Moneyball has been looking like it'd be a pretty strong move for quite awhile. Jon Weisman of Dodger Thoughts at ESPN Los Angeles (and more famously of Variety) discusses the things he liked the most.
- It's a fascinating character study of Oakland A's GM Billy Beane. Beane is no perfect saint (in fact far from), but that makes for plenty compelling movie-watching.
- The dialogue is cracking. There are sharp scenes with plenty of quotables and heated exchanges, making it pretty much like every Aaron Sorkin script you've ever seen. Sorkin will share credit with Steven Zaillian on this script.
- Brad Pitt turns in one of his greatest performances as Beane, and Jonah Hill is surprisingly understated in a supporting role as a fellow A's executive.
Most interestingly, Weisman believes this movie (just like Sorkin's last notable project The Social Network) will generate serious Oscar potential. Based on this review, you'd figure that the screenplay and an acting nomination for Pitt will be in order. Can it garner the accolades that The Social Network compiled with Best Picture and Best Director (Bennett Miler, the man who directed Capote) garnered?