In a strange move, a major studio have put the skids on a film by an Oscar winning director, with a bankable movie star in the lead that was ready to roll. Steven Soderbergh was to start shooting the film Moneyball, with Brad Pitt attached as the lead, for the studio today; but Sony President Amy Pascal pulled the plug over the weekend, after a final draft of the script was delivered last week by Soderbergh and (other Oscar winner) Steve Zaillian. According to Variety, changes took place within the script, that they originally green-lit to the tune of $55 million, that Sony didn't like, thus they took a bath on the development money they had already put in. The film is based on a book by Michael Lewis about Billy Beane (who was to be played by Pitt), the former player who resurfaced as Major League team the Oakland A’s general manager and found success fielding competitive teams for less cost, in sport where those with the clams, generally rise to the top of the food chain. Not a huge budget considering the star, but Pascal is obviously thinking that movies about Baseball don't travel at the box-office, so if it flopped in America, they're pretty much screwed internationally. Pitt and Soderbergh have a few days to find another studio before Sony decide to move on with another director/cast.
