A couple of weeks ago, Sony's Columbia Pictures
unexpectedly announced
that it would scrap Moneyball, Steven Soderbergh's planned baseball flick. The announcement came just a few days before shooting was to begin in Phoenix.
Today, Variety reported that Sony plans to continue the project, but without Soderbergh behind the camera. Sony Chairman Amy Pascal reportedly read Soderbergh's rewriteof Steven Zaillian's screenplay and objected to the changes. Soderbergh had apparently planned an unorthodox narrative structure and a documentary style that the studio worried would alienate audiences. There also may have been a secondary concern that the baseball-centric theme would detract from worldwide ticket sales.
Brad Pitt is still on board to star as Billy Beane, the Oakland A's manager whose unique economical and statistical approach allowed the team to compete with more lucrative baseball franchises such as the Yankees.
The studio will also hire Aaron Sorkin to make some changes to Zaillian's script, which is based on Michael Lewis' non-fiction book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game. Sorkin's writing credits include Sports Night, The West Wing, Charlie Wilson's War, and the upcoming David Fincher-directed movie The Social Network.
Several Major League players, both past and present, agreed to participate in Moneyball, either as actors or as interviewees. They include David Justice, Darryl Strawberry, Lenny Dykstra, and Scott Hatteberg.