Mad Men‘s Jon Hamm plays a sports agent on the lookout for an ace pitcher in the Disney film Million Dollar Arm, based on a true story. Directed by Craig Gillespie (Lars and the Real Girl, Fright Night) from a script by Tom McCarthy (Win Win, The Station Agent), the inspirational baseball film also stars Aasif Mandvi, Bill Paxton, Suraj Sharma, Lake Bell, and Alan Arkin.
Disney’s releasing Million Dollar Arm in theaters on May 16, 2014.
The Plot:
Based on a true story, sports agent JB Bernstein (Jon Hamm) finds that business has changed and things aren’t going well for his career. In a last ditch effort to save his livelihood he concocts a scheme to find baseball’s next great pitching ace. Hoping to find a young cricket pitcher he can turn into a major league baseball star, JB travels to India to produce a reality show competition called “The Million Dollar Arm.”
With the help of cantankerous but eagle-eyed retired baseball scout Ray Poitevint (Alan Arkin), he discovers Dinesh (played by Madhur Mittal from Slumdog Millionaire) and Rinku (played by Suraj Sharma from Life of Pi), two 18-year-old boys who have no idea about playing baseball, yet have a knack for throwing a fastball. Hoping to sign them to major league contracts and make a quick buck, JB brings the boys home to America to train. While the Americans are definitely out of their element in India, the boys, who have never left their rural villages, are equally challenged when they come to the States. As the boys learn the finer points of baseball, JB, with the help of his charming friend Brenda (Lake Bell), learns valuable life lessons about teamwork, commitment and what it means to be a family.
