Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Brad Pitt & Jonah Hill Premiere ‘Moneyball’ In Oakland

Brad Pitt attended the premiere of Columbia Pictures’ Moneyball at the Paramount Theatre of the Arts last night (September 19) in Oakland, California. The Superbad star, who has shed over 30 pounds while filming the reboot of 80s cop extravaganza 21 Jump Street, looked thinner than ever in his dashing grey suit with black shirt and tie.

"Moneyball" hits theaters on Friday, September 23 and is based on a true story. Pitt plays Billy Beane, general manager of the Oakland Athletics baseball team, who utilizes a new method of scouting players that mostly involves analyzing game statistics.

Hence Moneyball, the splashy movie version of Michael Lewis’ 2003 bestseller about Billy Beane, the Oakland A’s general manager who famously/controversially employed “sabermetrics,” a form of cold statistical analysis designed (hopefully) to produce a dynamic baseball team on a budget.

As Brad Pitt worked his way down the red carpet in front of the hundreds of fans who had gathered for the Moneyball premiere, he shouted, “Let’s go, Oakland!” — just as they do at A’s games.

The film, based on a book by Michael Lewis, tells the story of how Beane - played by Pitt - shunned conventional thinking to put together a team of undervalued and overlooked players - with great success that shook the traditionalists.