Danna implemented the song "The Mighty Rio Grande" by This Will Destroy You throughout the film. Baseball is a business. One of the most compelling stories of sports analytics made popular by the 2011 movie Moneyball, the Oakland Athletics team of 2002 created history by winning 20 consecutive games between August 13 and September 2002. [35] In its second weekend it grossed $12 million (a drop of only 38.3%), again finishing second. Set realistic goals. [14] Upon his request as he felt the script no longer accurately depicted him, DePodesta's name was removed, with Hill now playing the role of Peter Brand. [55], 2011 American biographical sports drama film directed by Bennett Miller, Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, List of accolades received by Moneyball (film), "Movie Projector: Brad Pitt vs. 'Lion King,' 'Dolphin Tale' for No.1", "How Spike Jonze Ended Up in The Wolf of Wall Street", "Brad Pitt and Steven Soderbergh to team up on 'Moneyball' movie? Beane tells Brand he will not be satisfied until they have changed baseball by winning the World Series using their system. That's melancholy, but then this is a melancholy movie. "Moneyball" is the true story of the Oakland A's manager's attempt to draft a successful team based on a new system of statistics and mathematical analysis. Faced with rebuilding the team at bargain basement prices, Beane became persuaded by the theories of Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), a nerdy recent Yale graduate who crunched numbers to arrive at a strict cost-benefit analysis of baseball players. Moneyball (2011) is a movie that deals with the 2002 season of the Oakland Athletics in the American Baseball League and the legendary run precipitated by the nifty purchases effectuated by their General Manager, Billy Beane. [26] Filming took place at Blair Field for eight days. In baseball history, franchises tend to buy high-stakes player while trying to buy wins. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism. Pratt took three months to work out and shed 30 pounds, which ultimately led to him winning the role. Report. He's fully aware that if he follows his theories for the full season and they fail, that will make him unemployable. Moneyball is a 2011 American sports film directed by Bennett Miller and written by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin. Continue Reading . [49], In regards to the film's accuracy, David Haglund of Slate and Jonah Keri of Grantland criticized the Moneyball film and book for excluding the pitchers Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, and Barry Zito and position players such as Eric Chavez and Miguel Tejada. [29] Scenes were shot at the Oakland Coliseum beginning on July 26. Don’t. This Will Destroy You & A Lenka Song Is A Big Winner", "TIFF 2011: U2, Brad Pitt, George Clooney Films Featured At 2011 Toronto International Film Festival", "MONEYBALL COMING TO DVD IN EARLY JANUARY", "Weekend Box Office: September 23-25, 2011", "Weekend Box Office: September 30-October 1, 2011", "2011 Film Critic Top Ten Lists [Updated Dec. 22]", "Real Life 'Moneyball' Major Leaguer Scott Hatteberg on the Facts and Fiction of the New Film", Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, "The 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards NOMINATIONS", The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Still, We Believe: The Boston Red Sox Movie, Babe Ruth's 573-foot home run into Alligator Farm, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Moneyball_(film)&oldid=992407506, Films with screenplays by Steven Zaillian, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using multiple image with manual scaled images, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat-VIAF identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 5 December 2020, at 03:07. Filming began in July 2010, taking place at various stadiums such as Dodger Stadium and Oakland Coliseum. Soderbergh exited, and Miller was hired to direct, with Pitt becoming a producer and Sorkin being hired to provide rewrites. Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. This is really a movie about business. [39] The film appeared on 35 critics' top-ten lists for the best films of 2011, with two critics ranking it first, and another ranking it second. He trades away the lone traditional first baseman, Carlos Peña, to force Howe to use Hatteberg, making similar deals so Howe has no choice but to play the team Beane and Brand have designed. His stats — the ones that the A’s cared about — were great in the minor leagues. She started out saying that he was a great father to make him feel good, even though he doesn't deserve to. He returns to Oakland, and two years later the Red Sox win the 2004 World Series using the model the Athletics pioneered. Pascal had specifically sought out Sorkin's involvement, in addition to Pitt joining as a producer, and bringing producer Scott Rudin on board as executive producer. Howe also stated producers of the Miller version of the film didn't contact him to consult on his portrayal. [10], Production under Soderbergh was set to begin in July 2009, and was to be shot on location at Oakland Coliseum. [30], The score was composed by Mychael Danna, with whom Miller worked with on Capote. The result is an interesting but frustrating near-miss". Pitt has some soul-baring scenes with Jonah Hill in which he wonders what it all means, anyway. "Peter Brand" is based on people described in the 2003 book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis. In addition to the World Series win, the climax of the movie is further heightened by the way in which the A’s clinch the championship. [44] Kirk Honeycutt was complimentary of the comedic chemistry between Pitt and Hill, which prompted Honeycutt to compare the film to The Bad News Bears and Major League. Rather than relying on the Oakland scouts' experience and intuition, Brand uses sabermetrics, selecting players based on their on-base percentage. [52] The San Francisco Chronicle made note of several inaccuracies in the film, notably that players such as Jeremy Giambi and Chad Bradford had already joined the team prior to the time period in the film, and that the Giambi and Peña trades did not occur at the same time. It was also stated that the studio now felt the film was too "arty" for its $58 million budget. The team began that same season with 11 losses in row. They go on to win an American league record 20 games in a row. All that matters is that you win the last game of the season. Brand argues their sample size is too small to conclude the method does not work, and Beane convinces team owner Stephen Schott to stay the course. [28] Roughly 700 extras were used for fans in the stadiums for the various baseball scenes. [3], The film grossed $19.5 million from 2,993 theaters in its opening weekend, finishing second at the box office behind the 3D re-release of The Lion King. 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. [54] Additionally, at the 69th Golden Globe Awards, the film received four nominations for Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama (Pitt), Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture (Hill) and Best Screenplay. It doesn’t get you anywhere. I want it to be really funny and entertaining, and I want you to not realize how much information is being thrown at you because you're having fun. Moneyball is a 2011 American biographical sports drama film directed by Bennett Miller and written by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin. Moneyball the movie uses the scene to remind Beane of the romanticism of baseball at a time when he’s not feeling all that positive about it. New Works Virtual Festival Now Running Through Christmas Day, The Illusionary Quality of a Dream: Stella Hopkins on Her Directorial Debut, Elyse, The 2020 Frontrunners For Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone. Bennett Miller's adaptation of Michael Lewis' non-fiction best seller Moneyball stars Brad Pitt as Billy Beane, a one-time phenom who flamed out in the big leagues and now works as the GM for the Oakland Athletics, a franchise that's about to lose their three best players to free agency. However, prior to its July 2009 filming start, the film was put in turnaround due to creative differences between Soderbergh and Sony over a last-minute script rewrite. Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill in “Moneyball.” “Moneyball” is about finding value where other teams don’t see it and at the time getting on base was an undervalued skill. What the numbers crunchers demonstrated is that a computer can assemble a team better than human instinct. Pitt has hit a home run with this new system but has fallen into believing the fear inside that he has majorly blown it. [53], Moneyball received six Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Pitt), Best Supporting Actor (Hill), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Sound Mixing and Best Film Editing. [8] Soderbergh confirmed his involvement in May that year, and in talking about the film, stated "I think we have a way in, making it visual and making it funny. [4] Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick appeared as Athletics co-owner Stephen Schott. Film director Spike Jonze has a small uncredited role as Alán, Sharon's spouse. Jonah Hill portrays Brand, a Yale-educated research geek, who can crunch numbers and come up with canny suggestions about finding true baseball diamonds in the rough. Moneyball premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival and was released on September 23, 2011, to box office success and critical acclaim, particularly for its acting and screenplay. In the 2002 season, the nation's lowest-salaried Major League Baseball team put together a 20-game winning streak, setting a new American League record. Brand and Beane use this methodology to acquire undervalued players such as unorthodox submarine pitcher Chad Bradford, aging outfielder David Justice, and injured catcher Scott Hatteberg. [21] Chris Pratt, Stephen Bishop and Kathryn Morris were added to the cast in July, though Morris's scenes would ultimately be cut from the film. Beane declines an offer to become the Red Sox general manager, despite the $12.5 million salary, which would have made him the highest-paid general manager in professional sports history. When a transaction goes awry he stumbles across Peter Brand (Jonah … "It’s a problem you think we need to explain ourselves. Impressed, Beane hires Brand as his assistant GM. Faced with a futile future, the Athletics general manager, Billy Beane, realized a good team need not be about star players. [7] Frankel and Pitt met with one another during the week of the 66th Golden Globe Awards, but eventually Frankel would exit the project by February 2009, with Steven Soderbergh entering negotiations to direct. "Peter Brand" is based on people described in the 2003 book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis. As soon as it became clear that there was no iteration of that movie that I was going to get to direct, I immediately started looking around for something else to do". A wonderful baseball movie, Moneyball is also about economics. [15] Bennett Miller was hired to direct in April. Billy Beane, general manager of the Oakland Athletics, is hurt by the team's loss to the New York Yankees in the 2001 American League Division Series. Jonah Hill's performance is understated and fascinating; a pudgy kid who has never played a baseball game in his life, Peter has analyzed decades of baseball stats to prove that game-winning qualities are not always the ones veteran scouts look for. Thanks to a walk-off home run by Hatteberg, the Athletics achieve a record-breaking 20th consecutive win. [46] Dana Stevens of Slate found the film could be enjoyed by viewers who typically don't like sports movies. 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