In Steven Soderbergh’s aborted attempt at adapting the non-fiction book “Moneyball,” he was looking to have many of those involved in the narrative depicted by their real-life counterparts. A few re-writes and a new director later (Bennett Miller), it appears they’ve distanced themselves from the pretense of real life, with actors signing on to play the likes of superstar Alex Rodriguez and journeyman Scott Hatteberg. We’re not sure how big a role the finished film has for Oakland A’s manager Art Howe, as he was originally slated to play himself, but they certainly upgraded by casting Philip Seymour Hoffman as the tranquil skipper.
Thanks to Facebook, we have our first look at Hoffman in the film (click on the image on the left for a larger view). Hoffman doesn’t appear to have been interested in changing his appearance to match Howe’s — the former manager was tally, lanky and a couple of decades older than Hoffman’s current appearance, but then again Jonah Hill is playing Paul DePodesta and he looks nothing like that real-life person. The portrayal of Howe will be an interesting one for baseball fans, as his character was assailed in the original book as something of a go-along boob that Oakland executive Billy Beane (Brad Pitt in the film) freely micromanaged. Howe, who won 600 games as the A’s manager, went on to provide lackluster stewardship for the Mets during two years with a sub-.500 record, including one humiliating last place finish. Yes, some of us are still bitter about that.
“Moneyball” stars Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Wright Penn, Chris Pratt, Kathryn Morris and is slated for a 2011 release.
