Posts Tagged ‘Brad Pitt’

The latest picture to feature the super sexy Brad Pitt is arriving at theaters on September 23. The movie, entitled Moneyball, is based on a true story about the Oakland Athletics baseball team and its general manager Billy Beane, and its attempts to assemble a competitive baseball team, through a carefully analyzed methodology. Pitt plays Oakland Athletics GM Billy Beane, who called upon the help of now- Red Sox stats man Bill James’ complex computer analytics and lackluster ticket revenues to build a winning ball club.The movie is based on the book of the same name by Michael Lewis which was published in 2003.

The film, which was initially delayed and at one time speculated to be filming entirely in Boston, ended up spending just about a week in Beantown in October 2010, filming scenes with Pitt around Fenway Park.

The trailer for the movie, which was released several weeks ago in anticipation of its debut, features a brief scene scene shot at Fenway Park with Pitt and an actor portraying John Henry, principal owner of the Red Sox.

The movie is co-written by  Aaron Sorkin, who also penned The Social Network, another movie that was partially made in Boston.

How any movie makes it from its first original concept to finished product is almost a miracle. Execs working on the baseball flick Moneyball know this all too well. After being stuck in pre-production for months, shooting in L.A. and Boston is scheduled to start sometime in July. Originally the budget was almost $60 million but had to be cut down to about $45 million. The last big hurdle left to jump is getting MLB approval.

Moneyball is based on Michael Lewis’ eponymous book about Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane.  Brad Pitt will star as Billy Beane and his crusade to craft a competitive team with a sliver of the budget of other top baseball teams. Helmed by Bennett Miller, Jonah Hill also stars as Paul De Podesta, Billy Beane’s whiz kid assistant. Lewis also authored The Blind Side, which was later turned into a movie with leading lady Sandra Bullock.

Baseball fans will see some old favorites on the big screen, including David Justice, Darryl Strawberry, Scott Hatteberg, and Lenny Dykstra. Will Moneyball be for baseball what The Blind Side was for football? We’ll have to wait for Pitt and Hill’s performance before dubbing it a home run.