Brad Pitt as Billy Beane.
Hmmmmm.
Hmmmmmmmm.
Then again, why not? Who cares that they physically resemble
each another about as closely as Bogey and Bacall? We are a nation
of excess and exaggeration, with sports and movies somewhere in the
mix. It works.
By Ailene Voisin – McClatchy Newspapers
OAKLAND
Brad Pitt as Billy Beane.
Hmmmmm.
Hmmmmmmmm.
Then again, why not? Who cares that they physically resemble each another about as closely as Bogey and Bacall? We are a nation of excess and exaggeration, with sports and movies somewhere in the mix. It works.
And if one of Hollywood’s leading men wants to dive into sabermetrics, revisit the Athletics’ modest success of the previous decade, and transform the bestseller on the business of baseball into a film that appeals to a broader audience, there will be few complaints coming out of the general manager’s office.
“It’s a little surreal,” Beane acknowledged Monday when asked about his portrayal in the film “Moneyball,” which opens nationally this week, “but listen, it’s Brad.”
Besides, the A’s could use some love these days. The O.co Coliseum is a dump. The team hasn’t made the playoffs since 2006. Beane’s innovative use of statistical analysis _ a theme of the book and the film _ has become common within professional sports. Even his career with the organization appears uncertain; he has been mentioned as a GM candidate with the Chicago Cubs.
But his immediate concern is getting past the flurry of interviews and promotional events, which included Monday night’s red carpet premiere at the Paramount Theatre. The film, which chronicles the 2002 season and is based on the book by acclaimed author Michael Lewis, has some serious dramatic chops.
The cast includes Jonah Hill and Philip Seymour Hoffman, and was written by Oscar winners Aaron Sorkin and Steve Zaillian. In an attempt to be as authentic as possible, many of the actors are former minor or major league players. Stephen Bishop, for instance, is dead-on as David Justice. Chris Pratt could be Scott Hatteberg’s double.
But in the movies, as in sports, it’s all about the stars. People will buy tickets because Pitt has the starring role, not because they’re captivated by a small-market franchise and a clever GM who almost developed a formula for toppling the rich and powerful New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, etc.
No, this is about Pitt, who not so coincidentally is the cover boy for the Sept. 26 issue of Sports Illustrated.
Before appearing later in the day at the Paramount, Pitt joined Beane at an outdoor news conference at the Coliseum. The physical contrast between the two men, perched on director’s chairs in Section 244, was notable, especially since Pitt captured so many of his character’s mannerisms in the film.
Beane, who seems to be enjoying the star treatment after distancing himself from all the hoopla during production, was typically understated in a white dress shirt, tan slacks and jacket.
Pitt was the typical megastar: black-rimmed tinted shades. Week’s worth of facial growth. A brown V-neck sweater over a white T-shirt despite the unseasonably warm temperature.
But he appeared much smaller than the weight-pumping figure in the movie, and with a grin, he admitted that baseball was “Not my gift, not my gift.”
Instead, he was attracted to the script because of Beane and his organizations’s unique approach to overcoming small market limitations.
“In some ways,” said Pitt, “the film still holds the romance of the sport. What these guys did at that time, I had great respect for. I had never looked at baseball, at sports, in terms of economics, that it is not a level playing field. So these guys had to start asking the questions, had to attack conventional wisdom.”
But does that approach still work? Beane has long had his critics, some of them scouts who feel undervalued. Others within baseball continue to point out that Beane’s A’s never have won a pennant.
“Baseball was moving toward (uses of sabermetrics) and Michael’s book has accelerated that,” said Beane, “and in other sports as well. That’s a credit to Michael, not so much us.”
So for Beane’s next act? He is particularly concerned about his team’s chronic injuries, the fact the A’s are always hurt. Even small-market teams have a chance to win if they stay healthy. Even for non-stats geeks, that adds up.
