By Bob Hoover, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/
The premise of "Chasing 3000" is a real stretch:Teenage brothers, one with muscular dystrophy and bronchitis, the other with only a learner's permit, grab mom's car to drive to Pittsburgh. The longest part of the stretch is that they live in Southern California and give themselves just three days to get there.
The goal of Mickey and Roger Straka is to see Roberto Clemente get his 3,000th hit. Displaced Pittsburghers, the kids long for the 'Burgh, even though nobody called it that in 1972 when the Pirates great was nearing the end of his stellar career.
That's a minor gripe about this earnest, low-budget film that works hard to re-create the look of '72, from the ugly clothes to the modest working-class neighborhoods of Pittsburgh. (Not that hard, considering much of the place hasn't changed in decades. But, that's our charm.)
Steubenville, Ohio, native Bill Mikita came up with the idea for the story, inspired by his love of Clemente and close bond with a brother who also uses a wheelchair, disabled much like the Roger character. Money was raised, Hollywood director Gregory Lanesey reworked the screenplay, and major actors Ray Liotta, Lauren Holly, M. Emmet Walsh, Seymour Cassel and Lori Petty signed on.
Trevor Morgan plays the brooding Mickey, sullen with teen angst, and Rory Culkin plays good soldier Roger with gallows humor, giving a believable performance that carries the long (102 minutes) picture in its bumpy ride across America.
"Chasing 3000" is another variation on the "it's not the destination, but the journey that counts" genre, allowing the two brothers to get close. The boys depend on the kindness of strangers to get by while an understandably distraught mother (Ms. Holly) wrings her hands at appropriate moments.
Mr. Cassel chimes in as an "ethnic" grandpa with an unrecognizable accent. Mr. Liotta is the adult Mickey who tells the story of his odyssey to his kids en route to Roberto Clemente Day at PNC Park in his Clemente jersey.
The city looks great as usual, including the tried-and-true emergence from the Fort Pitt Tunnel. Historical film and video footage of Clemente, however, was blurry and repetitive, replaying the same 1971 World Series scenes and trying to pass them off as regular baseball season action.
Its earnestness and innocence carries "Chasing 3000" a long way, and its sweet appreciation of the 'Burgh will win over local hearts.
"Chasing 3000" opens today at the Harris Theater, Downtown.
Bob Hoover: 412-263-1634 or bhoover@post-gazette.com.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10246/1084643-120.stm?cmpid=entertainment.xml#ixzz0yiZXZiaa
Writer-director chases dream of '3000' film
By Michael Machosky, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Doug Harvey hands Roberto Clemente the ball after he doubled off the Mets' Jon Matlack for his 3,000th career hit on September 30, 1972.
Baseball is a game based on cold, calculated numbers -- batting averages, runs batted in, on-base percentages, wins and losses. But there are a few numbers that seem to go beyond their digital destiny to take on an almost mystical significance.
There's 56, Joe DiMaggio's unbroken consecutive-games hitting streak, and 61, Roger Maris' legendary home run record, which lasted until the steroids era. And then there's 3,000, the number of career hits that virtually guarantees a batter entrance into the Hall of Fame.
In the movie "Chasing 3000" -- shot partially in Pittsburgh, and opening at the Harris Theater today -- the number calls out to two teenage brothers like a homing beacon, luring them on a dangerous, foolish cross-country trip from their new house in Los Angeles to their former home in Pittsburgh. The plan: To witness their hero, Roberto Clemente, get his 3,000th hit in 1972.
Mickey (Trevor Morgan) is a high school ballplayer, who imitates Clemente's every gesture in the batter's box. Roger (Rory Culkin) is his brainy little brother, who idolizes him. Roger has multiple sclerosis, and can only walk on crutches with extreme difficulty. Ray Liotta ("Goodfellas") plays the adult Mickey, and narrates "Chasing 3000."
Mickey's story is largely autobiographical, based on a journey taken by Bill Mikita -- a Los Angeles lawyer who grew up in Steubenville, Ohio -- and his brother. "I'm 55 years old now," says Mikita, who co-wrote the screenplay. "If you ask men of my generation, growing up, how many loved Clemente -- there was just something about him. Not only in the way he played the game -- and he did play with this flair and style -- but there was something about him that was sort of noble. It's hard to put your finger on. His humanity or nobility -- he projected that.
Clemente is a major character in the film, although he only appears in file footage. So is Pittsburgh, in a way. It's interesting to see the two brothers miserable in Los Angeles, pining away for Isaly's chip-chopped ham and the excitement of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
"It really is a Pittsburgh story," Mikita says. "Not only about our love of Clemente, but of Pittsburgh."
After shopping thr story to major studios for years, Mikita decided to finance "Chasing 3000" independently. It ended up with a $2.5-million budget, which is tiny by Hollywood standards, but was originally supposed to be even smaller.
Liotta's participation was key. He's a baseball fan, and was in one of the most beloved baseball films ever made, "Field of Dreams."
There's plenty of Pittsburgh in the film, of course. PNC Park features prominently in scenes with adult Mickey, and the city's densely packed rowhouses and steep streets star in the early childhood scenes.
"When we shot in Pittsburgh, the film commission (Pittsburgh Film Office) put out ads," Mikita says. "All those cars out there on Verona Avenue -- those guys brought in their cars and stood around all day, and watched while we filmed. I think we paid very little to nothing. They just wanted to be involved in it. That's Pittsburgh."
Ryan Johnson, the film's producer, hopes that Pittsburghers will find the story especially compelling. He also hopes it eventually finds a wider audience, too.
"It's one of those rare films that everyone across the board seems to love, from 8 years old to 90," he says. Similar to 'The Blind Side,' it's really an underserved space, to have a film that appeals to families that 's not animated. So it's been a real labor of love to get it out there and believe in it.
"We have our limited theatrical release, then an exclusive with Blockbuster. Then it goes everywhere in October," Johnson says. "So, I hope it really strikes a chord, gets a lot of word-of-mouth. I hope it's one of those movies that you're annoyed by 10 years from now, because it's playing every weekend on TV. 'I'm sick of seeing that movie on cable!' -- that's what I want to hear."
Review: It's not a home run, but 'Chasing 3000' is in the ballpark
By Michael Machosky, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Remember the days when the Pittsburgh Pirates were the most exciting thing in the world?Yeah, me neither.
Still, I grew up hearing the legends, saw the old newsreel footage, even read the books. And yes, although he died before I was born, I can see that if any player was ever truly "larger than life," it probably was Roberto Clemente.
"Chasing 3000," based on a true story, clearly is a labor of love -- a personal story of two Pittsburgh brothers making an epic journey to their hometown from reluctant exile in L.A. in 1972, to see Clemente get his 3,000th hit.
Mickey (Trevor Morgan), a high school ballplayer, idolizes Clemente. Roger (Rory Culkin), Mickey's brainy little brother, idolizes him. Roger suffers from multiple sclerosis He overhears his doctor saying he probably won't live to graduate from high school.
When their hardworking single mother (Lauren Holly) leaves town on business, the brothers decide to drive to Pittsburgh, then buy scalper's tickets to the big game.
Of course, it's not so easy. They quickly lose their car and money, and have run-ins with a young runaway, a biker gang, and other assorted misfits. Roger develops bronchitis, and seems like he could expire at any time. Yet, they follow Clemente's march to 3000 hits on the radio, and keep moving towards Pittsburgh.
Ray Liotta narrates, and frames the film as a grown-up Mickey. The great character actors Keith David and M. Emmet Walsh make effective appearances, as a cop and a weird, lonely Southern farmer.
An overbearing score and some lethargic, overlong scenes sap the film's energy at times, slowing the chase to a crawl.
Nevertheless, "Chasing 3000" has lots of upside, especially for baseball fans. It's not at the level of "Eight Men Out," "Bang the Drum Slowly" or "Field of Dreams" (with whom it shares Ray Liotta), but it's in the ballpark. For Pirates fans, it's almost essential.
For non-baseball fans, it's simply a mildly affecting, coming-of-age period piece and road movie, about the bonds of brotherhood being tested in hard times.
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