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Wonderfilm Media has set in motion a biopic about baseball player Randy Arozarena, the Tampa Bay Rays breakout star, who came from Cuba and fueled the Rays run to the World Series, which eventually went to the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games. Brad Gann, the screenwriter of the Mark Wahlberg-led Invincible and a co-writer of pro surfer Bethany Hamilton biopic Soul Surfer, will pen the screenplay.

Arozarena’s story is inspiring. He escaped Cuba on a makeshift boat, landed in Mexico, and started a new life there before making his way to the U.S. and eventually, his major league debut in 2017. Arozarena currently holds the MLB record for most home runs in a single postseason with 10. In his rookie postseason, Arozarena broke Barry Bonds’ record for most home runs as well as Derek Jeter’s record for most hits by a rookie. He was also named Mvp...

Wonderfilm Media is set to produce a biopic on Tampa Bay Rays home run slugger Randy Arozarena.

Invincible screenwriter Brad Gann has been tapped to write the screenplay, with production on the scripted feature set for late 2021. The Rays lost the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers, but

Arozarena in his rookie postseason broke Barry Bonds’ home run record and Derek Jeter’s record for most hits by a rookie in a single postseason, among other milestones.

His Major League Baseball stardom was preceded by Arozarena escaping Cuba on a makeshift boat and landing in Mexico and finally the U.S....

Wonderfilm Media is set to produce a biopic on Tampa Bay Rays home run slugger Randy Arozarena.

Invincible screenwriter Brad Gann has been tapped to write the screenplay, with production on the scripted feature set for late 2021. The Rays lost the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers, but

Arozarena in his rookie postseason broke Barry Bonds’ home run record and Derek Jeter’s record for most hits by a rookie in a single postseason, among other milestones.

His Major League Baseball stardom was preceded by Arozarena escaping Cuba on a makeshift boat and landing in Mexico and finally the U.S....

Exclusive: Undrafted punt returner Vernon Turner might have come into the NFL through modest auspices, but his inspiring life story will head to the screen backed by a high wattage group of producers. Gabrielle Union & Dwyane Wade and Ciara & Russell Wilson are teaming up on a drama based on Turner’s self-published book The Next Level: A Game I Had To Play.

Union’s I’ll Have Another Productions and Wade’s 59th and Prairie Entertainment has teamed with Wilson and Ciara’s Why Not You Productions to develop the project, joining producing duo Brett Gursky and Josh Surkin from Magic Hour. Brad Gann (Invincible and Soul Surfer) wrote the feature script, entitled Relentless, after spending time with Turner exploring his life. Nicholas Katsapas will be executive producer.

This is way more than Vernon making it to the NFL against long odds that were with him when he was a...

Chicago – In our latest true-story edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 35 admit-two passes up for grabs to the advance Chicago screening of the new film “Soul Surfer” with AnnaSophia Robb, Carrie Underwood, Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt!

“Soul Surfer” also stars Sonya Balmores, Chris Brochu, Christie Brooke, David Chokachi, Kelly Crean, Yasmin Dar, Irie Driscoll, Faith Fay, John Mitchell Fultz, Cody Gomes, Kim Morgan Greene, Dutch Hofstetter and Tiffany Hofstetter from writer and director Sean McNamara.

To win your free pass to the advance Chicago screening of “Soul Surfer” courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, just answer our question below. That’s it! This screening is on Thursday, April 7, 2011 at 7 p.m. in downtown Chicago. Directions to enter this Hookup and immediately win can be found beneath the graphic below.

The movie poster for “Soul Surfer” with Carrie Underwood, Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt.

Image credit: FilmDistrict

Here is the...

Starring Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt, AnnaSophia Robb, Lorraine Nicholson (Jack.s daughter), Kevin Sorbo and in her film debut, Carrie Underwood.

Soul Surfer is the inspiring true story of teen surfer Bethany Hamilton, who lost her arm in a shark attack and courageously overcame all odds to become a champion again, through her sheer determination and unwavering faith.

The film features an all-star cast, including AnnaSophia Robb and Helen Hunt, with Carrie Underwood in her film debut, and Dennis Quaid.

In the wake of this life-changing event that took her arm and nearly her life, Bethany.s feisty determination and steadfast beliefs spur her toward an adventurous comeback that gives her the grit to turn her loss into a gift for others.

Bethany (Robb) was born to surf.  A natural talent who took to the waves at a young age, she was leading an idyllic, sun-drenched, surfer girl.s life on the Kauai Coast,...

FilmDistrict has released a new poster for their upcoming film Soul Surfer, which tell the true story of Bethany Hamilton, the 13-year-old surfer girl who lost her arm in a shark attack. There's a trailer that's been released for the film, if you haven't seen it yet check it out here. The movie is being directed by Sean McNamara and stars Anna Sophia Robb as Bethany, Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt, and Carrie Underwood.

Official Plot Synopsis:

Oul Surfer is the inspiring true story of teen surfer Bethany Hamilton, who lost her arm in a shark attack and courageously overcame all odds to become a champion again, through her sheer determination and unwavering faith. The film features an all-star cast, including AnnaSophia Robb and Helen Hunt, with Carrie Underwood in her film debut, and Dennis Quaid. In the wake of this life-changing event that took her arm and nearly her life,...

[1] Earlier this month, a in-house promotional teaser trailer leaked [2] for Soul Surfer, a drama about young, teenage surfer girl (played by Bridge To Terabithia/Race To Witch Mountain's AnnaSophia Robb) who "summons the courage to go back into the ocean after losing an arm in a shark attack." When I posted the teaser, I was kind of weirded out that it contained no hint of a shark attack -- the teaser made it out like the film is just a happy-go-lucky story about a teenage girl surfer. The new full length trailer which has premiered on EW [3] (via FirstShowing [4]) gives audiences the full reveal of what this story is really about. That and a really cheesy speech from Carrie Underwood. Written and directed by Sean McNamara (Bring it On: Fight To The Finish, Into The Blue 2: The Reef, Bratz, 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain), the film co-starring Dennis Quaid,...

Here's a new full trailer for the film Soul Surfer, which is based on the inspiring true story of Bethany Hamilton, the 13-year-old surfer girl who lost her arm in a shark attack. After the incident, she continued to surf, and eventually competed and won several professional championships.

The movie is being directed by Sean McNamara and stars Anna Sophia Robb as Bethany, Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt, and Carrie Underwood.

Check out the full trailer for the movie below and let us know what you think!

Official Plot Synopsis:

Oul Surfer is the inspiring true story of teen surfer Bethany Hamilton, who lost her arm in a shark attack and courageously overcame all odds to become a champion again, through her sheer determination and unwavering faith. The film features an all-star cast, including AnnaSophia Robb and Helen Hunt, with Carrie Underwood in her film debut, and Dennis Quaid. In the...

Liam Hemsworth has been offered one of the two lead roles in college sports drama "The Throwback" reports The Wrap.

The film is based on the true story of Frank and Isaac Gildea, the only father-son pair to play college basketball together.

Frank dropped out of college, but returned two decades later and joined his son on the school’s basketball team which went on to a major win.

Dennis Quaid will play the father. Doug Atchison ("Akeelah and the Bee) directs from a script by Nick Santora and Brad Gann...

Celebrating its 10th anniversary as a festival that prides itself on showcasing bold performances and character-driven movies, the Method Fest will honor its 10 greatest films and breakout performances.

This year's festival, which also will honor the best films and performances from this year, is set for March 23-April 3 in Calabasas, Calif.

Founded by Kirk Harris and named after the Method technique of acting, in which actors strive to reproduce real-life emotional conditions under which their characters operate, Method Fest features U.S. and international feature and short films. It has launched more than 85 films into the marketplace.

Nominated films in its "10 Best" category include Susanne Bier's "Brothers", from 2005, and this year's "Black Irish", written and directed by Brad Gann. Performances range from Jeremy Sisto in 2000's "Trash" to Naomi Watts in the 2001 short film "Ellie Parker". Christopher Plummer in this year's "Man in the Chair" and Kiefer Sutherland and Robert Carlyle in 2002's "To End All Wars" also are nominees.

The Method Fest board will review and vote on the final list in the run-up to the festival.

Anywhere Road Entertainment

NEW YORK -- According to "Black Irish", the directorial debut of Brad Gann (screenwriter of "Invincible"), it sure isn't easy being a working-class Irish family in Boston.

Among the multitude of plot elements in this gritty drama are an unwanted pregnancy, a botched hold-up, a terminal illness, financial struggles and the accidental death of a pet bird. It's all nearly as exhausting for the audience as it is for the characters.

The central character, as is so often the case for these sorts of coming-of-age dramas, is a sensitive young man. Here it is 15-year-old Cole McKay (the talented up-and-comer Michael Angarano), an alter boy who much prefers spending his time on the baseball diamond.

Cole has a lot to contend with. His parents' marriage seems to be floundering, with his brusque father (Brendan Gleeson) having lost his job and now forced to make his living shining shoes, and his rigidly religious mother (Melissa Leo) attempting to preserve the family's reputation even though her unwed daughter (Emily VanCamp) is pregnant. His black sheep older Brother Tom Guiry) is drifting into a life of crime and is so abusive that he literally beats the pants off Cole in front of his school friends.

While the film has many well-observed moments -- such as Cole's interactions with a mobbed-up restaurant owner (Michael Rispoli) who gives him his first job, and his awkward birds and the bees talk with his clearly uncomfortable father -- it ultimately suffers from its relentless piling on of crises. The writer-director's gift for sensitively drawn characterizations and pungently real dialogue is overwhelmed by his propensity for melodrama, with the result that "Black Irish" too often unflattering recalls the Warner Bros. dramas of the 1930s, only without the comforting presence of Pat O'Brien.

TORONTO -- Walter Hamada, previously a partner at management and production firm H2F Entertainment, has joined New Line Cinema as senior vp production.

Hamada spent the past four years as Chris Fenton's producing partner at H2F, helping build the careers of such Fenton writer clients as Chris Morgan (The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift), Rob McKittrick (Waiting), Greg Coolidge (Employee of the Month), Brad Gann (Invincible) and Matt Allen and Caleb Wilson (New Line's upcoming Four Christmases).

He also set up a number of projects during his time at H2F including New Line's Mancrush and Catfight, as well as Cox Blocker at Paramount, which has Seann William Scott and Topher Grace attached to star, Tough Love with Ice Cube attached to star and Thomas Carter attached to direct for Dimension, and the supernatural thriller Whisper for Gold Circle Films.

Fenton expects to name a new producing partner in the immediate future.

Hamada began his career as an assistant at TriStar Pictures where he ultimately served as vp production for Columbia Pictures, oversaw development and production of such films as The Big Hit, Godzilla and SWAT. Before helping to form H2F, Hamada also ran development for MBST Entertainment.

NEW YORK -- New indie distributor Anywhere Road acquired all domestic rights to its sophomore release, Black Irish, starring Michael Angarano, Brendan Gleeson and Melissa Leo.

Writer-director Brad Gann's feature debut follows the trials of an Irish-American family in South Boston. Angarano (Snow Angels) portrays a teen struggling with an emotionally distant father (Gleeson, of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix), a pregnant, unwed sister (Emily Van Camp), a bullying Brother Tom Guiry) and a mother (Leo) who wants him to join the priesthood.

Anywhere Road will release the film Sept. 28 in New York and Boston, followed by a national rollout through the fall. The company's first pickup, the Brazilian musical drama Antonia (jointly acquired with Netflix's Red Envelope Entertainment), will hit theaters Aug. 17.

The film was produced by Gann, J. Todd Harris, Kelly Crean, Jeffrey Orenstein and Mark Donadio. Gann's credits include the screenplay for the football drama Invincible, starring Mark Wahlberg.

The deal was negotiated by Harris on behalf of the filmmakers with Anywhere Road president Robert Ogden Barnum and executive vp Kaiser Wahab.

Brad Gann's Black Irish, starring Michael Angarano, Brendan Gleeson, Tom Guiry and Melissa Leo, picked up the city of Calabasas' best picture award at the ninth annual Method Fest.

Angarano also won for best actor, while Scout Taylor-Compton won as best actress for her role in Tomorrow Is Today.

"What defined this year's festival was the emergence of so many talented young actors and filmmakers," fest exec director Don Franken said Thursday at Viewpoint School's Carlson Family Theatre in Calabasas, Calif.

Supporting actress in a feature film went to Dagmara Dominczyk for Mentor, while supporting actor went to Black Irish's Guiry.

The audience award for best picture was presented to Destiny, directed by Vage Khacatryan, produced by Haig Bagerdjian and Kolya Khachaturov and starring Gor Vardanyan, Yevgeni Kamash and Svetlana Jukova.

Jim Loftus, who directed Trade Routes, was honored as best director.

The prize for screenplay went to David Gow for Steel Toes, which he also co-directed.

Other winners included:

Ensemble cast: Man in the Chair, starring Christopher Plummer, M. Emmet Walsh and Robert Wagner.

Brad Gann's "Black Irish", starring Michael Angarano, Brendan Gleeson, Tom Guiry and Melissa Leo,   picked up the City of Calabasas Best Picture Award at the 9th annual Method Fest, which held its awards ceremony Thursday night at Viewpoint School's Carlson Family Theatre in Calibasas.

Angarano also won the Time Warner Cable John Garfierld Best Actor Award, while Scout Taylor-Compton took home the Charter Communications Geraldine Page Award for Best Actress for her role in "Tomorrow is Today".

"What defined this year's festival was the emergence of so many talented young actors and filmmakers," fest exec director Don Franken said.

The Daily Variety Award for Best Supporting Actress Award in a feature film went to Dagmara Dominczyk for the film "Mentor", and the Standard Pacific Homes Award for Best Supporting Actor went to "Black Irish"'s Guiry.

The Christie Digital Audience Award for Best Picture was presented to "Destiny", directed by Vage Khacatryan, produced by Haig Bagerdjian and Kolya Khachaturov, and starring Gor Vardanyan, Yevgeni Kamash and Svetlana Jukova.

Sylvain White has signed on to direct Columbia Pictures' futuristic thriller Static. Neal Moritz is producing through his Sony-based Original Film shingle.

Penned by Brad Gann, the story is set in Los Angeles, where the leader of the city's toughest street gang must use his wit and skill to battle rival gangs as he is transported to testify against corrupt members of the city's police force.

"I am grateful to be working again with the studio that gave me my start," said White, whose low-budget Stomp the Yard held the No. 1 spot at the boxoffice for two straight weeks earlier this year and grossed more than $61 million for Sony. " 'Static' offers me the exciting opportunity to paint an innovative near-future youthful reality within a high action-packed framework."

Guy Ritchie (Snatch) most recently was attached to direct the long-gestating project.

Sony's Matt Tolmach and Rachel O'Connor are overseeing for the studio.

Original's Tania Landau is shepherding the project for the banner.

NEW YORK -- The Hamptons International Film Festival, which runs Oct. 19-22, has unveiled its lineup of 53 features, a conversation with Robert Altman, career achievement awards for Ellen Burstyn and Ted Hope and festival panels with Christine Vachon and Darren Aronofsky. The fest opens with Philip Haas' Iraq war drama The Situation and closes with the Polish brothers' sci-fi drama The Astronaut. Between those films are six features in the Golden Starfish Feature competition and five in the Golden Starfish Documentary race. Narrative features vying for more than $190,000 in goods and in-kind services to be used toward the filmmakers' next feature are Brad Gann's coming-of-age drama Black Irish; Jens Lien's existential Norwegian feature, The Bothersome Man; Sven Taddicken's German romance, Emma's Bliss; Guy Moshe's slavery study, Holly; Dina Zvi-Riklis' intergenerational Israeli saga, Three Mothers; and Rajnesh Domalpalli's exploration of class divisions, Vanaja.

NEW YORK -- The Hamptons International Film Festival, which runs Oct. 19-22, has unveiled its lineup of 53 features, a conversation with Robert Altman, career achievement awards for Ellen Burstyn and Ted Hope and festival panels with Christine Vachon and Darren Aronofsky. The fest opens with Philip Haas' Iraq war drama The Situation and closes with the Polish brothers' sci-fi drama The Astronaut. Between those films are six features in the Golden Starfish Feature competition and five in the Golden Starfish Documentary race. Narrative features vying for more than $190,000 in goods and in-kind services to be used toward the filmmakers' next feature are Brad Gann's coming-of-age drama Black Irish; Jens Lien's existential Norwegian feature, The Bothersome Man; Sven Taddicken's German romance, Emma's Bliss; Guy Moshe's slavery study, Holly; Dina Zvi-Riklis' intergenerational Israeli saga, Three Mothers; and Rajnesh Domalpalli's exploration of class divisions, Vanaja.

NEW YORK -- With a recurring theme of women and children caught in war zones, the 14th annual Hamptons International Film Festival unveiled a lineup of 18 features in competition and its opening-night film: the world premiere of Philip Haas' Iraq war drama The Situation. Six narrative and six documentary features will compete for Golden Starfish Awards, and six other pictures are part of the Films of Conflict and Resolution competition. "Submissions went up 30% this year, which has made it more competitive for our films," artistic director Rajendra Roy said. Brad Gann's Black Irish, Jens Lien's The Bothersome Man, Sven Taddicken's Emma's Bliss, Guy Moshe's Holly, Dina Zvi-Riklis's Three Mothers and Rajnesh Domalpalli's Vanaja will compete for the narrative award, which includes more than $190,000 in goods and in-kind services.

In this age, sports, not religion, is the arena for miracles. Think of Pete Gray, the one-armed outfielder for the 1945 St. Louis Browns. Or Dick Nen, whose only major-league hit in 1963 was a monster home run that helped propel the Los Angeles Dodgers into the World Series.

Producers Mark Ciardi, an ex-big leaguer, and Gordon Gray have turned such sports miracles into a motion picture cottage industry: First came "The Rookie", about a high school baseball coach who tried out for the expansion Tampa Bay Devil Rays and wound up in the big leagues three months later, and then "Miracle", about the coach who inspired the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team's improbable victory. Now the two team with Ken Mok for "Invincible", the reasonably true story of Vince Papale, a South Philly bartender who never played college football yet tried out for his hometown Philadelphia Eagles and wound up playing wide receiver and special teams from 1976-78.

"Invincible" is a neatly packaged Walt Disney Co. picture with bone-crunching football action; a nice sense of the blue-collar, male-dominated milieu that nourishes football fanaticism; and a few too many tugs at the heartstrings. Opening on the cusp of the football season, the film will attract a male following of all age groups, so it should do moderate theatrical and video business in North America.

Mark Wahlberg plays Vince, which is a bit of a stretch physically because if you were choosing sides for tag football, he probably would not be your first choice. However, Wahlberg does get the heart-and-guts "Rocky" side of the equation.

Things are going so badly for Vince as the movie opens that in one scene, when he slouches home from the bar, the soundtrack breaks into that classic melancholy song, "One for My Baby". He has lost a job as a substitute teacher, his wife had fled with every possession, and he's broke. So why not try out for the Eagles, coming off a hideous season, and its new coach, just hired out of UCLA, Dick Vermeil (Greg Kinnear)?

Vince turns out to be a legitimate rookie, a guy whose spirit and determination make him nearly as good as the overpaid and underperforming pros. They hate him, of course, but his edge is that he still knows what it means to be hungry. Also brightening his life is a terrific-looking fellow bartender, Janet (Elizabeth Banks), whose only "character flaw" is that she is a New York Giants fan.

Writer Brad Gann and cinematographer-turned-director Ericson Core root the movie firmly in a South Philly neighborhood where jobs are scarce and strikes are under way. Initially Vince's dad Frank (Kevin Conway) isn't sure his boy should try out. Nevertheless, Frank's devotion to the Eagles is what got him through his wife's illness and early death.

The guys Vince plays sandlot football with have mixed reactions to their pal's success. Bar owner Max (Michael Rispoli), Tommy Kirk Acevedo) and Pete Michael Kelly) live vicariously through his exploits. But Johnny (Dov Davidoff) is jealous and worries about losing his pal to the bright lights, so he sulks in a corner of the bar.

The most accomplished thing about this movie is that even if Vince had been cut before the season began, there will still be a decent story here because the characters and their environment are so strongly established. Wahlberg plays the sensitive side to Vince without compromising any machismo. Banks seems to be having genuine fun as a football-addicted female hanging out in an all-male world.

The acting is solid throughout, with Michael Nouri as the club owner and, frankly, Kinnear the only weak spots. OK, so the college coach is an NFL rookie too, but Kinnear gives Vermeil too much vulnerability.

Core, acting as his own cinematographer, shoots the hard-nosed football action close to the trenches to catch all the painful hits. Costumes, sets and decor strongly evoke the '70s along with music coming from radios, while Mark Isham's score gets excited at all the right moments.

INVINCIBLE

Buena Vista Pictures

Walt Disney Pictures presents a Mayhem Pictures production

Credits:

Director/director of photography: Ericson Core

Screenwriter: Brad Gann

Based on the life story of: Vincent Papale

Producers: Gordon Gray, Mark Ciardi, Ken Mok

Executive producers: Victor H. Constantino, Nicole Reed, Ezra Swerdlow

Production designer: Sarah Knowles

Music: Mark Isham

Costumes: Susan Lyall

Editor: Jerry Greenberg

Cast:

Vince Papale: Mark Wahlberg

Dick Vermeil: Greg Kinnear

Janet: Elizabeth Banks

Frank Papale: Kevin Conway

Max: Michael Rispoli

Tommy: Kirk Acevedo

Johnny: Dov Davidoff

Pete: Michael Kelly

MPAA rating PG

Running time -- 104 minutes...

Cinematographer Ericson Core will make his feature directorial debut with Invincible, a Walt Disney Pictures football drama. Core's credits as a cinematographer include Payback and The Fast and the Furious. Invincible tells the true story of Vince Papale, a member of the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles. Unlike most players, Papale never played football in high school or college but became a starting player on the Eagles as a 30-year-old in an open tryout. Mark Ciardi and Gordon Gray are producing via their Mayhem Pictures. Ken Mok also is producing. Victor Constantino and Nikki Reed are executive producing. Brad Gann is the writer. Brad Epstein and Mac Torluccio are overseeing for the studio.

Beating out several other studios, Disney has acquired Brad Gann's spec script Invincible for $500,000 against $900,000. The script follows a bartender from Philadelphia who went to an open tryout for the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles and made the squad. Actress Nikki Reed will produce with Mayhem Pictures' two principals Mark Ciardi and Gordon Gray as well as Victor Constantino. Brad Epstein is the creative executive for Disney. The film is in the spirit of such recent Ciardi and Gray sports-related pictures as Miracle and The Rookie. Gann's other credits include Static for Columbia. Gann is repped by BWCS, Industry Entertainment and Bloom, Hergott and Diemer.

Grammy-nominated video helmer Chris Robinson is in negotiations to make his feature directorial debut on Columbia Pictures' Static, which Original Films is producing. The project is on a fast track. Static is about an imprisoned leader of Los Angeles' toughest street gang. Under the protection of his gang, the leader must battle corrupt police and rival gangs on his way across town to testify against the cops who wrongly convicted him. Original's Neal Moritz is producing the project, which was picked up by the studio as a spec script by Brad Gann for $400,000 against $700,000 (HR 11/29/01). Ben Ramsey rewrote the material.