rotten Tomatoes
- Moneyball at Metacritic
Works of Michael Lewis Books Liar's Poker (1989) • Pacific Rift (1991) • The Money Culture (1991) • Trail Fever (1997) • The New New Thing (2000) • Next: The Future Just Happened (2001) • Moneyball (2003) • Coach: Lessons on the Game of Life (2005) • The Blind Side (2006) • The Real Price of Everything (2008) • Panic: The Story of Modern Financial Insanity (2008) • Home Game (2009) • The Big Short (2010) • Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World (2011)Adaptations The Blind Side (film) • Moneyball (film)Works by Aaron Sorkin Television series Sports Night (1998–2000) · The West Wing (1999–2006) · Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2006–2007) · More as This Story Develops (2011)Feature films A Few Good Men (1992) · Malice (1993) · The American President (1995) · Charlie Wilson's War (2007) · The Social Network (2010) · Moneyball (2011)Stage plays Removing All Doubt (1984) · Hidden in This Picture (1988) · A Few Good Men (1989) · Making Movies (1990) · The Farnsworth Invention (2007)Oakland Athletics Formerly the Philadelphia Athletics and the Kansas City Athletics • Based in Oakland, California (Bay Area)The Franchise History • Seasons • Records • No-hitters • Players • Owners and executives • Managers • Broadcasters • Award winners and league leaders • First-round draft picksBallparks Columbia Park • Shibe Park • Municipal Stadium • O.co Coliseum • Cashman Field • Cisco Field (proposed)
Spring Training: Barrs Field • Terry Park Ballfield • Wilmington Park • McCurdy Field • Connie Mack Field • McKechnie Field • Scottsdale Stadium I • Phoenix Municipal StadiumCulture Philadelphia Athletics (football) • Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame • Athletics Nation • Charlie-O • Bash Brothers (Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire) • Stomper • $100,000 Infield • "Holy Toledo!" • Billyball • Celebration • White Cleats • Moneyball (book) • Moneyball (film)Lore The Mack Attack • Kirk Gibson's 1988 World Series home run • 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake • Dallas Braden's perfect gameRivalries Important figures Hall of Fame
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