Source:Variety

February 6, 2009

Steven Soderbergh is in early talks to direct Moneyball, the Columbia Pictures adaptation of the Michael Lewis book "Moneyball: The Art of Winning An Unfair Game," reports Variety. The film will star Brad Pitt and is being adapted by Steven Zaillian.

Soderbergh is looking to make the picture his next directing assignment. He had been expected to next direct Cleo. Soderbergh had lined up Catherine Zeta-Jones to play the title character and had Hugh Jackman in his sights for Antony. Though he set his financing, Soderbergh decided to push back the film until next year, after Jackman dropped out because of scheduling problems.

Pitt, with whom Soderbergh has worked in all of the "Ocean's" films, has been circling Moneyball since last year, when Zaillian signed on to adapt the book. Marley & Me helmer David Frankel had been attached.

The book focuses on Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland Athletics, as he used sophisticated computer analysis system to piece together a team that regularly contended for the World Series despite possessing a payroll dramatically lower than big-market rivals like the New York Yankees.