Anyone looking to get a “Brangelina” sighting should be staking out the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.
That’s because the long awaited Sony Pictures adaptation of Michael Lewis’s “Moneyball” has started on site production. Lewis’s 2003 novel which recounts the exploits of the Oakland A’s and General Manager Billy Beane will feature Brad Pitt as Beane.
Other stars include Philip Seymour Hoffman as Art Howe who managed the baseball team from 1996 to 2002 and Robin Wright who plays Beane’s ex-wife Sharon.
The movie which has been on the Hollywood backburner since 2008, will focus on the A’s record breaking 20 consecutive game winning streak from August 13 to September 4 during the 2002 season.
This accomplishment was even more incredible due to Oakland’s relatively small payroll. Throughout the years, Beane and other team executives have been forced to make tough decisions which allow the A’s to compete with American League economic juggernauts like the New York Yankees and the Boston Redsox. This has caused the team to develop a formula of acquiring good, young talent only to trade them once they become valuable, hence the term “Moneyball.”
The movie has been filming between actual games at the Coliseum throughout August, bringing in former umpires and broadcasters including Greg Papa to lend true to life credibility. Although one of the scenes which allegedly depicts Pitt standing in the dugout is less then accurate; a General Manager is never in the team’s dugout during a game.
Despite the fact that Director Steven Soderbergh has also brought in former A’s first baseman Scott Hatteberg to play himself, the real buzz is surrounding Brad Pitt and girlfriend Angelina Jolie.
Recently, the two have been spotted around the Oakland set with their 6 children in-tow. The couple is reportedly staying at the Claremont Hotel in Berkley during filming, blocking off an entire wing in what staff is describing as a “military operation.” If you want to get a peek at the couple you will have to get through the secret service type security.
The Bay Area has its fair share of famous residents, but it’s not every day that this Hollywood style circus comes to town. Since the Oakland A’s have failed to bring in significant attendance in the past few years, filmmakers must be hoping that Pitt’s star power will draw people in.