Moneyball The Movie Update: Actor Chris Pratt Joins Cast

According to a promotional representative working with Sony films on the motion picture production of the award winning sabermetrics novel Moneyball, Chris Pratt has joined the cast of the film to play former A's 1B Scott Hatteberg (the guy Joey Votto unseated in Cincinnati in 2008). Per the press release:

Los Angeles (July 13, 2010) – Chris Pratt star of the NBC hit comedy series “Parks and Recreation” has joined the cast of “Moneyball” which includes Brad Pitt, Robyn Wright, Jonah Hill and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Pratt will star as former Oakland Athletics 1st Baseman Scott Hatteberg.

The Bennett Miller-directed baseball project is being produced by Scott Rudin and Michael DeLuca and was written by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, based on Michael Lewis’ 2003 nonfiction book about Oakland Athletics GM Billy Beane and his strategy for building a successful team without paying players enormous salaries.

Chris Pratt is quickly establishing himself as one of today’s most versatile young actors in film and television. In film, Pratt just completed shooting a role opposite Anna Faris in the Fox comedy What’s Your Number also starring Chris Evans. Pratt will next be seen in the Universal Pictures film Young Americans also starring Faris and Topher Grace due out in January, 2011. Additional films Pratt has starred in include Wanted, Bride Wars and Jennifer’s Body. Chris Pratt is represented by Mosaic, CAA and attorney Peter Nelson.

I'm excited for the release of this film, which has been in the works for years now, but am sincerely hoping it takes a less overly dramatic direction than last year's The Blind Side, based on a different Michael Lewis book.