The Playlist has debuted the first image (shown above, click for a larger view) of Philip Seymour Hoffman as Oakland A’s manager Art Howe in the upcoming film Moneyball. The stellar cast, of which Hoffman appears to be only a supporting part, also includes Brad Pitt as Billy Beane and Jonah Hill as Paul De Podesta.

One of the more interesting things about the film, as noted in the report, is that the filmmakers aren’t too worried about making the actors match the appearance of the real people they are portraying. The Hoffman role, for example, would require a taller, skinnier actor if faithful appearance was more of a concern for director Bennett Miller (Capote).

Moneyball began filming in mid-July and is still currently shooting in Los Angeles. Scheduled for a 2011 release, this adaptation of Michael Lewis‘ nonfiction book has gone through multiple rewrites and casting changes. Hopefully the finished product will be worth the struggle. I, for one, wasn’t a big fan of Capote, but needless to say, this is a completely different direction for Miller. And it’s tough not to get excited about the cast.

Do you think Moneyball will be a successful sophomore effort for Miller?

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Brad Pitt‘s production troupe Plan B has been fairly busy lately, particularly with the production of Fortress of Solitude. And now, in accordance with Reliance, they have acquired production rights to the novel The Imperfectionists [Deadline Hollywood].

The novel, released this year and written by Tom Rachman, concerns an English newspaper in Italy during the fall of print media, highlighting the personal lives of the editors.

While Pitt is busy starring in Moneyball, there is no word on who else will be involved in the project. But we will let you know what develops.

Might Brad Pitt want to star in this film? Have you read the book?

It seems that the film Moneyball, the story of how the 2002 Oakland A’s created a winning team with statistics, is back on track, but with a casting change. It seems as though Jonah Hill will now be playing the role of Paul DePodesta, the young statistician that helped the A’s manager make history, replacing Demetri Martin. This was revealed by Michael Lewis, the author of the source book Moneyball: The Art to Winning an Unfair Game, in a conversation with ESPN columnist Rob Neyer. Read the full story

About a month ago we reported that the supposedly scrapped Brad Pitt-starring Moneyball was revived and looking for directors. The two rumored directors were Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer) and Bennett Miller (Capote). Variety reports that the latter has got the job. The script, written by Steve Zaillian (American Gangster, Schindler’s List) and Aaron Sorkin (Charlie Wilson’s War, The West Wing) tells the true story “based on Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane, who defied conventional wisdom and even his own scouts by fielding a baseball team of castoffs to create the ultimate underdogs en route to one of the most unlikely winning streaks in the history of professional sports.” It is also reported the budget of the film will likely be downsized, but no reports of a start date yet.

What do you think about Miller directing Moneyball? Would you have liked to see someone else?

When Steven Soderbergh‘s Moneyball was scrapped by Sony Pictures just three days before production was to start it seemed like the project had little hope. That isn’t the case, THR reports. With Aaron Sorkin working on a new draft of the script, two new directors have been mentioned to be interested in the project. Capote’s Bennett Miller and Marc Webb, who was behind this summer’s indie hit (500) Days of Summer are both in the running. Richard Linklater turned down an original offer to direct. The film tells the story of Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane successful attempt to put together a baseball club on a budget, by employing computer-generated analysis to draft his players. The article doesn’t mention whether Brad Pitt is still attached.

I’m not terribly interested in this film, but I would love to see Marc Webb‘s take on the story. If he is attached I can’t see Brad Pitt staying on.

Who would you want to see direct Moneyball?

With star Brad Pitt still attached and director Steven Soderbergh out for the count, Sony is still ready to play ball, hiring The West Wing scribe Aaron Sorkin to rewrite Steven Zailian’s earlier draft, according to an update in Variety.

This film, which was set to begin shooting only a couple of weeks back but was then shut down days before the first day by studio head Amy Pascal, is based on Michael Lewis’ non-fiction Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, which examines how Major League Baseball franchises with small salary caps (the Oakland Athletics primarily) focus on the statistics of players that are off the beat-and-path, suggesting continuing productivity rather than simple RBIs or home run amounts.

This whole film has been a curious endeavor – an all-around A-list adaptation of a book about baseball statistics. Literally, that’s what the book’s about. I have considerable doubts about the marketing value of such a property, but, who knows, baseball is still (barely) America’s pastime.

What do you think of Moneyball? And its future as a film?

/Film reported today that Sony Pictures scrapped the Steven Soderbergh (The Girl Friend Experience) directed Moneyball. The film starring Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) was set to go into production in three days. Soderbergh now has one week to find a new distributor before Columbia Pictures either fires Sodenbergh or drops the project all together. Variety reported that the problem stemmed from the rewrite Soderbergh did to the original script written by Steven Zaillian (American Gangster). Studio head Amy Pascal was so uncomfortable with the new vision that the film had taken then she put the film into a “limited turnaround.” According to Soderbergh the film is extremely innovative and does not follow the typical narrative structure of a sports film.

Other than the three Ocean’s Films I haven’t seen a lot of Soderbergh’s work. But I like what I am hearing about an innovative sports film. I don’t know how I feel about it starring Brad Pitt though. I have a feeling if any studio is going to pick this “innovative” film up it is going to be Warner Bros. They seem to have a track record of taking risks the last few years.

Who do you think if anyone will pick up Moneyball?

Variety is reporting Demetri Martin has joined Brad Pitt for Steven Soderbergh‘s Moneyball. The film, based on a Michael Lewis book, is set to start filming in June. The film follows ballplayer-turned-Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane (Pitt) who tried to form a team on a tight budget. Martin will play a Harvard graduate named Paul De Podesta, who turned down jobs on Wall Street to use his statistical skills, a system known as “Earned Run Value,” to change baseball scouting tactics. Former Oakland A’s team members David Justice and Scott Hatteberg will play themselves, while Daryl Strawberry and Lenny Dykstra will be seen giving on camera interviews about their experiences with Beane. Demetri Martin, can be seen in Ang Lee‘s Taking Woodstock, which opens August 14th.

What do you think about Demetri Martin becoming a film actor?

According to Variety,  Steven Soderbergh (Che, Ocean’s Thirteen) is in early talks to direct Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Babel) in Moneyball, a Columbia Pictures adaptation of the Michael Lewis book Moneyball: The Art of Winning An Unfair Game. The film is being adapted by Steven Zaillian (American Gangster, Gangs of New York).

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