(Earth, July 20, 2011) – The Spaceman is heading to the silver screen. And as ever, he wants his fans to come along for the ride.
Acclaimed filmmakers Brett Rapkin and P.J. Moynihan are teaming to produce a movie capturing one of the most colorful stories in modern sports history: the controversial and abrupt end of pitcher Bill “The Spaceman” Lee’s Major League Baseball career, and his subsequent road to self-discovery.
Such a unique subject would naturally command a distinctive approach to his narrative, and Have Glove, Will Travel promises just that. Rather than a mere recap of his major league career, in which Lee won 119 games in parts of 14 seasons for the Boston Red Sox and Montreal Expos, the film focuses primarily on the undertold tale of what happened to Bill when he was cast aside by Major League Baseball, leaving him unable to make a living doing what he did best and loved. The screenplay, adapted by Rapkin largely from two Lee autobiographies with co-author Dick Lally, is at turns funny, heartbreaking, unsparing, and ultimately, uplifting.
Lee is a truly singular figure in American sports, a junkball artist and counterculture icon, equally equipped (and willing) to discuss Graig Nettles or Chairman Mao. His fearless and quixotic approach to life in the major leagues made him both beloved and despised – never was he neither. No less a master of character studies than Warren Zevon penned the homage “Bill Lee” about The Spaceman for his 1980 album Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School.
Said Lee: “I’ve still got my glove, I’m still willing to travel. I got game. And if there’s going to be a movie about it, now is the time to get on board.”
“I’m really grateful to have the opportunity to revisit Bill’s inspiring and highly entertaining life,” said Rapkin. “Writing this script was a chance to really dig deeper and focus on what I always felt was one of the most dramatic moments in his saga: his perceived blacklisting from the major leagues and subsequent journey towards the acceptance that he could literally play everywhere else. I think everyone can relate to the experience of not being able to be a part of something that they want to be.
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One of Lee’s mantras is “It’s about the journey, not the destination.” So it is only fitting that the effort to make this film will involve the acclaimed, innovative funding platform, Kickstarter. Kickstarter, which describes itself as “the largest funding platform for creative projects in the world,” allows interested patrons to fund projects at varying levels in exchange for unique products and experiences. Those interested in participating in the Kickstarter campaign for Have Glove, Will Travel can donate at any of 12 suggested levels, from $1 to $2,500. Rewards include limited edition buttons, autographed books and handmade bats (made from Lee’s own bat company), attending a Red Sox home game with Bill, and an exclusive invitation to a weekend at “Space Camp” that promises “baseball, beer, BBQ, swimming, and Yankee hunting” with the one and only Spaceman. Additionally, a select few patrons will have the opportunity to have a walk-on role in the film.
The goal of the Kickstarter campaign is to raise $37,000 in 37 days. The film is tentatively scheduled to begin production during 2012 in Montreal.
Lee’s story is one that has long been considered ripe for Hollywood treatment. In 2004, Woody Harrelson told Sports Illustrated that portraying Lee is a role he covets. And Rapkin’s script has already drawn the interest of this generation’s most accomplished writer-director of sports films in Ron Shelton, whose credits include Bull Durham and White Men Can’t Jump. Shelton is serving as an advisor for the film.
Rapkin, who both wrote the screenplay and is serving as the film’s director, and Moynihan, who is serving as the film’s producer, are both accomplished filmmakers in their own right. Rapkin’s first feature-length film was in fact a documentary about Lee, 2005’s Spaceman: A Baseball Odyssey. Rapkin also wrote, produced and co-directed 2007’s Holy Land Hardball about a Boston bakery owner’s inspired and often comedic attempt to create a six-team pro baseball league from scratch in the Middle East. He also wrote and directed Impossible to Forget: The Story of the ’67 Red Sox on behalf of NESN and helmed the weekly documentary series Bode on the Bus about Olympic skier Bode Miller.
Moynihan’s first documentary, Fight Town: Sport and the Growth of an Urban Community (2004), was nominated for a Massachusetts Historical Preservation Award. Eye on the Dream, (2007), a ten-part documentary about the New England Collegiate Baseball League that Moynihan produced and directed, broadcast nationally on Comcast Regional Sports Networks, and was presented by Verizon. During 2009, he served as a Producer of Cobb Field: A Day at the Ballpark, which premiered to a national audience on MLB Network. Moynihan recently completed a narrative documentary entitled Salmonboy, which is being marketed for an independent theatrical release.
In 2010, Moynihan and Rapkin began working together when they co-founded Reel Hardball, a sales and distribution company which packaged a sponsored slate of independent baseball docs, including Spaceman: A Baseball Odyssey, on MLB Network and Comcast Regional Sports Networks. Currently Reel Hardball is working with partners including Comcast, Fox Sports, and MLB Advanced Media, amongst others, to brand and distribute a growing catalogue of content.
To watch the Kickstarter trailer, click here.
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“I am very excited to have Karl rejoin our staff here at UConn,” said Calhoun. “Karl is a proven professional and is a Husky. He will be a great fit and I know that the team and staff will benefit from his return.”