Million Dollar Arm [Blu-ray]

Director: Craig Gillespie Craig Gillespie

Overview

Craig Gillespie's drama Million Dollar Arm stars Jon Hamm as JB Bernstein, a one-time successful sports agent who left the massive company he worked for to start in his own agency, Seven Figures Management, with his business partner Aash (Aasif Mandvi). The company is in serious financial straits, and they lose the big client they've been grooming. In a fit of inspiration, JB believes they can go to India, find a cricket bowler, and teach him to be a baseball pitcher. In order to pay for the scheme, he convinces wealthy businessman Chang (Tzi Ma) to create a reality show titled "Million Dollar Arm" to help with his quest for fresh talent. Upon arriving in India, he is quickly befriended by Amit (Pitobash), an overly eager man who loves baseball and wants to do anything he can to help. JB also brings in retired scout Ray (Alan Arkin) to help him weed through the thousands of candidates who try to whip a baseball over 90 mph. Although at first the going is rough, they eventually find a pair of eager and promising prospects -- Dinesh (Madhur Mittal) and Rinku (Suraj Sharma). The duo travel back to the States with JB where they are then tutored by Tom House (Bill Paxton), a USC baseball coach whose approach to the game is as much mental as physical. The two young men are finally given a highly publicized tryout in front of scouts from numerous pro teams, as well as media from around the world. Meanwhile, the fiercely single JB, whose personal life involves dating a string of models, begins to strike up something of a serious romance with his tenant, Brenda (Lake Bell), a doctor who rents the guest house on JB's beautiful L.A. estate.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/30/2018
UPC:	0786936857184
Original Release:	2014
Rating:	PG
Source:	Walt Disney Video
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:04:00
Sales rank:	27,762

Special Features

Training Camp - actors Suraj Sharma and Madhur Mittal faced the same daunting challenge that their characters rinku and dinesh did-learning how to pitch a baseball.; Their Story - the real JB Bernstein, Rinku and Dinesh explore the legacy of the Million Dollar Arm contest and its impact on the lives and aspirations of children in India...and their own lives as well.; Million Dollar Music by A. R. Rahman - the Oscar-winning composer (Best Original Score, Slumdog Millionaire, 2008) talks about creating music that encompasses two worlds-India and the U.S.; Alternate ending; Deleted scenes; Outtakes

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Jon Hamm	JB Bernstein
Aasif Mandvi	Aash
Madhur Mittal	Dinesh
Bill Paxton	Tom House
Suraj Sharma	Rinku
Lake Bell	Brenda
Alan Arkin	Ray
Pitobash	Amit
Darshan Jariwala	Vivek
Greg Alan Williams	Doug
Allyn Rachel	Theresa
Tzi Ma	Chang
Rey Maualuga	Popo
Bar Paly	Lisette
Jaspaul Sandhu	Grumpy Guy
Kuldeep Rajput	Plant Manager
Vivek Pandkar	Document Inspector
Pawan Chopra	Coach (Lucknow Sports Academy)
Ruturaj Shinde	Chubby Kid
Zaki Tayeb Ali Kazi	Skinny Kid
Chirag Sethi	Tall Kid
Cryus Sahukar	Emcee
Lata Shukla	Rinku's Mother
Harrish Chandra	Rinku's Uncle
Brooke Jaye Taylor	Woman in Elevator
Brett Zimmerman	Mark
Andrew Benator	Hotel Manger
Joshua Mikel	Delivery Guy
Hunter Burke	Ball Player
Suehyla El-Attar	Julie
Ravi Naidu	Indian Reporter
Al Sapienza	Pete the Scout
Mike Pniewski	Walter (Pittsburgh Scout)
Shane Callahan	Procorp Agent #1
Jason Vail	Procorp Agent #2
Yashwant Joshi	Dinesh's Father
Anand Kumar	Cab Driver
Autumn Dial	Server at Popo's
Gabriela Matus Lopez	Hot Girl
Chirag Sonawane	Pitching Kid
Dev Modi	Kid
Anthony Renaud	ESPN Producer
Anthony P. Voorhees	Scout at Tempe #2
Adam Benz	Burly Scary Guy
Steve Levy	ESPN Reporter
Karl Ravech	Baseball Tonight Host
Curt Schilling	Baseball Tonight Host
Barry Larkin	Baseball Tonight Host
A.R. Rahman	Composer

Technical Credits

Tom McCarthy

Craig Gillespie	Director
Tom McCarthy	Screenwriter
Mark Ciardi	Producer
Gordon Gray	Producer
Joe Roth	Producer
Palak Patel	Executive Producer
Kevin Halloran	Executive Producer
Bill Simmons	Executive Producer
Connor Schell	Executive Producer
Alan Rankin	Sound/Sound Designer
Neal Norton	Camera Operator
Sheila Jaffe	Casting
Seher Latif	Casting
Rakesh Singh	Production Manager
Jose Antonio Garcia	Sound Mixer
Ann Scibelli	Sound Effects
David A. Whittaker	Sound Effects

Editorial Reviews

The idea of Lars and the Real Girl director Craig Gillespie working with actors Jon Hamm, Alan Arkin, Bill Paxton, and Lake Bell on a film scripted by the formidably talented Tom McCarthy should excite any avid moviegoer. But when the project in question turns out to be a Disney-produced inspirational sports drama, it threatens to trigger the worst case of cognitive dissonance since The Straight Story opened with the credit, "Walt Disney Pictures Presents a Film by David Lynch." Thankfully, Million Dollar Arm is closer to Lynch's movie than The Mighty Ducks. Hamm stars as JB Bernstein, a onetime successful sports agent who left a massive company to start his own agency, Seven Figures Management, with his business partner Aash (Aasif Mandvi). Unfortunately, his company is in serious financial straits, and things get worse when they lose the big client they've been grooming. In a fit of inspiration, JB decides they should go to India, find a cricket bowler, and teach him to become a pro baseball pitcher. He soon convinces wealthy businessman Chang (Tzi Ma) to make a reality show titled Million Dollar Arm, which they'll use to find fresh talent. Once there, he is quickly befriended by Amit (Pitobash), an overly eager man who loves baseball and wants to do anything he can to help. JB also brings in retired scout Ray (Arkin) to help him weed through the thousands of candidates who are attempting to whip a baseball at over 80 mph. While the going is rough at first, they eventually find a pair of eager and promising prospects -- Dinesh (Madhur Mittal) and Rinku (Suraj Sharma). The duo travel back to the States with JB, where they are tutored by Tom House (Paxton), a USC baseball coach whose approach to the game is as much mental as physical. The two young men are eventually given a highly publicized tryout in front of the media and scouts from numerous pro teams. Meanwhile, the fiercely single JB, whose personal life involves dating a string of models, begins to strike up something of a serious romance with his tenant Brenda (Bell), a doctor who rents the guesthouse on his beautiful L.A. estate. McCarthy has given Gillespie a rock-solid structure and clearly motivated characters. The movie is loaded with likable people, and neither the director nor the actors ever feel the need to beg for our sympathies. Jon Hamm plays JB with just enough edge that we never forget he's a business shark first and a caretaker for these wide-eyed kids second; Hamm gives him an emotional distance that's not unlike his work as Don Draper on Mad Men, yet is more open than his signature character has ever been allowed to act. Bell is funny and charming, Arkin is reliably sarcastic and crusty, and the energetic Pitobash gives the movie a comedic boost whenever it threatens to turn too serious or dour. Accusing the film of being old-fashioned is like accusing baseball itself of being old-fashioned. It follows a very familiar structure, but there's enough specificity in Gillespie's approach, and in the actors' performances, that the picture makes you appreciate why these tropes work. There are numerous genre conventions throughout, and while Million Dollar Arm doesn't transcend any of them -- the fish-out-of-water comedy, the feel-good underdog sports flick, the romantic comedy in which the hero becomes a better man thanks to the right woman -- it is a winning example of all of them. Gillespie's direction and McCarthy's script refuse to dumb this material down to make it more palatable than the obviously feel-good tale it already is. From the gorgeous location shooting in India to the surprisingly liberal use of subtitles to the fact that the characters never participate in an organized baseball game, Million Dollar Arm continually respects both its viewers and its characters. Sure, it has its share of "movie moments," but those showpiece scenes are earned because the film wants to live up to its message, not talk down to its audience. The picture isn't about winning the big game, but becoming the best person you can be. It's a lesson that everybody involved in the production has taken to heart, and in so doing they've produced the best kind of movie this could be.