Fortunately, or not, this one will have to be filed as rumor until further notice, but as of now, it appears that there is hope for a new film in the Major League series.  Major League 4, has been written by previous writer/director for the franchise David S. Ward, and he is pitching it to Morgan Creek.  The film is based on a 20 year passage of time between the last film and now, and would feature Charlie Sheen’s “Wild Thing” mentoring a 19-year old on the art of baseball on an off the field.  Moviehole quotes Ward:

“Wild Thing comes out of retirement to work with this 19-year-old player. We’ve actually got three new characters in the new film. And if the new film is popular, they could carry the franchise on.”

Normally, I would just let this one fly under the radar until further notice, but a) it is an alarmingly slow news day outside the world of sports, and b) there is at least some evidence to suggest this might get done.  Ward says he has spoken to Sheen about it and he’s “excited to do it if and when it happens.”  Additionally, last year Bob Uecker, the infamous “just a bit outside” announcer, had previously spoken that the project was in the works and moving forward.  So, given all the circumstances, it was enough to cobble something together here.

I remember the 1989 original more than anything else, but even when comedies might have worked for me more than  that do now, I was never overly impressed.  Perhaps as a former youth ballplayer, many of the themes offended me, who knows?  My memory is not that great, but the film has certainly developed a “classic” cult status amongst genre aficionados.  Like Motel 6′s Tom Bodette says, I’ll “leave the light on for you” about any more news on this film.  In the interim, holler if you think this is a good idea or not.  I know fans of the film series are out there.

Gerard Butler is just one of those guys right now.  It seems that Hollywood is giving him every possible opportunity it can to make him into a star.  While he ate up roles in movies like Guy Ritchie’s underrated RockNRolla and the just released revenge-thriller Law Abiding Citizen, he also made headlines for doing The Ugly Truth with Katherine Heigl and perhaps doing the nasty with Jennifer Aniston.  His movies haven’t really been hits though (see Gamer) since the effects-laden extravaganza 300, for which Butler has apparently been given too much credit for it’s success.  Nevertheless, Gerard continues to have films in the pipeline, the latest seems to be a project called Slide.  He describes it to Film School Rejects:

“There’s a few different projects that we’ve been working on, but there’s one in particular – it’s a movie called Slide about a former baseball player who goes back to try and patch things up with his child and estranged wife and ends up coaching the kid’s baseball team,” Butler said. “He becomes the subject of fascination and longer by every bored house wife in the town. And it’s him trying to survive that while trying to patch things up with his kid. I think we’re going to have Gabriele Muccino direct the movie. Hopefully. We’re in talks with him, and he’s very much up for directing it so we’ll what happens there.”

This sounds like an intriguing enough project.  It seems to have hints of TV’s “Eastbound & Down”.  Muccino has been hit/miss so far at the box office with Seven Pounds flopping but The Pursuit of Happyness hitting a home run.  Both of those films starred the biggest box office star on the planet in Will Smith. While I like Butler, he’s no Smith, so the success of Slide, if it happens, is far from a given.  This news drops on the eve of the World Series (who you with, Phils or Yanks?), so the timing is at least apropos.  What are your thoughts on Butler and Slide?  Hit us one time.  BAM!!

The Spirit Award-nominated upcoming movie Sugar is about a young Dominican baseball player, Miguel “Sugar” Santos, who is attempting to play pro ball in the United States.  A pitcher, he wants to follow in the footsteps of local heroes such as Pedro Martinez, and have a long, wealthy career in our MLB.  However, like so many others in the Dominican Republic, he carries the weight of his family’s dreams on his shoulders.  This is part fish out of water tale, part coming-of-age movie, and part sports/baseball film.  Ultimately, these elements combine to make a compelling, if imperfect, film.

Sugar is comfortable in his native land, a top prospect hailed by the locals who plays for a development team full-time.  The DR has a rich baseball history with many professional successes and it has become a hot-bed for American teams to pluck talent from.  Pitching for a Kansas City Royals affiliate, Sugar hopes to be one of the next in line to graduate to stardom in America.  His path won’t be an easy one and Sugar takes a realistic approach to detailing the issues that young players like Santos face.

You the man, Sugar!

Early on in the film there is a scene where Sugar is throwing some warm-up pitches and an American scout shows him a different grip on the baseball that would enable him to throw a “spike curve.”  Now, anybody that has ever thrown a baseball or certainly ever tried to throw with different, complicated grips, knows how challenging this can be.  But this being the movies, you expect Sugar to hurl the ball with incredible accuracy at the catcher, wowing the scout in the process.  But alas, Hollywood this is not.  Sugar’s attempted throw is uncatchable and it goes sailing out of the camera’s view.  A wild pitch, to say the least.  It’s a moment that tells us we are not watching a conventional film where we expect the talented prospect to do everything right.  It adds a great sense of realism to the experience of a “sports movie.”

Sugar’s baseball prowess takes him from the Dominican to Phoenix, AZ with a spring training invite.  There, he deals with the culture shock of living in America, regularly gnawing on the only food he knows how to order at a local restaurant, “French toast.”  He then laments to his girlfriend back home that the food is really sweet in America.  It’s a small, funny moment but also a bit tragic.  Even though he typically has one or two friends around that can interpret the language for him, the difficulty of new situations that such a young person must face, in a foreign land with little help, becomes an issue he must constantly grapple with.

Soon, Sugar receives an invite to play Single-A ball in Iowa.  The task of navigating the landscape is raised considerably on the farm where he stays.  He encounters a bit of racism, plenty of middle-American faith, a greater sense of loneliness, all along with his ups and downs as a ball player.  After performing well on the field, a foot injury threatens to derail a promising career.  Will he rise to the challenge and regain his old form or will he wither under the expectations?  He is growing into a man, still dealing with all of these trails and tribulations as a mere 20 year old but is he mature enough to handle the adversity?  That is where the crux of the film lies.  It shares some scripted elements to the great basketball-based documentary, Hoop Dreams.  When Sugar eventually lands in New York, will it be the city of big dreams or broken dreams?

Sugar keeps it pimpin' and has finally arrived.

From the team that brought you the Ryan Gosling-led Half Nelson, Sugar is a rare film that has both co-writers and co-directors.  They do an admirable job of capturing the action and drama as directors even if the film could have been benefitted from sharper focus at times.  Algenis Perez Soto, who plays Santos, carries the screen admirably, which is made all the more impressive by his being a first-time actor who was more of a ball player in his native land than anything else.  The film is planned for release in early April to coincide with the start of a new baseball season.  As a movie that will appeal to sports fans, drama lovers and independent film enthusiasts, Sugar is sweet enough that it should be seen in theaters when you have the chance.  Swing batter!