Moneyball And Writing

Barbara: Just saw Moneyball, the latest Brad Pitt film. It is so good. Better, in fact, than I thought it would be. It’s funny, smart, sweet, sport-induced-exciting. And extremely well written. I kept thinking there was something about it that reminded me of The Social Network—another film I love love love.

As I was watching Moneyball, I described its style to myself (in one of those internal, random and ongoing monologues I often have with myself) as “quiet poetry”. Yes, there’s something distinctly poetic about it, but it’s not overt, over-the-top, or cloying (not that poetry is those things, but I hope you know what I mean!).

I didn’t know going in who had written the script, but there was a moment 2/3 of the way through (if you must know, it was when the Red Sox owner is talking to the Pitt character) and I sat back, awed by the wonderful language. The owner riffs on baseball and its practices, and he speaks the way many of us aspire to speak: with authority, with honesty, with singular insight. It is the perfect “speech” … without sounding like a speech. And then I knew it—it HAD to be Aaron Sorkin. At the end, the credits rolled by and there it was, his name as co-writer (alongside Steven Zaillian—no slouch in the writing world either). He has officially become my screenplay writing hero.

Is there a writer whose work you'd be able to pick out of a lineup of writing excerpts (if you didn't know the piece)?  Who is your writing hero?

Deb: I love Aaron Sorkin too. But my writing hero for film is still Woody Allen. And oh how I envy you a film on a Wednesday afternoon. Well done!

Barbara: I envy myself too, Deb ... except I saw the film and wrote my little love letter, like, 2 weeks ago. On a weekend night. Sometimes you just gotta blog when you gotta blog. (although I'm gonna guess you'd give a lot for a weekend movie night too, though, huh?)