Brad Pitt and Stephen Soderbergh were supposed to team up for “Moneyball,” a story based on the Michael Lewis bestseller about the way Billy Beane revolutionized the way stats were used to scout and develop promising talent. However, Sony Pictures shut down the project days before filming began because a revised script from Soderbergh took the film in an unwanted direction. Pitt was cast to play the roll of Beane while former major leaguers like David Justice and Darryl Strawberry were set to play themselves.
Here’s a comment from Sony’s Amy Pascal from the LA Times:
“Soderbergh wouldn’t talk to me about all this, but it seems clear that he became obsessed with authenticity, replacing many of Zaillian’s inspired scripted set-pieces with actual interviews with the real people who were involved in the events. The Soderbergh aesthetic, according to one source close to the film, was simple: If it didn’t happen in real life, it wasn’t going to be in the movie. That might make for an intriguing art film, but it clearly was no longer a film that any studio would spend $58 million to make, especially with baseball films having virtually no appeal outside of the U.S.“
Pascal brings up a good point about the lack of appeal outside the U.S., but it is disappointing to see that studios are so set on finding huge box office hits that they are giving up on somewhat smaller films with better stories behind them. Now the movie is in limbo and waiting on another studio to jump onboard. UPDATE: Check out the ESPN article published 7/28 about Billy Beane and Moneyball.
Is baseball really that unappealing? Maybe Sony should remember the baseball movies that have become staples in American cinema… and maybe Sony should go with Kevin Costner based on his past success as an onscreen ball player.
Top 12 baseball movies ever made? Be the judge and rank them in the comments…
