Hardball (film)

Infobox_Film
name = Hardball


writer = Daniel Coyle (book)
John Gatins
starring = Keanu Reeves
Diane Lane
D.B. Sweeney
director = Brian Robbins
producer = Brian Robbins
Michael Tollin
music = Mark Isham
cinematography = Tom Richmond
editing = Ned Bastille
distributor = Paramount Pictures
released = September 14, 2001
runtime = 106 minutes
language = English
budget = ~ US$21,000,000
imdb_id = 0180734

"Hardball" is a 2001 American film directed by Brian Robbins. It stars Keanu Reeves, Diane Lane and D.B. Sweeney. The screenplay by John Gatlins is based on the book "" by Daniel Coyle. The original music score is composed by Mark Isham.

Cast

*Keanu Reeves ... Conor O'Neill
*Diane Lane ... Elizabeth Wilkes
*John Hawkes ... Ticky Tobin
*Bryan Hearne ... Andre Ray Peetes (as Bryan C. Hearne)
*Julian Griffith ... Jefferson Albert Tibbs
*Michael B. Jordan ... Jamal (as Michael Jordan)
*A. Delon Ellis Jr. ... Miles Pennfield II
*Kristopher Lofton ... Clarence
*Michael Perkins ... Kofi Evans
*Brian M. Reed ... Raymond 'Ray Ray' Bennet
*DeWayne Warren ... Jarius 'G-Baby' Evans
*Carol Hall ... Pearla Evans (as Carol E. Hall)
*Jacqueline Williams ... Lenora Tibbs
*Freeman Coffey ... Darryl Mackey
*D.B. Sweeney ... Matt Hyland
*Graham Beckel ... Duffy
*Mike McGlone ... Jimmy Fleming
*Reginald A. Dempsey Jr. ... Bobby J. Williams (as Reginald Dempsey Jr.)

Plot

Conor O'Neill is a gambler who has bet on his dead father's account and is now severely in debt. In order to repay the debt he must coach a baseball team of troubled kids in the Cabrini-Green housing projects of Chicago. He had decided that once he repaid his debts he would leave the team but soon Connor connects with the kids and finds it harder to leave than he thought.

Details

* Two players on Coach O'Neill's team are named Jamal and Andre. Keanu Reeves (O'Neill) starred as a quarterback in the football movie "The Replacements", and his two main blockers were also named Jamal and Andre.
* The Major League game took place not at Comiskey Park or Wrigley Field, but at Tiger Stadium.
* The movie was filmed in the ABLA Homes in Chicago.
* Sammy Sosa makes a cameo.
*All of the league's team names are taken from tribes in Africa.
*Diane Lane and D.B. Sweeney previously co-starred together in "Lonesome Dove".
* The bookies that O'Neil owes his debts to are members of the Irish Mob in Chicago's Lincoln Park Irish Pub area.
* The film premiered just three days after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

External links

* http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0180734/