Variety reports that “Moneyball,” the Steven Soderbergh film starring Brad Pitt as Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane (not to be confused with openly gay former ballplayer Billy Bean) may be in trouble. The report says that Columbia Pictures has put the production in “limited turnaround” because studio head Amy Pascal felt the final draft of the script was far different than earlier versions. Filming was supposed to begin tomorrow in Phoenix.
“Limited turnaround” means that Soderbergh is spending the weekend shopping the project to other studios. If that’s not successful, Columbia may replace Soderbergh (which may lead Pitt to drop out as well — which would really tick me off if I were Beane), delay production until a revised script is acceptable to all, or cancel the film entirely.
“Moneyball” is based on the 2003 Michael Lewis book, which describes how A’s GM Beane, working with limited finances, used statistical analysis and other out-of-the-box strategies to put a winning team on the field. Beane was proclaimed a genius when, two years after he took over the team in 1998, the A’s began a run of four consecutive playoff appearances, including three AL West titles and two seasons with over 100 wins.
The flip side that the sabermetrics crew glosses over is that the A’s were Division Series losers in all four seasons, have been to the postseason just once after 2003 (where, to their credit, they finally won a playoff series before being sent packing), and have had a losing record the last 2 1/2 seasons.
The moral of the story: whether in baseball or filmmaking, when it’s crunch time it takes more than just “Moneyball” to win.
on Jun 22nd, 2009 at 5:57 am
I wonder how much appeal “Moneyball” has these days. You don’t really hear anybody talking about it anymore. As you say, the A’s have had a losing record the past 2 1/2 seasons, and perhaps their success had much to do with fortuitous timing–having a group of hot young players develop around the same time (pitchers Tim Hudson, Barry Zito, Mark Mulder, and hitters–some of whom are linked to steroids–like Miguel Tejada, Jason Giambi, Eric Chavez).
Some of Beane’s supposed disciples’s (Boston’s Theo Epstein and Toronto’s J.P. Ricciardi) seem to have ignored Moneyball’s dictates and spend more freely.
And I would say that the A’s previously good years (late-80’s, early-90’s) with the likes of Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, Rickey Henderson, Dave Stewart and Dennis Eckersley) are actually a more interesting group. That team, under Tony LaRussa (who would later manage McGwire during his biggest homer years in St. Louis), clearly benefitted from the steroids era.
Moneyball *can* be helpful in finding players that offer good value. But those young rising stars of Beane’s past seem to have given way to retreads on the current A’s roster. I mean, Nomar Garciaparra? Jason Giambi? Orlando Cabrera? Presently, they have no pitcher on their roster with more than 5 wins. No wonder no one’s talking about Moneyball.