Million Dollar Arm (2014)

A sports agent stages an unconventional recruitment strategy to get talented Indian cricket players to play Major League Baseball.

Director:

Craig Gillespie

Writer:

Thomas McCarthy (screenplay)

Stars:

Jon Hamm, Aasif Mandvi, Alan Arkin

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jon Hamm	...	JB
Pitobash	...	Amit (Deepesh Solanki)
Suraj Sharma	...	Rinku
Madhur Mittal	...	Dinesh
Aasif Mandvi	...	Aash
Darshan Jariwala	...	Vivek
Lake Bell	...	Brenda
Alan Arkin	...	Ray
Bill Paxton	...	Tom House
Gregory Alan Williams	...	Doug
Allyn Rachel	...	Theresa
Tzi Ma	...	Chang
Rey Maualuga	...	Popo
Bar Paly	...	Lisette
Jaspaul Sandhu	...	Grumpy Guy

Storyline

In 2008, J. B. Bernstein is a sports agent who finds his business being seriously outplayed by his deep-pocketed competitors. Inspired by reality shows and Indian cricket games on TV, Bernstein gets the bold idea of finding cricket players in India and training them to become pro baseball players in America. After a long search, Bernstein finds two talented, but non-cricket playing, youths, Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel. Together, Berthstein takes his prospects to Los Angeles where they find mastering a new sport in a foreign land a daunting challenge. As these boys struggle amid an alien culture, Bernstein must find a way to make their dream come true. In doing, Bernstein finds a deeper humanity to his work with growing friendships he never expected to have.

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Plot Keywords:

baseball | india | based on true story | cricket | sports agent | 

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Taglines:

From the producers of "Invincible" and "Miracle"

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Sport

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Hindi

Release Date:

16 May 2014 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Un lancer à un million de dollars

Filming Locations:

India

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$10,515,659 (USA) (16 May 2014)

Gross:

$36,447,959 (USA) (15 August 2014)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Pictures, Mayhem Pictures, Roth Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Datasat Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the scene at Popo's House Party, a USC Trojans football helmet can be seen in Popo's room. Rey Maualuga, who portays Popo, played football at USC.

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Goofs

The movie is based in 2008 but Windows 7 and an updated (Microsoft-owned) version of Skype are used.

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Quotes

JB: [on phone] How fast do they pitch in cricket?
[pause]
JB: Fine, bowl. How fast do they bowl in cricket?

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Crazy Credits

The end credits feature photos of the real people the film is based on.

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Connections

Referenced in Midnight Screenings: Million Dollar Arm (2014)

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Soundtracks

On the Road
Written by J. Thoven
Performed by J. Thoven

User Reviews

A Feel Good Movie That Will Have You Smiling When You Leave

In a spate of recent sports themed movies, all of which were good, I have to say I consider this one the best. Toss together some baseball history, an excellent script, terrific casting, great acting, a bit of the squalor, beauty and toe-tapping music of India and Viola! You end up with a good film. To try and single out one single actor in this film I liked the most or was most impressed with is impossible. Every one was amazing. You don't need to be a baseball fan or even know that much about the game to appreciate this picture. I and my companion (who is about as far from a sports-minded person as you could find) for the viewing were both thrilled with this one. When the people coming out of the opposite door at the end of the picture smile and say, "Good movie, wasn't it?" You know you've seen a good movie. There are some I want to see again….this is one.