From the studio that brought us Gigli:
money.cnn.com
Studio plans 'Fan Interference' movie
Report: Movie already planned based on Cubs fan blamed for keeping his team out of World Series.
October 16, 2003: 12:19 PM EDT
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - A Chicago Cubs fan reaching for a foul ball, an action blamed by some for keeping the team out of the World Series, has already inspired plans for a movie, according to a published report.
Trade publication Daily Variety reports that Revolution Studios has accepted a pitch for a movie tentatively titled "Fan Interference." The movie is expected to star TV sitcom star Kevin James of the CBS show "King of Queens." Variety said it would tell the story of a fan who screws up an easy out, and then has to deal with the ramifications.
In the 8th inning of Tuesday's game in which Chicago led 3-0, Steven Bartman, sitting in the front row of the stands along the left field foul line, reached for and deflected a foul ball that Cubs left fielder Moises Alou was trying to catch. The other team, the Florida Marlins, built on that break to score 8 runs in the inning and win the game, and then won again Wednesday night to advance to the 2003 World Series.
While many Cubs players and baseball analysts have said that Bartman should not be blamed for the team's collapse, many Cubs fans have directed anger at Bartman for keeping the team from their first World Series in 58 years. A picture of Bartman at the game Tuesday night has shown up in several Internet spoofs, some of which cross the line from humorous to threatening.
The game and Bartman's play have already become nationally famous. The game itself was watched live by about one in eight U.S. homes Tuesday night, and about 20 percent of those who were watching television Tuesday night. It has since been replayed repeatedly on news and sports reports.
Revolution Studios is a privately-held independent studio which is majority owned by former 20th Century Fox and Disney chairman Joe Roth. It has investments from Sony Pictures Entertainment and Fox, which also broadcast the game on its television network. Its recent movies have included hits such as "XXX" and "Anger Management," as box office flop and critically scorned Jennifer Lopez/Ben Affleck comedy "Gigli." |
