Full disclosure here: I'm a huge Philip Seymour Hoffman fan. And I hate the Oakland A's.What's a blogger to do, then, when the new Bennett Miller film, Moneyball, is released in theaters Sep. 23?
Go see it, of course!
Looking at the trailer below, Moneyball may not be a huge box office draw (hell, the A's can't even draw fans), but the Sony Picture could be another critically-acclaimed effort for Hoffman, who has won over 50 different film awards. At the very least, it's a baseball movie. Can't go wrong there, right?
In Moneyball (based on the Michael Lewis bestseller from 2003), Brad Pitt plays A's GM Billy Beane and Jonah Hill (Superbad, Megamind) takes on the part of Paul DePodesta, the nerdy stat geek who introduced the idea of sabermetrics to Beane. Interestingly, in the movie, DePodesta's name is changed to Peter Brand.
Hoffman, meanwhile, plays Oakland manager Art Howe and based on the trailer below, it's not easy to tell just how much (or little) of Hoffman's craft we will get to see in the film.
Chris Pratt (you know, Andy from "Parks And Recreation"?) plays Scott Hatteberg and Stephen Bishop (Friday Night Lights) plays David Justice.
The 2002 Oakland A's did have a magical run (103-59), though it did not culminate in a World Series appearance. They lost to the Minnesota Twins in the ALDS.
The A's drew 2.1 million fans that year at the Coliseum and are probably best remembered for their 20-game win streak from Aug. 13 to Sep. 4.
One other interesting tidbit: Former San Francisco Giants shortstop Royce Clayton is in the movie. Guess who he plays? Yup. Former Oakland shortstop and current Giant Miguel Tejada.
Other notable players from the 2002 Oakland A's (although I'm not sure how many appear in the film, if any): Eric Chavez (the one who hit 34 HR), Jermaine Dye, Ray Durham, Eric Byrnes, Carlos Pena, Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito.
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