Hardball
Directed by	Brian Robbins
Produced by	Brian Robbins Michael Tollin
Written by	Daniel Coyle (book) John Gatins
Starring	Keanu Reeves Diane Lane D.B. Sweeney
Music by	Mark Isham
Cinematography	Tom Richmond
Editing by	Ned Bastille
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	September 14, 2001
Running time	106 minutes
Language	English
Budget	~ US$21,000,000

Hardball is a 2001 American film directed by Brian Robbins. It stars Keanu Reeves, Diane Lane and D.B. Sweeney. The screenplay by John Gatlins is based on the book Hardball: A Season in the Projects by Daniel Coyle. The original music score is composed by Mark Isham. The film is known in some parts of the U.S. as "Little Sluggers."

Contents 1 Cast 2 Plot 3 Details 4 Controversy 5 Soundtrack 6 External links

[edit] Cast

• Keanu Reeves ... Conor O'Neill
• Diane Lane ... Elizabeth Wilkes
• John Hawkes ... Ticky Tobin
• Bryan Hearne ... Andre Ray Peetes (as Bryan C. Hearne)
• Julian Griffith ... Jefferson Albert Tibbs
• Michael B. Jordan ... Jamal (as Michael Jordan)
• A. Delon Ellis Jr. ... Miles Pennfield II
• Kristopher Lofton ... Clarence
• Michael Perkins ... Kofi Evans
• Brian M. Reed ... Raymond 'Ray Ray' Bennet
• DeWayne Warren ... Jarius 'G-Baby' Evans
• Carol Hall ... Pearla Evans (as Carol E. Hall)
• Jacqueline Williams ... Lenora Tibbs
• Freeman Coffey ... Darryl Mackey
• D.B. Sweeney ... Matt Hyland
• Graham Beckel ... Duffy
• Mike McGlone ... Jimmy Fleming
• Reginald A. Dempsey Jr. ... Bobby J. Williams (as Reginald Dempsey Jr.)

[edit] Plot

Conor O'Neill is a gambler who has bet on his dead father's account and is now severely in debt. In order to repay the debt he must coach a baseball team of troubled kids in the Cabrini-Green housing projects of Chicago. He had decided that once he repaid his debts he would leave the team but soon Conor connects with the kids and finds it harder to leave than he thought.

[edit] Details

• Two players on Coach O'Neill's team are named Jamal and Andre. Keanu Reeves (O'Neill) starred as a quarterback in the football movie The Replacements, and his two main blockers were also named Jamal and Andre.
• The Major League game took place not at Comiskey Park or Wrigley Field, but at Tiger Stadium.
• The movie was filmed in the ABLA Homes in Chicago.
• Sammy Sosa makes a cameo.
• All of the league's team names are taken from tribes in Africa.
• Diane Lane and D.B. Sweeney previously co-starred together in Lonesome Dove.
• The bookies that O'Neil owes his debts to are members of the Irish Mob in Chicago's Lincoln Park Irish Pub area.

[edit] Controversy

The film was based on a nonfiction novel that tracked the experience of Robert Muzikowski, a real-life youth baseball coach. Muzikowski sued Paramount Pictures Corp. for defamation, alleging that the film inaccurately portrayed him as a down-on-his-luck gambler with suspicious ties who took on youth baseball simply to repay a debt. In fact, Muzikowski coached baseball voluntarily because of his concern for the community, was not a degenerate gambler, and was an upstanding member of his community. Muzikowski won his lawsuit against Paramount Pictures Corp.

[edit] Soundtrack

A soundtrack containing hip hop and R&B music was released on September 11, 2001 by Columbia Records. It peaked at #55 on the Billboard 200 and #34 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

[edit] External links

• Hardball at the Internet Movie Database
• Hardball at Box Office Mojo

Preceded by The Musketeer

Box office number-one films of 2001 (USA) September 16 - September 23

Succeeded by Don't Say a Word

v • d • e Films directed by Brian Robbins Good Burger (1997) · Varsity Blues (1999) · Ready to Rumble (2000) · Hardball (2001) · The Perfect Score (2004) · The Shaggy Dog (2006) · Norbit (2007) · Meet Dave (2008)