We’re not sure if you follow all the celebrity and movie news, this being Oakland and all. However Moneyball was supposed to start shooting here this summer, a cool Steven Soderbergh-version of Billy Beane’s life – as played by Brad Pitt. Oakland was going to be blessed with Brad and his entourage.
As the Oakland A’s general manager, Billy Beane probably would have been too busy this summer to pal around with Brad and hang out on the set. His story – Billy’s and not Brad’s – is an interesting one, as we all know. He’s still hard at work trying to make the A’s productive this season.
But the real news came out this morning: the $50 million picture may be kaput. According to Variety, Columbia Pictures head Amy Pascal didn’t like the final script. The film is getting shopped to other major studios this weekend. Otherwise, the production goes on hiatus until things get worked out – or likely not worked out.
Even though Brangelina sells magazines, the Brad half isn’t seen as the sole driver of box office. The movie studio now fears this newfangled movie about baseball and whether it has sufficient worldwide appeal. We think Billy and Oakland are worth risking $50 million, don’t you?
Today in Montclair, 94611 
I enjoyed that book, but I’m baffled by why the studio thought it would make a good movie (or a successful one at the box office). It seems like Pascal finally realized that it was unlikely to make any money, and they’re scrambling to unload the project rather than throw more good money after bad.
Loved the book, the 2002 season (hated the playoffs -thunder sticks!), and would gladly see the movie – hopefully at a reopened Parkway Theater.
Brad’s back! The Sony-produced movie is going to be scribed by Aaron Sorkin now. He’s following orders from Sony brass, and trying to help them make a buck or two.
According to Variety’s Mark Grazer, “Sorkin’s changes will be more in line with the version the studio favored all along, with the focus on Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane, who assembled a contending baseball club on a shoestring budget by employing a sophisticated computer-based analysis to draft players.”
We’re not sure when filming starts in Oakland, but our best guess is that we’ll see Brad and his paparazzi by the fall. Welcome to Hollywood North.
At long last, Powerball has begun filming in LA. We have seen that Brad Pitt even shaved his beard to play Billy Beane. So we should be seeing action around Oakland sometime soon.