Moneyball Movie: Steven Soderbergh's Billy Beane Film Gets Axed

by Jon Azpiri | June 22, 2009 at 02:09 pm

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Plans for a film based on the Michael Lewis bestseller Moneyball have apparently fallen through. The Moneyball movie, which was set to star Brad Pitt as Oakland A's manager Billy Beane, has been put hold by Columbia Pictures.

Director Steven Soderbergh was set to start filming this week in Phoenix, but Columbia exec Amy Pascal reportedly pulled the plug after being disappointed by Soderbergh's rewrite of Steven Zaillian's original script.

In addition to Pitt, the film was supposed to feature many current and former Major League baseball players such as Lenny Dykstra and Scott Hatteburg.

The Moneyball movie may not be dead yet, however.

Columbia Pictures studio head Amy Pascal officially delegated the film into "limited turnaround" status, which gives Soderbergh the chance to find another backing studio. Warner Bros. and Paramount are considered top prospects.

If a new financier doesn't emerge by the end of Monday, Variety reported, Columbia will consider options that include replacing Soderbergh, delaying the film until Pascal and the filmmaker find themselves in synch on the script or pulling the plug altogether.