| Million Dollar Arm | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Craig Gillespie |
| Written by | Tom McCarthy |
| Produced by | Michael Mandt Neil Mandt Joe Roth Mark Ciardi Gordon Gray |
| Starring | Jon Hamm Aasif Mandvi Bill Paxton Suraj Sharma Lake Bell Alan Arkin Madhur Mittal |
| Cinematography | Gyula Pados |
| Edited by | Tatiana S. Riegel |
| Music by | A. R. Rahman |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 124 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language |
|
| Budget | $25 million[2] |
| Box office | $38.4 million[3] |
Million Dollar Arm is a 2014 Americanbiographicalsportsdrama film directed byCraig Gillespie and produced byWalt Disney Pictures from a screenplay written byTom McCarthy. The film is based on the true story of baseball pitchersRinku Singh andDinesh Patel who were discovered by sports agentJ. B. Bernstein after winning a reality show competition.
The film starsJon Hamm as J. B. Bernstein,Bill Paxton aspitching coachTom House,Suraj Sharma as Singh,Madhur Mittal as Patel, andAlan Arkin. The film's music is composed byA. R. Rahman. Produced byJoe Roth,Mark Ciardi, and Gordon Gray, the film was released theatrically on May 16, 2014.[4][5]Million Dollar Arm grossed $39.2 million.
Sports agentJ. B. Bernstein and his business partner Ash Vasudevan have formed their own struggling company inLos Angeles, but all J. B.'s clients have retired, and he is unable to reel in starNFL player Popo Vanuatu. Desperate for new clients, J. B. realizes the potential for untappedbaseball talent amongcricket players inIndia. He and Ash approach investor Mr. Chang with a proposal — "Million Dollar Arm", an Indian talent contest to find two winningpitchers who will be flown to the U.S. and coached to becomeMajor League Baseball prospects. J. B. secures Chang's funding by agreeing that the winners will be ready for a major league tryout in one year.
Veteranpitching coachTom House warns that baseball is too different fromcricket bowling, but J. B. convinces him to take on the challenge of coaching the winners. InMumbai, J. B. is guided by local businessman Vivek and hires enthusiastic Amit Rohan as his interpreter, and bonds overSkype with his tenant back home, Brenda. Joined by Ray Poitevint, a curmoudgeonly major league scout, they hold tryouts in numerous cities until two winners emerge —Rinku Singh andDinesh Patel.
Vivek reminds J. B. that this is a life-changing opportunity for the boys, who bid an emotional farewell to their families. They and Amit are flown to the U.S., and J. B. is disappointed to learn Brenda has a boyfriend. Rinku, Dinesh, and Amit are kicked out of their hotel after being overwhelmed by the elevator, forcing J. B. to invite them to stay at his home. Never having played baseball before, the boys struggle with House's training and feel neglected by J. B. as he tries to keep his company afloat.
Invited to a party thrown by Popo, J. B. takes the boys and Amit, but is forced to them home when Amit gets drunk after mistaking a margarita for punch and Rinku becomes sick fromovereating; they both vomit inside J. B.'sPorsche, and by the time he gets back to the party, Popo has already signed with someone else. Brenda helps him realize he needs to invest in the boys' wellbeing, and he trades his car in for aDodge Caravan. Spending more time with the boys as their English and baseball skills improve, J. B. and a newly single Brenda share a kiss.
Under pressure from Chang, who demands that the boys demonstrate their progress at a well-publicized tryout, J. B. lashes out at Brenda. Various media outlets, includingESPN andSports Illustrated, join major league scouts to see the boys pitch inTempe, Arizona, with their families and Vivek watching in India. The tryout is a disaster as Rinku and Dinesh, nervous and underprepared, fail to impress anyone. Chang congratulates J. B. on a successful publicity stunt and extends their deal, but declares that Rinku and Dinesh are done.
Refusing to abandon Rinku and Dinesh for the sake of Million Dollar Arm's success, J. B. organizes another tryout, without Chang's support. J. B. is unable to interest any scouts, but Ray arranges for him to meet the head scout for thePittsburgh Pirates, who missed the first tryout and agrees to come. Amit, Dinesh, and Rinku prepare a romantic backyard date for Brenda and J. B., who insists the boys relax and have fun with their second chance. Amit delivers an inspiring speech to Rinku and Dinesh, who impress Chang and the scouts with accurate 90+ mphfastballs.
An epilogue reveals footage of the real Rinku and Dinesh, who were offered contracts by the Pirates, becoming the first Indian athletes signed by a major American sports league; Amit returned to India to coach baseball; and J. B. and Brenda started a family, and continued Million Dollar Arm.
ESPN personalitiesJayson Stark,Karl Ravech, andSteve Levy, journalistKen Rosenthal, and retiredMajor League Baseball playersBarry Larkin andCurt Schilling havecameo appearances in the film.
In 2008, television sports producers and brothers Neil and Michael Mandt began documenting the training and tryouts that Singh and Patel were undergoing at theUSC campus. Using original footage they had shot, they created a nine-minute trailer as a presentation piece for a projected movie about the two players. In December 2008, the Mandts began a collaboration with producersMark Ciardi, Gordon Gray andJoe Roth. In early 2009, the screen rights to Singh and Patel's life story were purchased bySony Pictures Entertainment for development atColumbia Pictures, which hiredMitch Glazer to write a screenplay.[6]
The project was eventually put inturnaround and in 2010, producers Roth and Ciardi set the film up atWalt Disney Pictures. Upon acquiring the film, Disney hiredTom McCarthy to write a script.[7] In May 2012,Jon Hamm was hired to playJ. B. Bernstein.[8][9]Alan Arkin[10] andSuraj Sharma[11] were hired in April 2013, withAllyn Rachel joining the cast the following month.[12]Principal photography began on May 30, 2013 with filming taking place inMumbai,Atlanta, and Los Angeles.[13][14][15]
A. R. Rahman composed thefilm's score. The soundtrack album was digitally released byWalt Disney Records on May 13, 2014[16] whereas the CD release was released on May 19, 2014.[17]
The firsttrailer was released on December 23, 2013 and attached theatrically withSaving Mr. Banks.[18] Disney heavily promoted the film through itsESPN division, withBill Simmons being credited an executive producer on the film.[19][20] The film was fully screened atCinemaCon in March 2014, whereinWalt Disney Studios chairmanAlan Horn claimed that it was the highest-tested film during his tenure at either Disney orWarner Bros., including thefirstHarry Potter film.[21] The film held its world premiere at theEl Capitan Theatre on May 6, 2014.[22]
Million Dollar Arm was released byWalt Disney Studios Home Entertainment onBlu-ray Disc and DVD on October 7, 2014.[23]
Million Dollar Arm grossed $36.5 million in North America and $2.8 million in other territories for a total gross of $39.2 million, against a budget of $25 million.[24]
In its opening weekend, the film grossed $10.5 million, finishing in fourth place at the box office behind fellow new releaseGodzilla ($95.1 million), as well asNeighbors ($25.2 million) andThe Amazing Spider-Man 2 ($16.8 million).[25]
The filmreview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes reports that prior to releaseMillion Dollar Arm received a 65% approval rating from critics, based on 145 reviews with anaverage score of 6.00/10. The site's consensus reads: "Pleasant to a fault,Million Dollar Arm is a middle-of-the-plate pitch that coasts on Jon Hamm's considerable charm without adding any truly original curves to Disney's inspirational sports formula."[26]Metacritic gave the film a score of 56 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[27] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[28]
Scott Foundas ofVariety described the film as a "sharp, slickly produced addition to the Disney sports movie canon [that] works as both a stirring underdog tale and as a revealing look at the expanding global footprint of the American sports-entertainment machine." Foundas also praised McCarthy's screenplay and Gillespie's direction, elaborating that they "put across the movie's many cliches with a certain verve, and find room for unexpected detours and grace notes in an overall familiar trajectory."[29] Michael Rechtshaffen ofThe Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Dutifully covering all the requisite inspirational sports movie/fish-out-of-water bases yet still managing to throw a few fresh curves into the mix, Disney'sMillion Dollar Arm assuredly hits a home run."[30] Chris Nashawaty ofEntertainment Weekly gave the film a "B−" grade, comparing it toJerry Maguire, and calling Hamm's performance one of the film's highlights.[31]
Alonso Duralde ofThe Wrap criticized the film's predictability and excessive sentimentality.[32]
TheAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences placedMillion Dollar Arm on its shortlist of potential nominees for theAcademy Award for Best Original Score andBest Original Song (for "Million Dollar Dream", "Spreading the Word/Makhna", and "We Could Be Kings"), but ultimately was not nominated for either award.[33][34]
| Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teen Choice Awards | Choice Movie: Drama | Nominated | [35] | |
| Choice Movie Actor: Drama | Jon Hamm | Nominated | ||
Directed by Craig Gillespie from a screenplay written by Tom McCarthy, Walt Disney Pictures' drama "Million Dollar Arm" stars Jon Hamm, Aasif Mandvi, Bill Paxton, Suraj Sharma, Lake Bell and Alan Arkin.
