Brad Pitt, Philip-Seymour Hoffman premiere new film 'Moneyball' Special

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By Andrew Moran

Sep 10, 2011 in Entertainment

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By Andrew Moran.

Toronto - Brad Pitt, Philip-Seymour Hoffman and Jonah Hill were in Toronto Friday for the 36th annual Toronto International Film Festival. The trio's new baseball motion picture "Moneyball" premiered at one of the world's largest film festivals.

The new film “Moneyball” is based on a 2003 book of the same title. It surrounds the story of Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane’s attempt to utilize analytical, computer generated analysis instead of acquiring high-priced talent to assemble a winning ballclub.

This method contradicted the traditional wisdom of scout talent who used statistics such as runs batted in, batting average and stolen bases. Instead, Beane used other indicators – identified as Sabermetric Analysis – to judge offensive talent: on-base percentage and slugging percentage.

This form of player evaluation has had a significant impact on MLB teams, including the Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals and the Toronto Blue Jays.

Brad Pitt, Academy Award winner Philip Seymour-Hoffman, Jonah Hill and other stars of “Moneyball” were in Toronto Friday to premiere the new picture at the 36th annual Toronto International Film Festival at Roy Thomson Hall.

Also at the premiere, ex-MLB All-Stars were in town, including former Atlanta Braves and Cleveland Indians outfielder and designated hitter David Justice.

In front of a very large crowd, the stars signed a few autographs and took part in interviews.

“Moneyball” currently has an 83 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes’ TOMATOMETER.

“The movie does achieve something nearly impossible: Someone who doesn't even like the sport may care about Billy Beane and the 2002 Oakland Athletics,” wrote Kirk Honeycutt of the Hollywood Reporter.

“As is the case with most memorable sports films, Bennett Miller's ‘Moneyball’ engages, amuses and educates us with moments that happen off the field of play, rather than with what happens on it,” wrote Hollywood News’ Sean O’Connell.

The baseball movie is scheduled to hit theatres on Sept. 23.