Movies - TV
How Brad Pitt Saved Moneyball All By Himself
By JEREMY SMITH
When Sony acquired Michael Lewis' bestseller "Moneyball" in 2004, it initially envisioned Brad Pitt starring in a film directed by David Frankel and written by Steven Zaillian.
Frankel eventually walked and was replaced by Steven Soderbergh. Behind the scenes, things quickly became a contentious nightmare and he bolted as well.
Sony could've cut bait and swallowed the development costs, but Pitt was too invested to let that happen. So he got to work salvaging a listing ship.
As Pitt told THR in 2012, "It was dead." Sony could've swallowed the development costs, but Pitt was too invested to let that happen — so he got to work salvaging it.
Producer Scott Rudin said, "There would be no 'Moneyball' without him. He saved it single-handedly, and he deserves the credit for it existing at all."
After Bennett Miller stepped in for Soderbergh, Aaron Sorkin joined Zaillian for a rewrite, and they combined to deliver some exemplary, genuinely smart Hollywood entertainment.