Movie News

Sony Snaps Up Moneyball

Billy Beane is ready for his close-up. Variety says The Oakland A's general manager will be the central character in Sony's adaptation of "Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game," the non-fiction book by Michael Lewis.

For those who can't tell RBIs from OBP, "Moneyball" is an inside look at Beane's new-guard style. Unlike generations of scouts and general managers before him, Beane evaluates players with statistics rather than gut reaction. This technique consistently yields diamonds in the rough -- and those diamonds are considerably less expensive than the superstars other teams covet. Of course, Beane's players haven't advanced past the first round of the playoffs, but that probably won't figure into the picture (If the "Natural" had ended with a pop-fly to center field, would anyone care?).

The book isn't a natural fit for a movie, with much of it examining the ins and outs of baseball statistics -- not exactly the stuff of great drama. However, Variety points out that Beane's back story is ripe for adaptation. In the 1980s Beane emerged as a top-tier baseball prospect, but he never flourished at the Major League level. After toiling between the lines for five seasons, Beane moved into the front office, where he's found success as a general manager.

"Moneyball" the movie is in the early stages of production so the cast and release dates haven't been announced. We'll be keeping an eye on this project on its spotlight page. -- Mac Slocum

---

Tags:

---

Posted by Mac on May 5, 2004 09:13 AM
Permalink | Email to a Friend | Add to del.icio.us | Digg This





More Recent Stories:
• Zellweger and Connick in Talks to Work Together
• Ice Cube making a "Comeback"
• Jessica Alba joins "Love Guru"
• "Watchmen" Makes it to Casting
• John Leguizamo to team up with Shyamalan
• Robert De Niro Making a Movie about Mao Zedong
• Christopher Walken Has "Balls of Fury"
• Nicole Kidman has a New Project in the Works
• Jim Carrey to Star in "A Christmas Carol"
• Ryan Gosling to Join "The Lovely Bones"