Actor John Ortiz Developing Biopic Based on Baseball Player and Manager Ozzie Guillen

Ozzie Guillen was the first Latino professional baseball manager to ever win the World Championship, and that alone is a striking accomplishment when looking at the history of the sport and how discriminatory it used to be.  He’s also a polarizing figure, and actor John Ortiz (Silver Linings Playbook) is working with the former White Sox manager to develop a film along the lines of Moneyball.  Hit the jump for more.

Speaking to Showbizcafe, Ortiz says:

“Ozzie Guillen and I are going to meet when I’m in Chicago. I don’t want to make a straight up baseball movie, but something along the lines of “Moneyball”. It’d be a lot more than just 9 guys on the baseball diamond. I want to do something where we focus on the profession of him being a baseball manager, how complex of a man he is, the culture, immigration, Chicago, Miami, [Fidel] Castro, there is so much there. I’m fascinated with him, I think he’s such a charismatic dude and people seem to love him or hate him. So I think he’d be a great subject for a movie.”

If the time is right to make a film along the lines of Moneyball, it’s now.  We’ve already seen how a general manager operates, and it’s not like Billy Beane was a simple personality.  But if Ortiz is going to make his biopic, it might be a good idea to stop before Guillen’s tumultuous single season as the Miami Marlins manager since it would probably undermine the narrative that came before.