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Josh Hamilton’s story will become a feature film, Old Story To SBR
Josh Hamilton’s story will become a feature film
Published Friday, Jun 22, 2012 at 9:43 am EDT Last updated 6 hours and 43 minutes ago
Sporting News
The story of the rise, fall and redemption of Texas Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton is coming to the big screen, according to a report on Deadline.com.
Hamilton has partnered with producer Basil Iwanyk, director Casey Affleck and Thunder Road Pictures on a film about his journey through life and baseball.
Rangers star Josh Hamilton has teamed with a producer, director and production company to make a movie documenting his storied career. (AP Photo)
Hamilton, a teenage phenom in the sport, was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1999 draft by the then-Tampa Bay Devil Rays. However, his drug and alcohol addictions soon led to what nearly was a four-year suspension from the sport.
Hamilton re-emerged and made his major league debut in 2007 with the Cincinnati Reds before being dealt to the Texas Rangers prior to the 2008 season. In his first season with the Rangers, he hit .304 with 32 homers and 130 RBIs, capturing the nation’s attention and fulfilling the promise that he nearly wasted. He was named the AL MVP in 2010 and has played in each of the past four All-Star Games. Along the way, he has had a couple of well-documented slipups with alcohol but has addressed each very candidly.
“I truly think this guy’s story is one of the most inspiring stories I’ve ever read,” Iwanyk told Deadline.com. “It’s also tailor-made for a movie: it has the mythic quality of 'The Natural,' the faith-based angle of 'The Blind Side,' and faith is a major part of our story, and the romance of 'Walk the Line.' Casey has totally captured those elements in his take for the movie. It is an extraordinary odyssey that took him from the depths of drug addiction, estrangement from his family, and suspension from baseball to a spectacular rebirth of his life, faith, marriage and major league career.”
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