Photo by Jun Sato
Brad Pitt says his new baseball movie, “Moneyball,” offers many lessons about life itself, and is not just for baseball fans.
“Actually, it’s shameful how little I knew about baseball going into this film,” said Pitt, 47, during a visit to Japan this week with his partner Angelina Jolie and their six children. ”Baseball is only the backdrop for the film. It deals with larger issues such as justice, underdogs and the value we place on success versus failure.”
In “Moneyball,” the Oakland Athletics have lost in the playoffs to the Yankees and are losing their stars to free agency. Innovative general manager Billy Beane (Pitt) is tasked with rebuilding a team for the 2002 season despite a payroll that leaves the A’s trailing the other clubs. He decides to use computer-generated analysis to draft his players, despite opposition from old establishment types.
“What drew me to this story is how success or failure is defined by economics,” Pitt said. “There is an overemphasis, at least in American society, on the worth of one moment of success, as if that were the be-all and end-all. Success is just one step forward to the next failure. The idea that we sum each other up by the achievements of one moment is a flaw in out character.”
Baseball is one of the few sports that have inspired many successful movies. Pitt said that is because the sport has a magic. “It parallels life itself. It’s no wonder that baseball has been part of the zeitgeist of life in America for a century and a half. If you’ve ever seen Ken Burns’ documentary on baseball, you’ll know what I mean. It is pure poetry.”
However, Pitt, making his 8th visit to Japan, hastened to add that “despite all these serious things we are talking about today, ‘Moneyball’ is not a heavy film. It’s fun. I’m proud of it and I hope that Japanese will like it.”
Japanese certainly like Pitt. About 500 fans turned out at Haneda airport to greet him and his family when they arrived at Haneda airport aboard a private jet. Some fans expressed surprise at Pitt’s surfer grunge look — which is in marked contrast to the photos of him in character on the “Moneyball” posters.
In between working engagements, Pitt and Jolie took their kids on a shopping excursion to Kiddyland in Harajuku. “Coming home to my family is a great way to break from all the things I have to deal with each day. It’s the great equalizer,” Pitt said.
Predictably, Pitt and Jolie got a big reception when they walked the red carpet at the Japan premiere at Tokyo International Forum on Wednesday night – perhaps partly because they were the first major movie stars to visit Japan since the March 11 disaster. Pitt gave autographed balls to 10 high school baseball players from the Tohoku area.
“We were all shocked by the cataclysmic catastrophe on March 11,” Pitt said. “I want to tell Japan that you are not forgotten. I’ve been all over the world and have seen many inspirational people, but the tenacity and perseverance that you have shown have really impressed me.”
Pitt said the world is seeing many upheavals this year, especially due to economic disparities – which is a theme of “Moneyball.”
“In the U.S., with the Occupy protests, we are seeing people question a system that has not served us very well. People are feeling marginalized, left out and a bit screwed,” he said. “But at the same time, it is important to not just protest but present a workable solution on how to fix things. If we were inventing the automobile today, we wouldn’t develop something that relies on finite resources. We’d probably build it the way we make iPads. I’m bringing my kids up to question everything – why we have the work week system, the voting system and so on, and then to ask if there is a better way.”
