Bennett Miller

MONEYBALL Blu-ray Review

by Andre Dellamorte    Posted: January 16th, 2012 at 5:30 am

What if you made a scrappy underdog sports film that wasn’t funny? In some ways that’s what Moneyball is, it’s the story of Oakland A’s GM Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) and how he works with Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) to build a team to win using statistics over star players. Bennett Miller’s film is engaging enough even for those who don’t follow the game (and those that do may dismiss what they accomplished – as many have) but as a narrative it’s the rare serious attempt to tell an underdog sports story without focusing on jokes or the players. Our review of Moneyball on Blu-ray follows after the jump.

2012 Oscar Preview: Best Picture and Best Director

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: November 27th, 2011 at 7:24 am

And so our 2012 Oscar Preview has come to a close. Over the past three days we’ve brought you our coverage of how the race stacks up for Best Supporting Actress and Actor, Best Actress and Actor, and Best Animated Feature, Screenplay, as well as the technical categories. Today, we’re covering the big ones: Best Picture and Best Director. There are two early frontrunners for the big prize, but we’ve still got a number of unseen pics that could play the spoiler. As for the director race, does Steven Spielberg have a shot at his first trophy in over a decade, or will an Oscar virgin take home the prize? Hit the jump for the current state of the race in the Best Picture and Best Director categories.

Steve Carell Set as Lead in Bennett Miller’s John du Pont Film FOXCATCHER

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: September 29th, 2011 at 7:13 pm

Steve Carell is going dark, folks. The actor has been set as the lead in Moneyball director Bennett Miller’s long-in-the-works true crime pic Foxcatcher, per Variety. The film tells the true story of John du Pont, a paranoid schizophrenic who built a wrestling training facility on his 800-acre Pennsylvania estate where he subsequently shot and killed Olmypic gold medal-winning wrestler David Schultz in 1996. Heir to his family’s chemical fortune, du Pont locked himself in his mansion for two days after murdering his friend, and spent the time on the phone with negotiators. The authorities were finally able to lure the man out of his house when they shut off his power and heat. E. Max Frye (Band of Brothers) and Dan Futterman, who penned Miller’s debut feature Capote, wrote the script.

Miller is no stranger to the true crime genre, as he expertly captured Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood research in 2005’s Capote. His latest effort, Moneyball, is one flat-out fantastic and I can’t wait to see what he brings to the decidedly strange du Pont story. As for Carell, his comedic talent is undeniable but he’s rarely gotten the chance to delve into drama. He showed promise in Dan in Real Life and Crazy, Stupid, Love., but Foxcatcher is a whole new league of dark. He’s an inspired choice, and I’m eager to see what he and Miller cook up. Production is set to begin in March.

Director Bennett Miller Talks MONEYBALL, Deleted Scenes, Test Screenings and Future Projects

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: September 24th, 2011 at 10:14 am

At this year’s Toronto Film Festival, I was able to talk with director Bennett Miller about his new movie Moneyball.  Based on Michael Lewis’ book, the film stars Brad Pitt as Billy Beane, the general manager of Oakland Athletics who helped usher in a statistical revolution to professional baseball.  Jonah Hill plays a fictional character based on Paul DePodesta and Chris Pratt plays Scott Hatteberg.  Moneyball also stars Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Wright and Stephen Bishop.

During the interview, Miller talked about making and editing Moneyball, deleted scenes and what will be on the DVD/Blu-ray, the amount of takes he likes to do, and his preference in film vs. digital.  He also talks about possible future projects, which includes something with Philip Seymour Hoffman.  Hit the jump to watch; here’s Matt’s review of Moneyball (which I also thought was great).

MONEYBALL Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: September 23rd, 2011 at 6:29 am

[This review is a re-print of my review from the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival]

The joy one gets from going to a baseball game is an intangible. You can keep the foul ball you caught in the stands or the souvenir cap you got at the gate, but there’s no quantifying the thrill of seeing a walk-off home-run or watching a player make a diving catch or seeing a pitcher strike out the batter with bases loaded. Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane (played by Brad Pitt) presented an anathema to the intangible by trying to quantify every play and every player. The uproar against his plan was tremendous and oblivious. The game had already been quantified in dollars, and the A’s didn’t have much of those. What they did have was a willingness to rethink an unfair business to so they could have a shot at the championship. Bennett Miller’s adaptation of Michael Lewis’ Moneyball takes the interesting ideas presented in the book and transforms them into a funny, dramatic, and captivating tale that can hold competing ideas simultaneously.

TIFF 2011: MONEYBALL Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: September 13th, 2011 at 10:01 pm

The joy one gets from going to a baseball game is an intangible.  You can keep the foul ball you caught in the stands or the souvenir cap you got at the gate, but there’s no quantifying the thrill of seeing a walk-off home-run or watching a player make a diving catch or seeing a pitcher strike out the batter with bases loaded.  Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane (played by Brad Pitt) presented an anathema to the intangible by trying to quantify every play and every player.  The uproar against his plan was tremendous and oblivious.  The game had already been quantified in dollars, and the A’s didn’t have much of those.  What they did have was a willingness to rethink an unfair business to so they could have a shot at the championship.  Bennett Miller’s adaptation of Michael Lewis’ Moneyball takes the interesting ideas presented in the book and transforms them into a funny, dramatic, and captivating tale that can hold competing ideas simultaneously.

UK Trailer for MONEYBALL

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: August 31st, 2011 at 1:53 pm

Another trailer has landed online for Bennett Miller’s adaptation of Michael Lewis’ Moneyball.  While the book reads like a long, engrossing essay on the changing nature of baseball and the influence of sabremetrics, the movie looks like it will seize on the familiar tropes of the sports drama with a worst-to-first team, believing in stuff, and shocking the world with victory.  There’s nothing wrong with a well-executed sports movie and hopefully Moneyball can deliver.  The UK trailer throws in some new footage but like the previous trailers, it’s all about how Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) took a big chance using statistics to build the Oakland A’s rather than giant salaries.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars Jonah Hill and Philip Seymour Hoffman.  Moneyball will play at the Toronto International Film Festival and open nationwide on September 23rd.

First Trailer for MONEYBALL Starring Brad Pitt [UPDATED]

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: June 15th, 2011 at 7:32 pm

Columbia Pictures has released the first teaser trailer for Moneyball by way of Entertainment Tonight.  Brad Pitt stars as Billy Beane, the general manager of Oakland Athletics who helped usher in a statistical revolution to professional baseball.  Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Jonah Hill, Robin Wright, Stephen Bishop, Kathryn Morris, and Chris Pratt also star.  Bennett Miller (Capote) directed the movie from a script by Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian.  Moneyball opens September 23.  Watch the trailer after the break.

[Update: Sony has released the official version of the trailer, which we've now included after the jump]

Images from the Set of MONEYBALL, Including First Look at Philip Seymour Hoffman in His A’s Uniform

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: August 4th, 2010 at 8:10 pm

Production on director Bennett Miller’s adaptation of the Michael Lewis baseball book Moneyball last month —  our first look was an image of a visored Brad Pitt, and today we have a slew of photos from the set, including our first glimpse at Philip Seymour Hoffman in costume as Oakland A’s manager Art Howe.  Robin Wright, Jonah Hill, Stephen Bishop, Kathryn Morris, and Chris Pratt also star in the film, set for release sometime in 2011.  Check out the images after the jump.

First Image of Brad Pitt on the Set of MONEYBALL

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: July 21st, 2010 at 2:18 pm

There was a point when it looked like Moneyball — the adaptation of the Michael Lewis baseball book led by Brad Pitt — might not make it.  Thus, let us celebrate this physical evidence that Bennett Miller (Capote) is helming the Los Angeles shoot as we speak.  Though there is not yet photographic proof, Robin Wright, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Stephen Bishop, Kathryn Morris, and Chris Pratt also star in the film.  Hit the jump to see the image in full.

Philip Seymour Hoffman and Robin Wright May Join MONEYBALL

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 14th, 2010 at 10:43 am

Philip Seymour Hoffman may reunite with his Capote director Bennett Miller for the adaptation of Michael Lewis’ Moneyball.  Variety reports that the Oscar-winning actor is in talks along with Robin Wright to co-star alongside Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill in the baseball statistics movie.  Okay, here’s a better description:

Based on Michael Lewis’ nonfiction book, story centers on the 2002 Oakland Athletics, who were led by general manager Billy Beane (Pitt) to an excellent season despite having the lowest payroll in the Major Leagues. Hoffman would play team manager Art Howe, who frequently clashed with Beane over strategic decisions.

After falling apart last June after Sony pulled the plug on the project three days before filming was to commence, Moneyball is now scheduled to go in front of cameras in July.

MONEYBALL Starts Throwing Pitches to Other Directors Including Marc Webb and Bennett Mitchell

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: November 11th, 2009 at 12:20 pm

Last June, Steven Soderbergh’s adaptation of Michael Lewis’ book Moneyball fell apart only three days before shooting was set to begin.  With Brad Pitt as the lead, Moneyball focused on the true story of how the Oakland Athletics became a competitive team by relying on statistics rather than the higher payrolls of their competitors.  It’s unlikely for a film to reach production so soon with a big name director and star and have the plug pulled at the last minute.  However, even though Soderbergh has moved on to other projects (including another one about baseball) Sony Pictures is still looking to move the process forward and meeting with several directors including Marc Webb ((500) Days of Summer) and Bennett Miller (Capote).  Hit the jump to see if someone can finally hit this movie.

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