Soderbergh Update: Moneyball and ‘The Informant’ Trailer

Published by Jeff Leins on July 2, 2009

The New York Times is reporting Steven Soderbergh has been removed from directing duties on Moneyball, an adaptation of Michael Lewis’ non-fiction book about baseball statistics, manager Billy Beane, and the Oakland A’s.

Five days before Soderbergh was supposed to start shooting with lead actor Brad Pitt, the Oscar-winning director turned in a new draft of the script that included a “radical departure” from the approved version written by Steven Zillian.  Subsequently Sony Pictures co-chairman Amy Pascal pulled the plug on the $57 million production.

The decision cost the studio $10 million in script development and other costs, while Soderbergh is left holding hours of interviews with real ball players like Lenny Dykstra, Mookie Wilson, and Darryl Strawberry.  A similar report by the LA Times describes clashing expectations from money men looking for enough appeal in a more traditional narrative and Soderbergh, hoping to make an artistic piece with authentic accounts of the events.  The director felt he was taking it in a more creative direction while winning the support of Major League Baseball with its factual accuracy.

Pascal, who has a close personal relationship with Pitt’s agent (Bryan Lourd), allowed them to offer the project to Warner Bros, Fox, and Paramount.  They all passed.  The project remains at Sony, who is still hoping to keep Pitt on board after Soderbergh moved on to other ideas this week.  It’s not likely Pitt will stay on board considering how loyal the actor is to his friend after making three Ocean’s movies together.  Even if he stays, Pitt has director approval on his films, so a new pick would have to be okayed by him and the studio.  At this point the movie happening at all is a longshot.

Meanwhile Warner Bros has rolled out the trailer for The Informant, a comedy by Soderbergh starring another of the Ocean’s crew, Matt Damon.  It tells the true story of Mark Whitacre and how he blew the whistle on price fixing in the grain industry in 1992.  It opens October 9, but you can watch the funny trailer right here and now.  Or at Apple.com.