Script Re-writes For MLB Approval Had Role In "Moneyball" Demise

Film Was Re-Written For MLB's Approval

Sony Pictures last month put the film version of Michael Lewis' book "Moneyball" into limited turnaround after production was "halted by a studio suddenly confronted by plans for something artier and more complex than bargained for," according to people involved with the film cited in a front-page story by Michael Cieply of the N.Y. TIMES. The studio hired screenwriter Steven Zaillian to re-write an earlier script, while Steven Soderbergh was brought on the direct the film. However, a "week before filming was to begin, [Soderbergh] delivered his own revision of the script." One reason for Soderbergh's revision was to "win the approval of Major League Baseball, which was not happy with some factual liberties" in Zaillian's version. Approval from MLB is "crucial in a baseball film that intends to use protected trademarks." MLB VP/Business PR Matt Bourne: "Typically, on a film like this, we look at it for historical accuracy. We've been in touch with Soderbergh and Sony, and they've been receptive to our requests." Cieply reports what MLB officials "saw as accurate, Sony executives saw as being too much a documentary." Soderbergh planned to "film interviews with some of the people who were connected to the film's story." "Moneyball" is estimated to have cost Sony $10M "in script development and costs like scouting locations." The film, estimated to have a $57M budget, was "not hugely expensive but not a small indie project, either" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/2).

BIG SCREEN MATERIAL? In San Jose, Jon Becker notes there is "still a shot the movie gets made by Sony Pictures." However, it is "back in the development stage" after Sony Pictures co-Chair Amy Pascal "stopped production because it was too much of a dramatic re-creation and didn't have enough 'Hollywood' in it." Pascal in part "pulled the plug on the film after seeing" Soderbergh's revised script. Lewis said of the situation, "I don't understand why they bought it for a movie in the first place" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 7/2).