Not my The Babe.
On this National Babe Ruth Day, forget the poster’s tagline; there could easily be another – and a much more authentic version of the Babe Ruth story – if Hollywood knows what’s good for them.
Though entertaining in its own way, 1992 John Goodman was not the build “The Great Bambino” was sporting for the full duration of his illustrious career, let alone during his teenage years as curiously depicted in The Babe’s first act. Contrary to popular belief, Ruth was a lean machine early on. Much of his lasting image within the zeitgeist is the product of MLB film preservation ramping up in 1933, in conjunction with the commencement of the All-Star Game era.
By this point, Prohibition was a thing of the past; meaning Ruth — whose playing career spanned 1914-1935 — could finally indulge to the fullest extent of his capabilities at his ballpark day job in ways misinformed historians assumed he was doing the entire time.
To tackle the story of a man whose mythos is as superheroic and heartbreaking as it’s remembered is to recognize: as much as people know, there’s even more they don’t. Why dabble with a simplistic formula when “The Babe” was the furthest thing from the conventional athlete? He single-handedly paved the path for larger-than-life celebrity spokespersons to evolve by ushering in the “live ball” era of baseball, and entertainment in general, all just by being him.
Allow the following suggestions, with actor and director tandems carefully conceived, to suffice as scriptable versions of the real-life legend most worthy of the big screen treatment.
“THE KING OF CRASH”
Starring Tom Hardy; Directed by Richard Linklater
Without packing on Bane-esque muscle, think Lawless Tom Hardy, the actor flaunts an ideal build for early-age Babe, with makeup prosthetic flexibility should a larger time coverage be exercised.
With Richard Linklater (Boyhood) at the helm for the sake of this biopic proposal, what else would you expect? The Oscar-nominated filmmaker has a baseball film – 2005’s Bad News Bears; 2008’s Inning by Inning: A Portrait of a Coach; and 2016’s Everybody Wants Some!! — not to mention, diamond-set dramatics depicted in 1993’s Dazed and Confused – pedigree, after all. Couple this with his flair for time manipulation, and you’ll too feel confident the Texas native and hangout movie maestro is the go-to commissioner of a cinematic swing that dares to live in the moments between Ruth’s MLB career—as a “barnstormer.”
From small town Long Island detours en route to The Hamptons for a Roaring Twenty-full weekend, to overseas Japan exhibitions and back; “The King of Crash” would be an aptly titled period jumping vessel for audiences to experience how the King in question was revered by the court. As is extensively documented, “The Babe,” “Sweet” Lou Gehrig and their merry band of slugging disciples frequently “crashed” amateur men’s league games every chance they could. On the local front, the 1930 afternoon where the pair visited Lindenhurst is still regarded as the most important sports moment in the Suffolk town’s history.
Ruth was even suspended for the first six weeks of the 1922 season for violating a league agreement to wait for a certain amount of time to pass after the World Series to take to the barns. You couldn’t keep a ballplayer as prolifically tied at the hip to the batter’s box as The Babe confined to the April-October slate if you tried.
“THE GLADIATOR OFF BROADWAY”
Starring Alden Ehrenreich; directed by James Mangold
Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story, Hail Caesar!) could just as easily physically take on Ruth’s slim younger years. What better way to keep the narrative there than revolving it around his transition from Boston Red Sox pitch-hurling workhorse to the original power hitter?
Stakes will then shift onto the regrettable theater-informed fiscal decision to send The Babe to the rival New York Yankees, with the movie finally culminating three years later in The Babe ushering in the house he built in apropos fashion. You could even cut to black just before The Stadium’s inaugural dinger heard ‘round the world – as audiences would be intelligent enough to discern what came next.
James Mangold is a golden selection for this undertaking, considering the director’s knack for Oscar-certified biographical endeavors (Walk the Line, Ford v. Ferrari). He is also still attached to a Timothée Chalamet-fronted Bob Dylan biopic called “Going Electric” all about the mid-60s moment the folk legend did just that; therefore, he’ll have something to fall back on in case that joint falls through.
“AMERICAN SHOWMAN”
Starring Josh Brolin; directed by Spike Lee
Speaking of joints, isn’t Spike Lee (Crooklyn, He Got Game) due for another athletically-layered one?
He recalled in a 2001 interview with Gotham Magazine the affinity his own father had for Babe Ruth. There is a whole underappreciated element to Ruth’s legacy spent advocating for integration of black ballplayers far sooner than they ended up joining the MLB. In 1996, Lee actually drafted his own version of the Jackie Robinson life story that never saw past the script stage. Therein dispels the chance of it being considered a stretch to suggest Lee couldn’t have a baseball movie in the chamber if prompted.
In fact, he could link back up with one of his few white leading men, Josh Brolin–whom he collaborated with on 2013’s underrated Oldboy remake – starring as a past-his-prime Babe. In their last film together, Brolin proved he could seduce audiences into sympathizing with someone misbehaving from the first pitch, but who’s eventually open to changing his ways in exchange for liberation from the prison of his own mind.
Keeping with Lee’s oft-revisited Brooklyn beginnings, his and Brolin’s critical darling yet likely Oscar-snubbed “American Showman” would follow the year in the life of Babe Ruth while propped up as a mere marketing ploy as first-base coach of the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1938. He thought he could be the manager someday, but as they often said of Babe, who would hire a manager who can’t even manage himself?
“GEORGE”
Starring Liam Hemsworth; directed by Steven Soderbergh
Brother Chris Hemsworth has long-been linked to a Todd Phillips-directed Hulk Hogan biopic for Netflix. It’s only a matter of time before Liam answers the call as well.
An ample batterymate for a physically transformative, “for your consideration” offering would be Steven Soderbergh (Ocean’s Eleven, Magic Mike). The Oscar-winning director is still itching to overcome his infamous exhibit from the director’s chair of Moneyball days before principal photography over creative differences. Reportedly, he committed much of the budget to a documentary framing device the studio was not as keen on as Netflix would be for Soderbergh’s inventive modern spin on the Jerry Maguire sports agent character study, High Flying Bird (2019).
The latter film’s satiric electricity confirms Soderbergh could experiment once more here, perhaps with period-accurate black and white cinematography. Surely, he would weave in vibrant isolations to color the advertisements Babe plugged while pioneering the “one-man brand” concept. And if he doesn’t, Lee could for his — as the kismet and timely Wizard of Oz homage would be too there for the taking not to capitalize upon; especially since Lee memorably did so during a key sequence in She’s Gotta Have It (1986).
Soderbergh’s direct-to-HBO Max take on The Babe would see the titular hero dressed down to “Georgian” vulnerability, weighing the repercussions of sometimes being more commercially than purely motivated as he waxes nostalgic during a pivotal moment in his later life. The film’s baseline would take place between a dying Lou Gehrig’s July 4th, 1939 “luckiest man in the world” speech (which Ruth was on-hand for), and The Babe’s induction into the Hall of Fame a week later.
Editor’s Note: the above-listed entries are suggested films, not actual films. Entertainment Editor Michael J. Reistetter is an LIU – Brooklyn (‘19) Master of Fine Arts, Screenwriting Concentration Graduate.
