Disney’s Million Dollar Arm will be released on Friday. We begin our coverage, today we begin with video of a press conference held regarding the film, tomorrow we will provide coverage of the recent premiere, and on Friday Alex will present his review of the film. And finally, over the weekend we will share the backstory of the film.
Here are some fun facts about the film that we learned from the press conference.
- The film was originally present to another studio was brought to Disney after they passed as they felt it was a perfect Disney movie
- The movie was presented to theater owners at CinemaCon and they loved it. This is despite they are generally considered a terrible audience
- Jon Hamm enjoyed playing a character that is a better person that Don Drapper who he portrays on AMC’s Mad Men
- Stars of the film, Jon Hamm and Lake Bell both appear on Adult Swim’s Childrens Hospital. However, the movie has gravitas while the TV show does not.
- JB Bernstein says all the major beats of the film are 100% accurate
- Lake Bell got married days before the film started shooting. She had to postpone her honeymoon for the production. She says family was on her mind during the filming.
- Jon Hamm still plays baseball.
Full panel and moderator
Rinku Singh, one of the first “Million Dollar Arm” players from India
JB Bernstein, the real life sports agent played by Jon Hamm
Jon Hamm, star of Million Dollar Arm
on Hamm (right center) makes a point as (left to right) Rinku Singh, Lake Bell and producer Joe Roth look on
Based on a true story, sports agent JB Bernstein (Jon Hamm) finds that business has changed and things aren’t going well for his career. In a last ditch effort to save his livelihood he concocts a scheme to find baseball’s next great pitching ace. Hoping to find a young cricket pitcher he can turn into a major league baseball star, JB travels to India to produce a reality show competition called “The Million Dollar Arm.” With the help of cantankerous but eagle-eyed retired baseball scout Ray Poitevint (Alan Arkin), he discovers Dinesh (played by Madhur Mittal from “Slumdog Millionaire”) and Rinku (played by Suraj Sharma from “Life of Pi”), two 18-year-old boys who have no idea about playing baseball, yet have a knack for throwing a fastball. Hoping to sign them to major league contracts and make a quick buck, JB brings the boys home to America to train. While the Americans are definitely out of their element in India, the boys, who have never left their rural villages, are equally challenged when they come to the States. As the boys learn the finer points of baseball, JB, with the help of his charming friend Brenda (Lake Bell), learns valuable life lessons about teamwork, commitment and what it means to be a family.