The Perfect Game (2009)

Director:

William Dear

Writers:

W. William Winokur (written by)
W. William Winokur (book)

Release Date:

1 April 2010 (Mexico)

Genre:

Drama | Family | Sport

Tagline:

Dream for the fences.

Plot:

Based on a true story, a group of boys from Monterrey, Mexico who become the first non-U.S. team to win the Little League World Series.

Plot Keywords:

Mexico | Little League | Family Relationships | 1950s | Three Word Title

Cast

Jake T. Austin	...	Angel Macias
Jansen Panettiere	...	Enrique Suarez
Moises Arias	...	Mario Ontiveros
Ryan Ochoa	...	Norberto Villarreal
Gabriel Morales	...	Ricardo Trevino
Carlos Padilla	...	Baltazar Charles (as Carlos Padilla Lenero)
Tony Revolori	...	Fidel Ruiz (as Anthony Quinonez)
Mario Revolori	...	Gerado Gonzalez (as Mario Quinonez Jr.)
Alfredo Rodríguez	...	Jose 'Pepe' Maiz
Clifton Collins Jr.	...	Cesar Faz
Cheech Marin	...	Padre Estaban
Emilie de Ravin	...	Frankie Stevens
Bruce McGill	...	Mr. Tanner
Patricia Manterola	...	Maria
David Koechner	...	Mac Thompkins
Louis Gossett Jr.	...	Cool Papa Bell
Frances Fisher	...	Betty
Carlos Gómez	...	Umberto Macias
John Cothran Jr.	...	Clarence Bell
Tracey Walter	...	Captain Slater
Oliver Dear	...	Officer Spike
Ramón Franco	...	Senor Villarreal
Ruben Garfias	...	Senor Suarez
Chalo González	...	Maria's Father
Julieta Ortiz	...	Senora Suarez
Leticia Castillo	...	Senora Ontiveros
Ernie Lively	...	Coach Sam Hicks
Ren Trella	...	Brenda Louisville Tour Guide (as Karen Trella)
Seraly Morales	...	Oralia Macias
Sonya Eddy	...	Rose Bell
Chris Mulkey	...	Lucky Haskins
William Marquez	...	Mexican Official #1
Gino Montesinos	...	Mexican Official #2
Ismael 'East' Carlo	...	Fundidora Supervisor
Jon Baggio	...	Bus Ticket Clerk
Pat McGreal	...	Umpire - Louisville
Steve Seagren	...	Umpire (Williamsport)
David Salzberg	...	Dylan Texas Cowboy
Maddy Curley	...	Waitress (as Maddy Curly)
Samantha Boscarino	...	Gloria Jimenez
William May	...	Juan Zaraqosa
Andrew Thacher	...	Immigration Officer (as Andrew Thatcher)
Matt Battaglia	...	Coach McAllen
Wyatt Smith	...	McAllan Player #1
Mat Smith	...	McAllan Player #2
Carlos Compean	...	Mexico City Coach
Jay Jay Harris	...	Mexico City Kid #2
Ron Roggé	...	Umpire
Jerry Giles	...	Coach McAllan Assistant
Drew Butler	...	Umpire (Fort Worth)
Dan Kelpine	...	Fort Worth Spectator #1
Tom Hornof	...	Fort Worth Spectator #2
Aaron Thompson	...	Cleon (Waco Team)
Alejandro Chabán	...	Javier
Gunner Wright	...	St. Louis Player #1
Wiley M. Pickett	...	St. Louis Player #2 (as Wiley Pickett)
Christian Fortune	...	Biloxi Pitcher
Drew Wicks	...	Louisville Spectator #1
Gary Ballard	...	Louisville Spectator #2
Ron Perkins	...	Little League Official
Sonny Carl Davis	...	Reporter #1 (as Sonny Davis)
Doug DeBeech	...	Reporter #2
Rogelio T. Ramos	...	Mexican Radio Announcer (as Rogelio Ramos)
Steven Michael King	...	Spectator
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Don Abernathy	...	Baseball Fan (uncredited)
Robert Blanche	...	Bridgeport Coach (uncredited)
David E. Brown	...	Umpire (uncredited)
Emilio Cast	...	Pedro M. (uncredited)
Derek Easley	...	Angry Relative (uncredited)
Gregory George Frank	...	Spectator (uncredited)
Dava Hulsey	...	1957 Fan (uncredited)
Gregg Lee	...	Baseball Fan (uncredited)
Rae Sunshine Lee	...	Baseball Fan (uncredited)
Ralph Mangum	...	Game Announcer (uncredited)
Marc Musso	...	Tommy (uncredited)
Jackie Quinones	...	Baseball Player (uncredited)
Jessica Lynn Sadowski	...	Fan (uncredited)
Carol Shook	...	1957 Woman (uncredited)
Maria Zambrana	...	Baseball Stadium Patron (uncredited)

Directed by
William Dear

Writing credits
W. William Winokur		(written by)
W. William Winokur		(book)

Produced by
Paul Brooks	....	co-executive producer (as Paul M. Brooks)
Vidal Cantu	....	co-executive producer
Daniel de Liege	....	producer
Rick Eldridge	....	co-executive producer
Adolfo Franco	....	co-executive producer
Jason French	....	co-executive producer
Michael O. Gallant	....	producer
Chris Howard	....	co-executive producer
Rudy Joffroy	....	line producer: Mexico Unit
Blake Koch	....	associate producer
Mark W. Koch	....	producer
Frederico Lapenda	....	co-executive producer
Lainie Miller	....	co-executive producer
Terence Richards	....	co-executive producer
Tony Riviera	....	co-executive producer
Peter Roach	....	co-executive producer
David Salzberg	....	producer
Erick Tran	....	co-executive producer
Christian Tureaud	....	producer
Jim Van Eerden	....	executive producer
W. William Winokur	....	producer

Original Music by
Bill Conti

Cinematography by
Bryan Greenberg

Film Editing by
Chris Conlee

Casting by
Jackie Burch

Production Design by
Denise Hudson

Art Direction by
Mia Cho

Set Decoration by
Kris Fuller

Costume Design by
Florence Kemper

Makeup Department
Fiona Distefano	....	makeup department head
Lygia Orta	....	makeup artist
Lorna Reid	....	hair department head
Zena Shteysel	....	key makeup artist
Bret Mayo	....	hair stylist (uncredited)

Production Management
Andrew Blau	....	production supervisor
Carlos Llergo	....	unit production manager: Mexico
J.M. Logan	....	post-production supervisor
Gabriel Mendoza Martinez	....	unit manager: picture car unit, Mexico

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Oliver Dear	....	second unit director
Gillian Hinton	....	second second assistant director: splinter unit
Kyle Hollingsworth	....	dga trainee
Ivan Kraljevic	....	assistant director
Heather Kritzer	....	second assistant director
Kevin McNamara	....	second second assistant director
Lynnette M. Myers	....	first assistant director
Bill Purple	....	second assistant director (as William Purple)
Patrick Richmond	....	second second assistant director
Ken Twohy	....	crowds assistant director

Art Department
Jeremy Armstrong	....	props
Justin Blecha	....	leadman
Michael T. Booe	....	set dresser
Jonathan Buchanan	....	set dresser
Matthew Cavaliero	....	property master
T. Barrett Curtin	....	props
Ricardo Davila	....	set construction supervisor
Oliver Dear	....	storyboard artist
Rod England	....	leadman: North Carolina
Helane Freeman	....	artist
Christopher P. Garr	....	construction coordinator
Rachel Goodman	....	set buyer
Kevin Hummel	....	on-set dresser
Humberto García Jr.	....	art production assistant
Mike Manasewitsch	....	on-set dresser
Jorge Mansilla	....	assistant decorator: Mexico
Olivia Medina	....	assistant set dresser: Mexico
Pachilu Moreno	....	set decorator: Mexico
Kailey Newman	....	art intern
Marco Niro	....	art director: Mexico
Gregg Perez	....	construction coordinator
Tony Perez	....	lead man: Mexico
Ric Rawlins	....	head scenic
Hector H. Rivera	....	assistant art director
Megan Romero	....	graphic designer
Denver Scaggs	....	construction medic
Jason Whetzell	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Larry Benjamin	....	sound re-recording mixer
Tim Boggs	....	adr supervisor: temp mix
John Chalfant	....	supervising sound editor
Lorita de la Cerna	....	foley mixer & editor
Alexandra Gallo	....	utility sound technician
Vincent Guisetti	....	foley artist
Luciano Larobina	....	sound mixer
Tim D. Lloyd	....	boom operator
Zsolt Magyar	....	sound mixer
David Mann	....	sound effects editor
Marla McGuire	....	adr supervisor
Tania Wang	....	dialogue & sound effects editor

Special Effects by
Oliver Dear	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Ben Ceccarelli	....	visual effects artist
Oliver Dear	....	visual effects
Chris Hopkins	....	roto supervisor: Digital Hitman Studios
John Iskandar	....	digital artist
Richard Kratt	....	digital compositor
Tom Martinez Jr.	....	rotoscope artist
Robert Nall	....	lead cg modeler
Roger Nall	....	visual effects supervisor: 11:11 MediaWorks
Joe Russo	....	title designer
Joe Russo	....	visual effects supervisor

Camera and Electrical Department
Jason Andrew	....	best boy grip
Matt Ardine	....	electrician
Vidal Cantu	....	still photographer
Arturo Castañeda	....	first assistant camera: Mexico
Andrew Chojnacki	....	grip
Marcelo Colacilli	....	gaffer
Raúl Cortés	....	grip: Mexico
Gustavo Covarrubias	....	key grip: Mexico
Jonathan Cushing	....	assistant chief lighting technician
Manny Duran	....	key grip
Jesus 'Moroco' Gonzalez	....	gaffer: Mexico
Josh Greer	....	assistant camera
Danny Hernandez	....	grip
Matt Horochowski	....	grip
Edgar Hurtado	....	second assistant camera: Mexico
Luis Lara	....	electrician: Mexico
David Leite	....	key grip: second unit
Michael Lemmon	....	rigging lighting technician
Kyle T. MacDowell	....	dolly grip
Victor Macias	....	Steadicam operator: "b" camera
Dominic Mainl	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Leonardo M. Marron	....	electrician: Mexico
Nicolas Martin	....	crane operator
Rafael 'Pache' Mejía	....	grip: Mexico
Noe Muñoz	....	second assistant camera: Mexico
Seth Orozco	....	second assistant camera
David L. Parrish	....	camera operator
Jason Sachse	....	set lighting technician
Kevin Wilt	....	lighting technician

Casting Department
Samy Burch	....	casting assistant
Maxann Crotts	....	extras casting assistant
Tim Donner	....	casting associate
Carol Grant	....	extras casting
Cash Oshman	....	crowd casting
Jesus Quinones	....	casting assistant
Marty Siu	....	extras casting
Francisco Veyro	....	extras casting: Mexico

Costume and Wardrobe Department
George Cooper	....	set costumer
Michael Evans	....	set costumer
Maeve Guesdon	....	key costumer
Robert Iannaccone	....	costumer
Abel Melo	....	wardrobe chief
Regina Montemayor	....	wardrobe assistant
Hector Morales	....	costume supervisor
Gregory B. Peña	....	key set costumer
Paul St. John	....	costumer
Kathleen Russo	....	set costumer (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Doug Delaney	....	digital intermediate colorist
Matthew W. Johnson	....	digital intermediate editor
Christopher Roth	....	assistant editor
Betsy Solorzano	....	digital intermediate producer
Lance Spindler	....	color timer (uncredited)

Music Department
Michael Fey	....	music supervisor
Ashley Irwin	....	electronic music producer
Chris McGeary	....	music editor
Danita Ng	....	music preparation
Lee Scott	....	music editor
Dan Wallin	....	music scoring engineer
Terry Wollman	....	guitarist

Transportation Department
Hector M. Gonzalez	....	transportation coordinator (as Hector Gonzalez)
Jesse Gonzalez	....	driver
Jamie Logwood	....	driver
Chad Lovoy	....	driver
Rick Lovoy	....	transportation captain
Randy Luna	....	driver
John Ober	....	transportation co-captain
Mauricio Oscoy	....	transportation coordinator
John M. Plume	....	driver
Dan Romero	....	transportation coordinator
Stevelovoy	....	transportation
Roy A. Grace	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Chuy Almaguer	....	production assistant
Eddie Beasley	....	researcher
Adam Beaulieu	....	production assistant
Richard S. Bellina	....	construction medic
Jackie Bissley	....	unit publicist
Nicholas Bordelon	....	assistant to line producer
Clay Broaddus	....	set production assistant
Dan Clark	....	production assistant
Iram Collantes	....	production consultant
Diane Collins	....	additional script supervisor
Joshua J. Cotten	....	assistant to Messrs Salzberg and Tureaud
Andrea E. Crampe	....	accounting clerk
Jamie Feldman	....	production coordinator
David J. Forsythe	....	production assistant
Jason French	....	project manager
Jenny Fumarolo	....	assistant production coordinator: additional
Natasha Giraldo	....	location manager
John Hampian	....	office production assistant
Jose Angel Hernandez	....	assistant location manager
Lisa Higuchi	....	production coordinator
Jerrold W. Lambert	....	accountant
Richard Lilly	....	key set production assistant
Kevin McKeon	....	assistant: producer
Dallas Morgan	....	production assistant
Ashleigh Nichols	....	assistant production coordinator
Adam Paroo	....	location scout
Morgan Patterson	....	assistant location manager
Melissa Perret	....	first assistant accountant
Jackie Quinones	....	assistant to producers and director
Marie Quinones	....	assistant to producers & director
Sharina Radia	....	crowd production assistant
Courtney Salmon	....	production assistant
Adam Secousse	....	production assistant
Adam Secousse	....	script supervisor: second unit
Sammy Seidenberg	....	intern
Vaughan Shearer	....	production secretary
Stephanie Siemiller	....	assistant to producer
Jenny Siff	....	script supervisor
Britt Soderberg	....	production associate
Kyle Stryker	....	behind-the-scenes
Kyle Stryker	....	set production assistant
Birdie Talanca	....	payroll accountant (as Roberta Talanca)
Veronica Valdes	....	assistant production coordinator
Robert Velo	....	production financing
Daniel Veluzat	....	location liaison
Todd Vogel	....	main researcher
Abdul Marcos	....	script translator (uncredited)

Thanks
Daniel Gruen	....	thanks
Carrie LeBlanc	....	special thanks
Dean Russell	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• HighRoad Entertainment
• Prelude Pictures
• Lone Runner Entertainment
• Kenio Films
• Perfect Game, The

Distributors

• Con Dios Entertainment (2011) (Australia) (DVD)
• HighRoad Entertainment (2008) (Mexico) (theatrical)
• Con Dios Entertainment (2011) (New Zealand) (DVD)
• Phoenicia Pictures (2010) (Lebanon) (theatrical) (Middle East)
• Camelot Entertainment Group (2011) (Non-USA) (all media)
• Image Entertainment (2011) (USA) (all media)
• Phoenicia Pictures (2010) (non-USA) (all media) (Middle East)

Special Effects

• 11:11 Mediaworks
• 23D Films

Other Companies

• Act One Script Clearance  script clearance and research
• Big Crowds  crowd casting
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  dollies
• Keslow Cameras  
• Miller PR  unit publicist
• SportsBrandedMedia  sports product placement

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated PG for some thematic elements

Runtime:

USA:118 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG | Canada:G (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Malaysia:U

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

HighRoad Entertainment

Trivia:

The original 1957 Monterrey Industrial Little League had 14 players and two coaches, Cesar Faz and Jose Gonzales. The Monterrey Little League got their charter in 1955 with 4 teams. They also won the 1958 Little League world championship with 14 different players.

Goofs:

Continuity: After Angel finds the baseball and is pitching against the wall and Cesar comes out, Angel does not have a glove but in a far out shot as Angel turns he is shown with a glove on then the very next shot no glove.

Quotes:

Enrique:Couldn't pick a place with more rocks, huh?

crappy movie (note I didn't say uninteresting story)

this isn't a good movie, it seems as if it's made by someone that's seen all the archetypal feel-good, rags-to-riches movies then tried his hand at making one without understanding how the good ones actually work. in this genre "the blind side" is fantastic, "rudy" superb, even "the sandlot" is head and shoulders above this.

the main problem with this movie is that it has the gruff embittered coach who didn't really want to be, check, the grandfatherly advice giver, check, a side love interest, check, impoverished kids who want to beat the odds, check - but when strung together as things we want to cheer for it falls completely flat. everything is too shallow.

I mean I know as viewers we're supposed to do xyz at abc but the movie's job is to lead us to those points which make us want to reflexively cheer. this movie seems to use those recognizable spots simply as the indication that "ok audience, here's where you cheer". that's not how it works. things in this movie seem to just happen for no real reason except the feel-good format requires them. the build-up scenes seem disjointed/incomplete so there's no build-ups, the pay-offs ("hurray" "cheer" "you go!") appear out of nowhere making them utterly unsatisfying because they were unexpected.

I had very little expectation other than to watch something fun and marginally gratifying for a couple hours but even with such a low bar this movie fails. I should add that I could only take a little over half of this movie but in fairness how many times can one watch something lousy saying "this stinks, I hope it gets better; this stinks, I hope it gets better; this stinks... the end"?