Let’s run the bases real quick and recap the whole Moneyball fiasco(cue the movie-montage):

Oscar winner Steve Zaillian spun a script from Michael Lewis’s book about Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane’s successful attempt to put together a baseball club on a budget. Sony picked it up, Brad Pitt and Steven Soderbergh hopped on board, Soderbergh retooled the script into something more along the lines of a documentary with “if it didn’t happen in real life, it won’t happen on the big screen” running through its veins. Sony bucked, the head of Sony, Amy Pascal pulled the plug the morning of the first day of shooting.  There.  Now we’re all on the same page (for more details, go here).

Today we have new details on Moneyball’s current status and a few words from its (almost) star, Brad Pitt.

So Soderbergh turned in this new script that was (allegedly) some kind of bastardization of Sony’s original vision for Moneyball.  At the outset, the movie was reported to capture the essence of Billy Beane and his frantic energy that revamped the professional baseball recruiting process. The movie reportedly would’ve resembled something akin to Major League, only based more in reality and without Charlie Sheen (unfortunately).  But once Soderbergh got his hands on it, what was once a sure thing became a fakakta mess, so Pascal put the kibosh on the project.

However, rumors are circulating that maybe it wasn’t Soderbergh and Pascal’s difference of opinion after all that caused Moneyball to strike out – maybe it was Pitt’s pits! You see, Brad Pitt is notorious for a few things: having nineteen visible abdominal muscles, liking “dahgs,” buying kids in six packs, being able to rock an outfit that would make the rest of us look like D.J. Qualls… and pulling out at the last minute (of projects, that is).

Let’s look at his track record, shall we? The actor dropped out of The Fountain, State of Play, and The Fighter in various degrees of last-minute scenarios.  So it wouldn’t be surprising to find that he once again suffered the morning-of jitters and decided to leave the bride at the alter, so to speak. Now mind you, this is all speculation based on a few whisperings here and there on the Interwebs, but still, it seems like a rumor worth considering.

weird bobble-head Pitt

Now consider this: new reports are surfacing that in fact, Pitt was whole-heartedly behind the project, and still is. Pitt was rocketed questions rapid-fire regarding Moneyball during a walk-by on a red carpet.  Granted, this isn’t the best time for an in-depth interview regarding the outlook of future projects, however The Playlist reports that Pitt spoke out about the project for the first time in public since the whole fiasco went down. When asked if he thinks Moneyball can recovered, or if it’s going the way of the dodo, Pitt responded with:

“My gut says yes. It’s a weird climate right now. But we’re still trying to re-mount it. I hope we get to do it soon.”

Wow, Pitt, you couldn’t be more vague if you were running for public office (consider that option, pal). But still, it’s something, right?  What’s more, Soderbergh is off the project, but Pitt, Sony, screenwriter Aaron Sorkin (who is writing a new draft of the script) and producers Mike DeLuca are still trying to keep the film alive and bring aboard a new director.

So whaddya think?  Will the American public dig a flick about baseball recruiting, starring Brad Pitt (especially if he doesn’t take his shirt off)?  Is there a large enough demographic that justifies making a movie about one dude and his strategies for picking players?  And, if you could choose, who would you get to direct Moneyball? Does this film have what it takes to – here it comes – hit a home run?  ZING!

Source: The Playlist