Tuesday 11 January 2011

20 for 2011: 18 - Moneyball

At number 18 we have an unusual proposition. Moneyball a film about computer programming in baseball.



For two days in a row we have a Zaillian script, although so many people have worked on this it's going to be difficult to tell. Telling the true story of how the Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) used computer analysis to model the best team combination on a budget this seems like the perfect movie for fantasy sports players everywhere. Of course the film is likely to concentrate on the tensions between Beane and the rest of the management who probably go for more instinctive ways of finding talent.

Baseball is a sport that works well in movies, it's a team game where the individual often has to make their own mark, and we're due a high grossing sports movie. The question is with all the high profile troubles this film had getting made (Steven Soderbergh lost all the funding one week before the cameras were set to role with Bennett Miller taking over when production started) will this be the one to hit a home run?

4 comments:

Alex Constantin said...

i liked Capote and I like Brad Pitt!

I hope they don't make it toooo commercial!

Runs Like A Gay said...

It's a nice mix, with some genuine talent.

I can't really guess what they're going to do to make this work - I seem to remember Soderbergh was going for a documentary style with some direct to camera interviews before they shut him down so it won't be like that!

Luxembourg said...

If you are a baseball fan, the team you root for follows the philosopy Beane and his team created. If you are not a fan of the greatest game created, you missed Moneyball by 18 inches; the distance between your head and your heart.

Thats OK. Baseball was built on failure and if you do not care for it, the averages and stats will show the majority of who do, will far out weigh the minus compared to the "plus" that do.

"Plus" is a baseball term by the way...

Runs Like A Gay said...

Thanks for the comment Luxembourg. I really liked the film when I eventually got the opportunity to watch it. In fact it made my top ten for 2011.

I still don't understand Baseball, mind.