The art of winning - Moneyball

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Movie
German title The art of winning - Moneyball
Original title Moneyball
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 2011
length 133 minutes
Age rating FSK 0
Rod
Director Bennett Miller
script Steven Zaillian ,
Aaron Sorkin ,
Stan Chervin
production Michael De Luca ,
Rachael Horovitz ,
Brad Pitt
music Mychael Danna
camera Wally Pfister
cut Christopher Tellefsen
occupation

The Art of Winning - Moneyball is a 2011 American sports drama directed by Bennett Miller . The film is based on the book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis . The real background is the Moneyball Years .

action

The Oakland Athletics are after a successful season in the Major League Baseball failed as a division champion in the first round of the playoffs, the few top players the club move to the affluent competition. The ambitious team manager Billy Beane , who tried in vain to persuade the club owner and financier to have more room for maneuver in transfers, realizes that the club is stuck in a dead end. Against fierce resistance from the club's own scouts under the leadership of the experienced Grady Fuson and the trainer Art Howe, Beane, with the help of a young Yale graduate, computer nerd and baseball fan Peter Brand, starts the team on the basis of the Sabermetrics , a computer-aided statistical method , which was ridiculed in the baseball scene at the time to recruit. In doing so, they oblige players who were not rated highly according to the classic selection process and are therefore cheap.

At the beginning of the new season, it seems that the plan is not working. Oakland loses one game after the other, the media attack Beane and the club's internal critics seem to be right. Coach Howe also ignores the proposed line-up of Bene's, as he fears for his reputation, and instead relies on the remaining, long-established players. Beane and Brand, meanwhile plagued by self-doubt, stick to their strategy and finally Beane even sells some regular players to force Howe to change the line-up. Indeed, the Athletics are now starting to win their games. A successful series even culminates in a new historic league record of 20 wins in a row. But as in the previous season, Oakland fails in the first knockout round.

Frustrated, Beane thinks his idea has failed, but his achievements have not gone undiscovered. The owner of the renowned Boston Red Sox , who is enthusiastic about Bene's work, offers him the post of general manager and an astronomical salary. After a period of reflection, however, Beane declines and decides to continue working for Oakland.

In the credits it is mentioned that the Red Sox adapted the Moneyball system even without Beane and were able to win the World Series for the first time in 86 years .

background

The long process of making the film, which began in 2004 with the acquisition of the rights by Columbia Pictures and a first draft of the script by Stan Chervin, was marked by numerous cast changes in front of and behind the camera. The director was initially David Frankel , who was later replaced by Steven Soderbergh . Together with screenwriter Steven Zaillian, he designed a new concept that provided for an unconventional staging such as recordings of interviews with real personalities. A few days before filming was scheduled to begin in 2009, the producers changed their mind, and Soderbergh was replaced by Bennett Miller, who in turn hired Aaron Sorkin to rewrite the script one more time. The plan to let former players like Hatteberg and Justice play themselves has also been abandoned. Spike Jonze can be seen in a small role as a friend of Bene's ex-wife Sharon . Moneyball finally premiered on September 9, 2011 in Toronto. In Germany it was released in cinemas on February 2, 2012. The US $ 50 million production grossed US $ 110 million in cinemas worldwide.

Deviations from real events

Jonah Hill , here at the premiere in Toronto , plays Peter Brand

While the Moneyball Years are by and large authentically reproduced, the film suggests that Beane first came into contact with the Sabermetrics as General Manager . In fact, however, his predecessor in this position, Sandy Alderson , under whom Beane worked as an assistant, was interested in the new statistical method and had begun to analyze players on the basis of the data obtained, albeit to a lesser extent than Beane later. Since Paul DePodesta , Billy Beane's real assistant, the portrayal of himself in Sorkin's new version of the screenplay seemed too fictional, he had the use of his name forbidden, so that the character was given the fictional name Peter Brand .

The role, for which Demetri Martin had initially been cast, was given to Jonah Hill. Art Howe was disappointed with the portrayal of himself in both Lewis' book and the script. The conflict between him and Beane is presented in favor of Bane's point of view and his lack of appreciation for him. However, he did not object to his name being mentioned.

Awards

The production received six Academy Award nominations , including Best Picture, and male lead (Brad Pitt) and supporting roles (Jonah Hill). The American Film Institute named the film one of the Movies of the Year . The adapted screenplay by Zaillian and Sorkin received various awards, including the National Society of Film Critics Award , the BFCA Award , the New York , Toronto and Chicago Film Critics Awards .

Reviews

On Rotten Tomatoes almost exclusively positive reviews are listed (94%). The German film magazine Filmstarts awarded 4.5 stars out of 5 and wrote that Moneyball was a “thrilling and revealing masterpiece”. Although the action takes place almost exclusively off the field, it is "one of the best sports films ever." In the mirror it was said that even moviegoers who had no idea about baseball would be captivated by Moneyball . This is due to a "virtuoso script" and a "brilliant Brad Pitt in the role of the laconic baseball reformer."

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ modernluxury.com, accessed January 7, 2016
  2. ↑ Moneyball. Box Office Mojo, accessed April 24, 2012 .
  3. ↑ Moneyball on Filmstarts.de
  4. ↑ Moneyball: Great Throwing, Brad Pitt , Spiegel Online from February 1, 2012