Moneyball (film)
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| Moneyball | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Bennett Miller |
| Produced by | |
| Screenplay by | |
| Story by | Stan Chervin |
| Based on | Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Mychael Danna |
| Cinematography | Wally Pfister |
| Edited by | Christopher Tellefsen |
Production
company | |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release dates
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Running time
| 133 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $50 million[2] |
| Box office | $110.2 million[3] |
Moneyball is a 2011 American biographical sports drama film directed by Bennett Miller from a screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin. The film is based on Michael Lewis's 2003 nonfiction 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 limited budget for players, build a team of undervalued talent by taking a sophisticated sabermetric approach towards scouting and analyzing players. They acquire "submarine" pitcher Chad Bradford (Casey Bond) and former catcher Scott Hatteberg (Chris Pratt), and win 20 consecutive games, an American League record. Columbia Pictures bought the rights to Lewis's book in 2004.[4]
The film was featured at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival[5] and was released on September 23, 2011 to a box-office success and positive reviews. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Actor for Pitt, Best Supporting Actor for Hill, and Best Picture.
Contents
[hide]Plot[edit]
Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) is upset by his team's loss to the New York Yankees in the 2001 postseason, after the Yankees overcame a 2–0 series deficit. With the impending departure of star players Johnny Damon, Jason Giambi, and Jason Isringhausen to free agency, Beane needs to assemble a competitive team for 2002, but must overcome Oakland's limited 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 (out of high school), Beane having been a Major League player before becoming general manager. Though scouts considered Beane a phenomenal prospect, 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 surmised that Beane would probably have accepted a scholarship to Stanford instead. Impressed, Beane hires the inexperienced Brand to be the Athletics assistant general manager.
Oakland team scouts are first dismissive and then hostile towards Brand's non-traditional sabermetric approach to scouting players. Most notably, Grady Fuson (Ken Medlock) takes to the radio airwaves after being fired by Beane and doubts the team's future. Rather than relying on the scouts' experience and intuition, Brand selects players based almost exclusively on their on-base percentage (OBP). Despite vehement objections from the scouts, Beane signs the players Brand suggests, such as unorthodox submarine pitcher Chad Bradford (Casey Bond), past-his-prime outfielder David Justice (Stephen Bishop) and injured Scott Hatteberg (Chris Pratt). Beane finds that he also faces opposition from Art Howe (Philip Seymour Hoffman), the Athletics' manager, who does not agree with the new philosophy. With tensions already high between the two due to a contract dispute, Howe disregards Beane's and Brand's strategy and plays a lineup he prefers. Beane eventually trades away the lone traditional first baseman, Carlos Peña, to force Howe to use Hatteberg at that position.
Early in the season, the Athletics fare poorly, leading critics to dismiss the new method as a failure. Beane convinces the owner to stay the course and the team's record improves. Eventually, the Athletics win 19 consecutive games, tying for the longest winning streak in American League history. Beane's young daughter implores him to go to the A's next game against the Kansas City Royals, where Oakland is already leading 11–0 after the third inning and appears set to advance their winning streak to a record-breaking 20. Like many baseball players, Beane is superstitious and avoids games in progress, but upon hearing how well the game is going on the radio, he decides to go. Beane arrives in the fourth inning, only to watch the team go to pieces and eventually allow the Royals to even the score at 11. Finally, the A's do win, on a walk-off home run by Hatteberg. Yet the A's again lose in the postseason, this time to the Minnesota Twins. Beane is disappointed, believing nothing short of a championship should be considered a success.
Beane is contacted by the owner of the Boston Red Sox, who realizes that the sabermetric model is the future of baseball. The Sox had been one of the earliest subjects of a statistical study. Renowned Harvard statisticianFrederick Mosteller had conducted the first academic investigation of baseball after the Sox, whom he loved, lost the 1946 World Series.
The Red Sox owner offers Beane a job as general manager of the Red Sox. Beane passes up the opportunity, despite the $12.5 million salary, which would have made him the highest-paid general manager in sports history. He returns to Oakland to continue managing the Athletics, while a title card reveals that two years later the Red Sox won the 2004 World Series using the model pioneered by the Athletics.
Cast[edit]
- 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
- Nick Porrazzo as Jeremy Giambi, A's outfielder
- Robin Wright as Sharon, Beane's ex-wife and mother of Casey
- Kerris Dorsey as Casey Beane
- Ken Medlock as Grady Fuson, head scout of the Oakland Athletics
- Nick Searcy as Matt Keough
- Jack McGee as John Poloni, scout for the Oakland Athletics
- Brent Jennings as Ron Washington, coach of the Oakland Athletics
- Cast notes
- Peter Brand is a composite character partly based on former A's assistant to the general manager Paul DePodesta, who did not want his name used in the film.[6][7]
- Robert Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, makes an uncredited cameo appearance as former A's owner Stephen Schott.[8]
- Spike Jonze has a small uncredited role as Alán, Sharon's spouse.
- Musician Joe Satriani appears as himself, performing "The Star-Spangled Banner" on electric guitar.
- Arliss Howard briefly appears as John W. Henry, owner of the Boston Red Sox.
- Stand-up comedian Demetri Martin was originally intended to play Paul DePodesta. After some rewriting, the character of Peter Brand was invented to replace DePodesta, and Jonah Hill was cast.
- Oakland A's players David Justice and Scott Hatteberg were signed to play themselves in the film, but ultimately were portrayed by Stephen Bishop and Chris Pratt, respectively.[9]
- Stephen Bishop, who plays David Justice, is a former professional baseball player. Bishop and Justice were both members of the Atlanta Braves organization in 1993.
- Royce Clayton, who plays Miguel Tejada, is also a former professional baseball player.
Production[edit]
Stan Chervin developed the initial drafts of the screenplay after Columbia Pictures bought rights to Lewis's book in 2004. Once Brad Pitt committed to the project in 2007, Chervin dropped out. Steve Zaillian was signed to write a second screenplay, and David Frankelwas signed to direct.[10] Steven Soderbergh was subsequently signed to replace Frankel.[11] Demetri Martin was cast to portray the role of Paul DePodesta, Beane's top assistant. Former Athletics Scott Hatteberg and David Justice were slated to play themselves in the movie.[12] When asked how the film would dramatize and make entertaining a book about statistics, Soderbergh said:
On June 19, 2009, days before filming was set to begin, Sony put the picture on hold.[11][14] 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 ultimately replaced by Bennett Miller.[15] Aaron Sorkin wrote a third version of the screenplay.[11][15]
Miller hired Ken Medlock, a former minor league baseball player and actor who plays scout Grady Fuson, as a technical advisor. Medlock invited professional scout Artie Harris to lend Medlock credibility. Harris, himself a self-styled "old-fashioned scout", subsequently auditioned for and obtained a role in the film as a scout who typically disregards sabermetrics.[16] Baseball figures, including scout Phil Pote and baseball coaches and managers George Vranau and Barry Moss, were cast in supporting roles.[17]
With Martin no longer involved, Jonah Hill was cast to play DePodesta. However, feeling the character was becoming fictional, DePodesta requested his name not be used but continued to assist the filmmakers. Hill's role was transformed into a composite character, named Peter Brand.[18]
Filming began in July 2010.[19] Filming locations included Fenway Park, the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum, Dodger Stadium and Blair Field,[20] while studio shooting took place at Sony's Culver City studios. During principal photography scenes featuring Kathryn Morris as Beane's second wife were shot; none made it to the final cut.[21]
Accuracy[edit]
While mostly accurate, the film alters history at points. In the film, Carlos Peña is Oakland's starting first baseman from Opening Day until he was traded to the Detroit Tigers in early July. In fact, while Peña did start at first base during April and May, he lost that position to Scott Hatteberg on June 1, and was playing for Oakland's AAA team when he was traded.[22][23] Early in the film, it is suggested that right-handed pitcher Chad Bradford (Bond) was picked up by Oakland at the urging of Peter Brand (Hill). Bradford stops Beane (Pitt) in the clubhouse on Opening Day to thank him for the opportunity, a moment that clearly indicates that Bradford is just starting his stint with the A's. In fact, Bradford pitched for Oakland the previous season after being traded to the A's from the Chicago White Sox on December 7, 2000.[24] Bradford, during the 2001 season, was mainly used as a late reliever and set-up man.[25] It is also mentioned that Jeremy Giambi was chosen to be one of the three players, along with Scott Hatteberg and David Justice, to replace his brother, Jason, Johnny Damon and Jason Isringhausen in the 2002 lineup, when in fact he was picked up in 2000 and was part of the famous "flip play" in the 2001 ALDS vs. the New York Yankees. Finally, former Oakland A's manager Art Howe (Hoffman) has spoken out publicly about his disapproval of how he was portrayed in the film.[26] The story shows Howe as a stubborn manager who, contrary to Beane's wishes, refused to use Bradford out of the bullpen or to start Hatteberg at first base. In fact, Bradford was used regularly out of the bullpen in early 2002, just as he had been in 2001, when he logged 75 innings primarily as a late reliever or set-up man for Billy Koch, the A's primary closer.[27][28] Scott Hatteberg has also stated publicly that Howe was portrayed inaccurately. He is quoted in an interview as saying, "Art Howe was a huge supporter of mine. I never got the impression from him that I was not his first choice." Later in the interview, Hatteberg mentions that "there was that turbulent relationship" between Howe and Beane.[29]
Soundtrack[edit]
Soundtrack list[edit]
- Theme from New York, New York - Written by Fred Ebb and John Kander
- The Mighty Rio Grande - Performed by This Will Destroy You
- The Show - Performed by Kerris Dorsey
- Don't Stop Believin' - Performed by Journey
- Mony Mony - Performed by Billy Idol
- The Star-Spangled Banner - Arranged and Performed by Joe Satriani
- Bounce To Dis - Performed by D.J. Laz
- Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker) - Performed by Parliament
- It Would Be Like This - Written by Mychael Danna
Release[edit]
Moneyball premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2011 and was released theatrically on September 23, 2011 by Columbia Pictures. The film was also released on DVD and Blu-ray on January 10, 2012 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
Reception[edit]
Critical reception[edit]
Moneyball has received significant critical acclaim, with Pitt's performance receiving strong praise. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a rating of 95%, based on 237 reviews, with an average rating of 8/10. The site's critical consensus states, "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".[30] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 87 out of 100, based on 42 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[31]
Richard Roeper gave Moneyball a grade of an "A", saying that the film was a "geek-stats book turned into a movie with a lot of heart".[32] Former Green Bay Packers vice president Andrew Brandt stated that the film "persuasively exposed front office tension between competing scouting applications: the old school "eye-balling" of players and newer models of data-driven statistical analysis ... Moneyball—both the book and the movie—will become a time capsule for the business of sports".[33]
Top ten lists[edit]
The film appeared on the following critics' top ten lists for the best films of 2011:
| Critic | Publication | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Rene Rodriguez | Miami Herald | 1st[34] |
| Lisa Kennedy | Denver Post | 1st[34] |
| Michael Phillips | Chicago Tribune | 2nd[34] |
| Satya Nagendra Padala | International Business Times | 2nd[35] |
| Ann Hornaday | The Washington Post | 3rd[36] |
| Elizabeth Weitzman | New York Daily News | 3rd[34] |
| Peter Travers | Rolling Stone | 4th[37] |
| David Fear | Time Out New York | 4th[34] |
| N/A | TV Guide | 6th[34] |
| Joe Neumaier | New York Daily News | 6th[34] |
| Marshall Fine | Hollywood & Fine | 6th[34] |
| Betsy Sharkey | Los Angeles Times | 7th[34] |
| Robbie Collin | The Telegraph | 8th[34] |
| Lisa Schwarzbaum | Entertainment Weekly | 8th[34] |
| Dave McCoy | MSN Movies | 8th[34] |
| Kim Lorgan | MSN Movies | 8th[34] |
| Richard T. Jameson | MSN Movies | 10th[34] |
| Stephen Holden | The New York Times | 10th[34] |
| Karina Longworth | The Village Voice | 10th[34] |
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