Sony Cans Pitt's New Flick

You know the economy is bad when a film studio backs off a Steven Soderbergh/Brad Pitt vehicle this late in the game. Production was set to begin on Monday for Soderbergh’s latest, Moneyball, starring Brad Pitt and based on the Michael Lewis book, when Columbia Pictures pulled the plug. The surprising decision came in response to Soderbergh’s extensive rewrite of the script, which is based on the innovative low-cost philosophy one former player used while managing major league teams. Although Pitt—a sure fire moneymaker—is starring in the film, aspects of it were apparently too avant-garde for a big-budget blockbuster. Soderbergh had planned to weave in actual interview with former baseball players, and also had cast well known former sluggers like David Justice as actors. Now, it seem, the project is being shopped to other studios.