Million Dollar Arm – talking a good game

August 28 2014

SPOILER ALERT (in video)!

“Million Dollar Arm” is a story about a high-powered but out of luck US sports agent travelling to India to find two potential professional baseball pitchers. Of course India is cricket-mad and no one plays baseball but there are some guys who can throw…however, are they good enough to go from zero experience to a pro contract after winning the ‘Million Dollar Arm‘ contest in India…? It opens in the UK tomorrow (Friday, August 29).

Mark Ciardi (Producer) and Madhur Mittal (Dinesh) talk to Sailesh Ram, www.asianculturevulture.com editor about the challenges of making “Million Dollar Arm” in India, what inspired the pair in making a sports movie and what lies ahead for Mittal, whose big break came in “Slumdog Millionaire”

Ciardi, is an ex-pro baseball player and model, and along with movie partner Gordon Gray and their company Mayhem Pictures, the pair are responsible for a string of hit movies in the sport film genre and have a first-look production deal with Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Group.

Mittal, born in Agra, physically trained for the role and became friends with Dinesh Patel, one of the two real life characters the story is based on. He first catapulted to fame in India, when he won a reality-based dance show called ‘Bogie Woogie‘ in 1997, and his family moved to Mumbai to be closer to the the filmmaking world. Prior to his acting career, Mittal performed in over 950 stage productions and has appeared in a number of TV shows in India. Reprising the role of a gangster in ‘Slumdog’, he befriended real life hoodlums in Mira Road and an accident led to him needing 12 stiches which helped him look the part. He also grew his hair, got some sun and lost weight. He tells www.asianculturevulture.com he is looking out for more comedy roles. “Million Dollar Arm“, in many ways, is a good-natured comedy drama but probably with more of an accent on the drama than the comedy, but Alan Arkin adds a healthy dose of that in his role as the talent spotter who travels to India with JB (Jon Hamm)…
Director: Gordon Gillespie (‘Fright Night’, ‘United States of Tara’ [TV])
Main actors: Jon Hamm, Suraj Sharma (‘Life of Pi’), Madhur Mittal (‘Slumdog Millionaire’), Lake Bell, (‘No Strings Attached’, ‘What Happens in Vegas’), Alan Arkin (‘Argo’, ‘Grudge Match’) Aasif Mandvi (‘The Internship, ‘The Proposal’), Bill Paxton (‘Nightcrawler’, ‘2 Guns’) Pitobash (Hollywood debut).
Time: 92 minutes
Rating: PG

• Review of ‘Million Dollar Arm’ out tomorrow! (August 29)