Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game

Brad Pitt to play Billy Beane

Considering the middling box office performances of Brad Pitt's last two films, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" and "Burn After Reading," what could cause Hollywood to detect a resurgence in Mr. Jolie's career? Namely, it's two of his upcoming projects. Pitt is currently shooting Quentin Tarantino's much buzzed about "Inglourious Basterds," but first he's hitting theaters this Thanksgiving in David Fincher's Oscar front-runner, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." And just like that, what was once cold is now hot again. Not only has the 44-year-old joined George Miller's blockbuster reimagining of "The Odyssey" for Warner Bros., but he is also playing ball with an adaptation of "Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game."

Based on Michael Lewis' best-selling novel, "Moneyball" chronicles the true story of Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane (Pitt), who built a playoff-contending major-league baseball team on a shoestring budget. Instead of suffering in the cellar of the American League West because of the team's small-market status, Beane used a sophisticated analytics program to draft and acquire new players to compete against the big boys. His system has since been duplicated by other teams throughout MLB. According to Variety, Steve Zaillian, the respected screenwriter of "American Gangster" and "Gangs of New York," is working on the script, and David Frankel, who spearheaded "The Devil Wears Prada" and the upcoming "Marley & Me," is on board to direct.

Schedule-wise, it's unclear whether "The Odyssey," which Miller and Pitt's production company wants to set in outer space, or "Moneyball" will be the actor's next film or whether he'll select something completely different. Most recently, Pitt spent a few years helping develop the thriller "State of Play" for Universal Pictures until bowing out at the last minute over creative differences with the studio. He instead opted to star in Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life," which will also be released next year.

In any event, if "Button" is the theatrical and critical hit everyone expects, Pitt will hardly have to worry about becoming less selective with his work. He'll be riding high once again.

Awesome.

 

I own this book, and I do assure you, it's not a novel. It's a non-fiction book, and a highly entertaining one.