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New York, 5:13 PM
Sun Nov 8
10 posts in the last 24 hours

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  • posts about #michaellewis more →

    Sandra Bullock Adaptation Of Michael Lewis' Blind Side Looks Heartwarmingly Awful

    Sony Knew What Soderbergh Was Up to on Moneyball Script

    Soderbergh's Moneyball Script Too Real To Get Made

    Why Did Sony Kill the Pitt/Soderbergh Film Adaptation of Michael Lewis' Moneyball?

    Brad Pitt's Steven Soderbergh-Directed Adaptation Of 'Moneyball' Strikes Out

    Brad Pitt To Grow Michael Lewis' Fat Bankroll

    'Your Fucking Book Destroyed My Career'

    Graydon Carter Sticks It To Portfolio Again

    Eric Schmidt impersonates Mike Long at healthcare conference

    Michael Lewis' Moneyhaul

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    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of Mo MoDo Mo MoDo
    08/24/09

    In reply to Sandra Bullock Adaptation Of Michael Lewis' Blind Side Looks Heartwarmingly Awful
    Blind Side has some subtle points about the self-serving noblesse oblige of a rich alumni family adopting a future All-American defensive player that is bound to get lost in the translation to the screen.
     Reply
    Edited by Mo MoDo at 08/24/09 9:41 AM Mo MoDo was starred Mo MoDo was unstarred
    Image of WackoJacko WackoJacko
    08/23/09

    In reply to Sandra Bullock Adaptation Of Michael Lewis' Blind Side Looks Heartwarmingly Awful
    I think we should be counting our lucky stars! it could've been produced by and starring Renee Zellwegger, Jennifer Aniston, or shudder-shudder Katherine Heigel.
     Reply
    WackoJacko was starred WackoJacko was unstarred
    Image of Hockeymom Hockeymom
    08/23/09

    In reply to Sandra Bullock Adaptation Of Michael Lewis' Blind Side Looks Heartwarmingly Awful
    I loved this story. I read it and re-read it and then forced my husband to read it.
    The trailer does look like an after-school special. That said, I'll still go see it because I'm a sucker for that kind of shit.
     Reply
    Hockeymom was starred Hockeymom was unstarred
    Image of Foster Kamer Foster Kamer
    08/23/09

    @Hockeymom: I mean, I will too: it's The Michael Lewis Movie. Also, I want to see how much they play up the fact that an evangelical Christian family took the kid in. Hmm.
     Reply
    Foster Kamer was starred Foster Kamer was unstarred
    Image of Chip Skylark of Space Chip Skylark of Space
    08/24/09

    @Foster Kamer: I want to see if Sandra Bullock's movie husband has a lot of tats, and forearms like he's done some serious time.

    Evang Tats would be tats none-the-less, and fun to see in those heart warming practice sessions with their new po' friend.
     Reply
    Chip Skylark of Space was starred Chip Skylark of Space was unstarred
    Image of MrInBetween MrInBetween
    08/23/09

    In reply to Sandra Bullock Adaptation Of Michael Lewis' Blind Side Looks Heartwarmingly Awful
    Forget straight to video. This should go straight to Lifetime.
     Reply
    MrInBetween was starred MrInBetween was unstarred
    Image of Foster Kamer Foster Kamer
    07/02/09

    In reply to Sony Knew What Soderbergh Was Up to on Moneyball Script
    Yes, but did they get Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh on tape? Questions worth asking.
     Reply
    Foster Kamer was starred Foster Kamer was unstarred
    Image of Spaceman Bill Leah Spaceman Bill Leah
    07/02/09

    In reply to Sony Knew What Soderbergh Was Up to on Moneyball Script
    Ahhh, so Sony was just protecting us all from the horrors of seeing a 20 ft. Kevin Youkilis Shrek head.
     Reply
    Spaceman Bill Leah was starred Spaceman Bill Leah was unstarred
    Image of skahammer skahammer
    07/02/09

    In reply to Sony Knew What Soderbergh Was Up to on Moneyball Script
    This project was always a bad fit for Sony anyway.


    Am I the only one who hears the lumbering steps of the Beast From Buffalo moving in to snatch another quality project from turnaround hell?

     Reply
    skahammer was starred skahammer was unstarred
    Image of Kid Twist Kid Twist
    07/02/09

    In reply to Sony Knew What Soderbergh Was Up to on Moneyball Script
    Billy Beane's major league career wasn't worth recreating on the big screen.
     Reply
    Kid Twist was starred Kid Twist was unstarred
    Image of RaleighSthenelus RaleighSthenelus
    07/02/09

    In reply to Sony Knew What Soderbergh Was Up to on Moneyball Script
    The film was axed because Sony has had one bomb after another this summer and they couldn't justify spending $50 million on a risky film. If Year One or the Denzel/Travolta flick would've done decent at the box office this would not have happened. I used to work there, they're firing people left and right to cut costs. Amy Pascal is a liar, plain and simple. Just days after she delivered here "Status of the Studio" speech to the entire company last year, the next week hundreds lost their jobs. Sony is playing scared right now because they have no brand identity. Year after year they rely on star power to drive their slate, not concept or story. Amy Pascal has killed Columbia and it's identity. I would not be suprised if Howard Stringer gives her the boot this year.
     Reply
    RaleighSthenelus was starred RaleighSthenelus was unstarred
    Image of raincoaster raincoaster
    07/02/09

    @RaleighSthenelus: I'd like to know how much they've ALREADY spent, though. How much is it to kill a film with a major star jsut before filming? Surely Brad's agent got some guarantees.
     Reply
    raincoaster was starred raincoaster was unstarred
    Image of phlox✔ phlox✔
    07/02/09

    In reply to Sony Knew What Soderbergh Was Up to on Moneyball Script
    Here's a quick fix: substitute Billy Bean for Billy Beane.
    Brad Pitt should have no trouble playing a gay MLB player and Bean was pretty ripped back in the day.
    Change the title to Fielding Ground Balls or something, make a few changes in the screenplay and, Voila! Soderbergh's got himself another hit.


     Reply
    phlox✔ was starred phlox✔ was unstarred
    Image of Flippyjack Flippyjack
    07/02/09

    In reply to Sony Knew What Soderbergh Was Up to on Moneyball Script
    I hope they find financing and make that damn movie.

    Do you realize?

    Billy Beane (the Pitt character) is gay. Some of y'all care about that.

    Steven Soderberg made Traffic. Which was brilliant.

    Billy Beane's logic changed baseball.

    Soderberg is right on with his treatment.

    This is like when Terry Gilliam watched Don Quixote explode in front of him.

    Sometimes the perfect piece of art for the perfect artist just slay each other to no one's benefit.
     Reply
    Flippyjack was starred Flippyjack was unstarred
    Image of katekate is squared katekate is squared
    07/02/09

    @Flippyjack: Isn't it the other Billy Bean who's gay? Also, who cares?
     Reply
    katekate is squared was starred katekate is squared was unstarred
    Image of skahammer skahammer
    07/02/09

    @Flippyjack: You are going to want to have your gaydar recalibrated, state.
     Reply
    skahammer was starred skahammer was unstarred
    Image of skahammer skahammer
    07/02/09

    @skahammer: Or maybe "stat." (Going off to have my speller recalibrated right now.)
     Reply
    skahammer was starred skahammer was unstarred
    Image of raincoaster raincoaster
    07/02/09

    In reply to Sony Knew What Soderbergh Was Up to on Moneyball Script
    Looks like The Making of Moneyball is the kind of story you'd put Michael Lewis on...hmmm, is it a plot to keep him employed or something?
     Reply
    raincoaster was starred raincoaster was unstarred
    Image of The Cajun Boy The Cajun Boy
    07/02/09

    @raincoaster: I have a feeling that Michael Lewis is sitting back and just laughing at all of this. I think I want to be his friend.
     Reply
    The Cajun Boy was starred The Cajun Boy was unstarred
    Image of raincoaster raincoaster
    07/02/09

    @The Cajun Boy: Ditto. Or girlfriend...given the track record there, he's overdue. Hmm...
     Reply
    raincoaster was starred raincoaster was unstarred
    Image of Juancho Juancho
    07/02/09

    @The Cajun Boy: surely you can't be that desperate for pals, amigo.


    (for the record, I've read MONEYBALL, but LIAR'S POKER is a much better book, both in writing and as to how relevant it still is today)

     Reply
    Juancho was starred Juancho was unstarred
    Image of graceless graceless
    07/01/09

    In reply to Why Did Sony Kill the Pitt/Soderbergh Film Adaptation of Michael Lewis' Moneyball?
    Brad Pitt doesn't work much anymore... guess he doesn't have to.
     Reply
    graceless was starred graceless was unstarred
    Image of skahammer skahammer
    07/01/09

    In reply to Why Did Sony Kill the Pitt/Soderbergh Film Adaptation of Michael Lewis' Moneyball?
    A rare problem in the movie business, but a problem unique to it all the same: Both Zaillian and Soderbergh are accomplished craftsmen who have earned the right to have their instincts trusted by others. When they clash, though, you can't just assume either one is right. And then you're left trying to evaluate words on a page according to how they would look dramatized on film.


    The movie business is a tough one, folks. This is just one reason why.


    Also, holla for Schizopolis. [crickets] OK, that one's just me then.

     Reply
    skahammer was starred skahammer was unstarred
    Image of raincoaster raincoaster
    07/01/09

    In reply to Why Did Sony Kill the Pitt/Soderbergh Film Adaptation of Michael Lewis' Moneyball?
    I'm with Michael Lewis on this. I loved Moneyball, but cannot imagine turning it into a movie. His football book, Blind Side, has waaaaaaaaaaay more potential in that sense, although it's not as good a book as Moneyball.


    Moneyball is numerative, not narrative. Those changes the screenwriter made sound like solid additions to help the story move.

     Reply
    raincoaster was starred raincoaster was unstarred
    Image of The Cajun Boy The Cajun Boy
    07/01/09

    @raincoaster: I agree completely. Blind Side is a much more compelling story in every way.
     Reply
    The Cajun Boy was starred The Cajun Boy was unstarred
    Image of raincoaster raincoaster
    07/01/09

    @The Cajun Boy: There's a section in Blind Side that actually made me cry. And I don't give a rat's ass about football. It was one paragraph, describing four steps a player took during one game, and sketching out his entire life within those four steps.


    Michael Lewis is a genius. I am in awe of his talent, and I don't say that very often.

     Reply
    raincoaster was starred raincoaster was unstarred
    Image of skahammer skahammer
    07/01/09

    @The Cajun Boy: I ask you to consider that Moneyball is the more compelling story because it's about the dawning of a completely new way of conducting operations in an otherwise furiously entrenched business (professional baseball).


    While The Blind Side simply illustrates one of the oldest ways of doing business in college-football recruiting: Getting outstanding athletes adopted by families that, in the absence of the kid's talent, would be unlikely ever to encounter him, much less have anything to do with him.


    Both are great stories, I agree. But one is about changing the game, and the other is about business as usual. The former actually has much deeper conflicts to dramatize -- although whether they're actually dramatizable is a key question.

     Reply
    skahammer was starred skahammer was unstarred
    Image of raincoaster raincoaster
    07/01/09

    @skahammer: That's exactly the question, though. "I've found a new algorithm, team," isn't exactly the St. Crispin's Day Speech.


    Blind Side does have it's game-changing point, the rise of the Refrigerator-type, but Moneyball was a more interesting book, just far less narrative. Hollywood likes personal stories, not mathematical ones. And Blind Side has far more interesting, fully-developed characters, in part because Lewis was personally acquainted with everyone in that book.

     Reply
    raincoaster was starred raincoaster was unstarred
    Image of skahammer skahammer
    07/02/09

    @raincoaster: But "I can do this job better than anyone, even though everyone else in the entire business thinks I'm wrong (due in part to my spectacular flameout when I tried to play the game myself)" offers a boatload of possibilities, I would think.


    In The Blind Side -- and I'll say it again, it's a riveting book -- I just don't see dramatizable conflicts at work. Freakish natural talent sweeps the field and renders social barriers meaningless -- that's the best I can do with that book, unless you're really going to try to illuminate some kind of hypocrisy in the Tuohy family (tough sledding there). Who are your antagonists -- the poor undersized Christian-school kids forced to play nose tackle against this unholy behemoth? (And frankly I thought the NCAA lady who got treated so dismissively by Lewis was actually one of the good guys. I have a soft spot for bureaucrats, I guess.)

     Reply
    skahammer was starred skahammer was unstarred
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