When I first heard that devout Boston Red Sox fans Matt Damon and Ben Affleck were producing a baseball movie titled The Trade, I assumed that it would have something to do with the many terrible trades the BoSox have made over the years. Most likely, the sale of Babe Ruth, arguably the most exciting player ever to live, to the Yankees for a mere $100,000 dollars. Well, it turns out the Yankees are involved, but in this story, the Bronx Bombers aren’t quite the winners that they were in the Ruth deal.
The Trade will tell the true story of Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich, a couple of Yankees pitchers who caused quite the scandal in 1973 when they admitted to swapping wives. So yeah, not your typical feel-good, uplifting sports flick.
While this project has been in the works for years, it got some major traction today as Meet The Parents director Jay Roach has signed on to direct. That’s the good news. The bad news is that Damon and Affleck will no longer be starring in the film, just producing under their Pearl Street Films banner.
There’s still no word on when this might roll into production, but obviously adding a director is a big step. Affleck’s got as busy of a schedule as anyone in the next couple years (you know, that whole Batman thing), but the fact that neither him nor Damon will appear on screen means that there’s no reason why this one can’t get kicked off soon. While I’d rather see the two actors star in The Trade, I’m still pretty excited to see what they whip up with Roach.
Tell us, what do you think of this project? Excited to see what Affleck and Damon can bring to the table?
