Moneyball

Posted on September 22, 2011 at 6:02 pm

A-

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for some strong language
Profanity:	Some strong language (much less than the book)
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Chewing tobacco, alcohol
Violence/ Scariness:	Tense family situations, sad references to injuries and letting players go
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	September 23, 2011
Date Released to DVD:	January 9, 2012
Amazon.com ASIN:	B0060ZJ7BC

Brad Pitt is underrated as an actor. But he is the best there is when it comes to calibrating the deployment of his onscreen star power, which he uses as expertly as Meryl Streep does accents. Pitt can dial it down to one when he wants to play character actor and make it work. But here he dials it back up to eleven, giving the role of Oakland A’s manager Billy Beane a shot of pure movie magic in this real-life story about the man who turned baseball upside down by using computer formulas to select “undervalued” players.

The Oakland A’s feel like “a farm team for the New York Yankees.” They make players great and then lose them to the teams with budgets more than three times as large. All that money makes the playing field anything but level. “We’re a small market team and you’re a small market GM. I’m asking you to be okay spending the money we have,” the owner tells Beane. “There are rich teams and there are poor teams and then 50 feet of crap, and then there’s us,” is Beane’s frank appraisal.

The A’s cultivate and train players who leave for the teams that can pay the most. A game that is supposed to be about skill and drive seems to be just about money. And then Beane, in the midst of a negotiation with another team that is not going well, notices a nerdy-looking guy in the corner who seems to have some influence. After the meeting, that nerdy guy becomes Beane’s first draft pick.

He is Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), a shy wonk who comes to work for Beane and together they pursue a different direction. Instead of the century-old system of watching players hit, catch, throw, and run and try to figure out if that means they will be able to perform in the big leagues — a system that failed badly when Beane himself was recruited right out of high school — they will look at computer algorithms about what produces wins. Brand and Beane develop a roster like Warren Buffett puts together a stock portfolio. They look at fundamentals to figure out unrecognized value. Sort of a grown-up Bad News Bears. Or, as Brand puts it, an Island of Misfit Toys.

The script from two of the best screenwriters in history, Aaron Sorkin (“The Social Network”) and Steven Zallain (“Schindler’s List”) is well-structured and filled with smart talk. The scenes of Beane’s own pro career are too long and too distracting. But scenes with Beane visiting his ex-wife (Robin Wright) and her new husband and especially those with Beane and his daughter add warmth and urgency to the story. But it is Pitt who is in every way the heart of the movie, his natural confidence and grace a lovely balance to the formulas with Greek letters and the endless statistics. It is nice to see baseball, that most number-centric game, get upended by numbers. And yet it succeeds because it is that most cherished of traditions, the come-from-behind underdog story.

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The Return of ‘The Sing-Off’

Posted on September 22, 2011 at 3:59 pm

“The Sing-Off” is back and it is bigger! One of my favorite reality shows is Nick Lachey’s a capella competition. This year, Sara Bareilles joins Shawn Stockman and Ben Folds as judges. The contestants this year are:

AFRO-BLUE – Washington, D.C. – This fun-loving ensemble from Howard University started as a class in the music department. They have plenty of soul, and all nine members meld together with beautiful harmonies, soaring solos, and a fresh look.

THE CAT’S PAJAMAS – Branson, Mo. – The Cat’s Pajamas, the all-male vocal band that formed in 2005, pride themselves on their ability to engage each audience member during their dynamic, energetic and interactive performances, bringing a blend of classic songs with a modern a cappella twist.

THE COLLECTIVE – Nashville, Tenn. — Formed by Street Corner Symphony’s Jeremy Lister (“The Sing-Off,” season two), this Nashville based first-time a cappella group is made up of individual singer-songwriters who came together to demonstrate that there is strength in numbers.

DARTMOUTH AIRES – Hanover, N.H. — Dartmouth College’s oldest a cappella group, is currently made up of 15 fun loving, high-energy guys with eclectic tastes and no shortage of quirky antics.

DELILAH – Los Angeles, Ca. – This all-female a cappella group, which includes members from the first two seasons of the series, has been singing across the country, but still carry an unfulfilled desire to conquer “The Sing-Off” stage.

THE DELTONES – Newark, D.E. – Founded in 1991, The University of Delaware Deltones, pride themselves on their smooth tunes and their motto – friends first, singers second. They focus their energy towards singing on campus and in the Delaware community, as it is important for them to give back to those who support them.

FANNIN FAMILY – Hortonville, Wis. – The Fannin Family’s mother was almost a nun and their father was a rock musician. The outcome was 11 extremely well-behaved musicians and eight of them will be taking the stage to show the nation their Midwestern swag.

KINFOLK 9 – Los Angeles, Ca. — A nine-piece professional vocal group from Los Angeles in which everyone can sing lead, with all members coming from very strong musical backgrounds.

MESSIAH’S MEN – Minneapolis, Minn. – Originally from Africa, these unofficial brothers survived the war in Liberia through the power of song and are on a mission to sing their hearts out while serving the Lord.

NORTH SHORE – Boston, Mass. — For the last 30 years, this refined street corner group has entertained thousands of listeners throughout the Boston area with an experienced blend of harmony, rhythm, and tempo in songs from the 1940s to today.

PENTATONIX – Arlington, Texas – The five-member group has a modern style and draws influences from several eclectic electro genres, including dub step and garage house.

SONOS – Los Angeles, Ca. — Formed in 2006 as a recording project that grew into a vocal band, the group blends their voices together in perfect harmony through years of experience. The live electronic effects they are also known for will not be part of the competition.

SOUL’D OUT – Wilsonville, Ore. – This award-winning mixed a cappella group from Wilsonville High School is comprised of students from all grade levels, musical backgrounds and vocal types.

URBAN METHOD – Denver, Colo. — The group, which includes a rapper, was formed by eight musicians whose individual sounds gravitate toward urban music. Each has extensive studio session work but has never previously performed together.

VOCAL POINT – Provo, Utah – The all-male group is Brigham Young University’s premiere contemporary a cappella ensemble. Their nine-man vocal firepower continually invigorates audiences and entertains fans with inventive arrangements, humor and remarkable vocal percussion.

THE YELLOWJACKETS – Rochester, N.Y. – Formed in 1956, the University of Rochester YellowJackets are anything but old-fashioned and half the members are enrolled in The Eastman School of Music at the university. This fun loving group’s mark of distinction is their bright yellow blazers and distinctive sound.

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Interview: Jason Keller of ‘Machine Gun Preacher’

Posted on September 22, 2011 at 3:56 pm

Jason Keller wrote the screenplay for “Machine Gun Preacher,” based on the true story of Sam Childers, whose book, Another Man’s War: The True Story of One Man’s Battle to Save Children in the Sudan, tells the story of his journey from biker to preacher to fighting to protect the children of Sudan and Uganda from genocide.

How did you get involved in this project?

Almost four years ago one of the producers called me and said, “I just heard the most amazing story.” Sam was coming to Los Angeles so we met. I didn’t know if I wanted to do the movie at first, as electrifying as the story was. What the story let me to was Central Africa and I wanted to drill down and understand what the LRA is and about the child soldiers, and I couldn’t not write the movie.

That is such a large, overwhelming topic — how do you create a movie script out of that? How do you decide what to leave out?

I didn’t want to write a political movie. That wasn’t what touched me as I started to learn about Sam’s life and Central Africa. I think of myself as fairly well-informed. I read the newspaper, I’m constantly watching the news, I always challenge myself to learn about things that are not easy to learn about. And here was a part of the world I thought I knew and as I got deeper into it there was an emotional response to what I was learning. Innocent civilians being slaughtered and no one was doing anything about it. I wanted to do a movie that would make people inspired, even angry, but not clutter it with politics.

What I’m proud of is that it isn’t so neat and tidy about Sam or about Central Africa. There are no easy answers. Sam’s not a great guy, even now. It’s not a story of a bad guy turned good guy. It’s about a human being who decided to make different choices, but he’s still flawed. He’s still violent. He’s still intimidating. He’s still making mistakes. It’s that messiness I responded to as a fellow human being.

You had quite a challenge with making this a movie that will appeal to a mainstream audience. You have a religious conversion and you have problems in Africa. How do you make those accessible to a wide audience?

Both of those issues are scary for Hollywood and to some degree to audiences. We didn’t avoid those issues but we told a story that didn’t try to tell you what was right or wrong. I didn’t take this project on to defend the way Sam does things. Do you agree with him? Let’s talk about it. You might disagree with the religious components of this movie but let’s talk about it. Let’s spark a conversation. That’s the only way that we’re going to stay vigilant about these issues that are so vital.

Gerard Butler gives an extraordinary performance.

He has the physical presence for the role and like Sam he comes from a tough background, was going down a bad path early in his life. He’s a perfect fit.

You lived with the family for a while in Pennsylvania. What was that like?

It was crazy. Every time he’d come to LA, we would meet. As I was being pulled deeper and deeper into the story I realized I needed to go where this guy lives, see the church he built with his bare hands, meet his family. I slept in their very modest house tucked out of nowhere in Pennsylvania. I even slept in the church once, just to get the feeling of it.

That was the thing that really hooked me when it came time to commit to writing Sam’s life. There are far too many amazing tales and he could tell you stories that would make your head spin around. I listened to those, eagerly, for months and months and they were interesting and important. But it wasn’t until I grasped the price that that man pays and that his wife paid and continues to pay for what he does over there. Once I got that, it punched through all the other stuff and I was able to see that raw truth, that’s when Sam and the family came into focus for me and I knew this was the story I had to tell.

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Interview: Paige Hemmis of ‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’

Posted on September 22, 2011 at 8:00 am

Paige Hemmis of “Extreme Home Makeover” has enough warmth and enthusiasm to power the show’s bus across the country. It was a lot of fun to talk to her about the show’s 9th season, which starts this Sunday with a two-hour special featuring First Lady Michelle Obama and moves to Fridays in late October.

What’s going to be different this year?

We’re going into Season Nine, which I can’t believe! We’re trying to go bigger and better and really help families that turn around and help everyone else. We just got back from Delaware, where for the first time in our history we had to shut down production because of the hurricane and then go back. That family runs a soup kitchen out of their tiny house and they give out 1000 meals a week. We gave them an industrial kitchen and tons and tons of space so that they can continue to help the community. That’s what we’re really trying to focus on, those people who look beyond themselves so that if we help one family that will help thousands of families in the future.

Did you get to go to the White House?

We film two shows at once and Ty flies back and forth. So while they were working with Michelle Obama, we were in Utah on another project. It was a fabulous experience. The other team got to meet Michelle Obama and Rhianna in the same week!

Any other special guests coming this season?

It’s fun for us to have them, and we become fans and get all giddy and turn into little schoolgirls when the guests come on. This week we have Chris Powell from “Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition.” He’s helping me create a boot came for this mom who’s into fitness. She works with mothers of kids with autism and she runs this boot camp for free. I am so sore, even talking to you now, I am hurting in places where I didn’t know I had muscles! He’s helping the mom but he’s also kicking my booty and getting me in shape and that’s fun!

Tell me about the special chair you had created for the wounded veteran.

Last year we brought in a company from Los Angeles. They call themselves dorks but they are the nicest, sweetest guys. They’re brilliant of course. They have created all this technology and last year they created a sip and puff system that allowed a father to pitch a baseball to his son. This year, they created a chair that looks like an egg if you saw if from the back but it’s a sensory chair. If you press “beach” a beach scene comes up in front of you and you hear beach sounds and even smell beach smells like salty air. He was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder so this helps him relax. I snuck away and sat in it a couple of times and it’s really fun!

I understand that you are entirely self-trained in home repairs.

I feel like I am still learning. About 15 years ago I had a rent-to-own program to help people get into their first home and save them money. I would buy the homes and fix them up. I was a wedding planner at the time and could not afford to bring in people to do the repairs. I went to home improvement stores and got the books and try and try and I made a lot of mistakes but learned a lot. At first I could repair a hole in the wall but by the end I was redoing electrical and doing roofing and bathrooms. If you mess up, it’s wood or drywall — you can replace it. Then on the show, I said, “I know how to fix stuff but to demolish and start over, that’s something else!” But now we get to do the fun stuff. Before I would fix an old toilet. Now, I get to start from scratch, which keeps me learning all the time.

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On The Hub: Majors & Minors

Posted on September 21, 2011 at 8:35 pm

Grammy® Award-winning superstar Will.i.am (Black Eyed Peas) and Grammy® and Academy Award®-winning Jennifer Hudson have joined an all-star lineup of industry artists and professionals serving as mentors for The Hub TV Network’s new original reality music series “Majors & Minors,” premiering Friday, September 23 (8 p.m. ET).

Over the course of the TV season, “Majors & Minors” follows the journey of 12 talented young performers, ages 10-16, as they are mentored by some of the biggest and most successful artists and coaches in the music industry. The Hub TV Network, a destination for kids and their families, is a joint venture of Discovery Communications and Hasbro, Inc.

Music star (and “Black Eyed Peas” founder) Will.i.am and singing/acting sensation Jennifer Hudson join a star-studded team of previously announced top musical artists as mentors (“Majors”) in the ground-breaking series. Also bringing invaluable music experience and star power are Adam Lambert, Brandy, Leona Lewis, Colbie Caillat, Avril Lavigne, Sean Kingston, Jordin Sparks, Claude Kelly, OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder and Mike Posner. Each mentor will provide guidance to the gifted young cast as they begin their roads towards individual stardom. While no one is ever voted off, one lucky “star-in-the-making” will claim the ultimate prize of a recording deal with Boardwalk Records/RCA Records and an opportunity to be featured in a cross-country concert tour.

In the premiere episode, viewers are introduced to the 12 cast members as they participate in the nationwide casting call process along with more than 40,000 young hopefuls. Selections of the final 12 were made by some of the music industry’s top professionals. R&B singing sensation songwriter Brandy guest stars as the premiere episode reveals the back stories that led each of the kids to this point on their journey to their dreams. Brandy also serves as a series mentor and producer on “Majors & Minors.”

The first original track from “Majors & Minors,” titled “One World” will be available on iTunes and all digital retailers beginning Tuesday, September 20. “One World”, which is performed by the “Majors & Minors” cast is featured in the premiere episode and was written by Evan “Kidd” Bogart, Justin Gray, David “DQ” Quinones, Nikola Bedingfield and the “Majors & Minors” cast.

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