Josh Hamilton, the left fielder for the Texas Rangers, has had some dark times. As a young baseball player serving in the minor leagues he was in a severe car accident that left both of his parents and himself severely injured. Though everyone involved made a complete recovery, Hamilton then found himself starting to use excessive amounts of drugs and alcohol, starting with cocaine and eventually crack. In and out of rehab, he ended up failing drug tests and was suspended from baseball for his behavior and eventually kicked out. After years of hard work and rehab, however, Hamilton fought his way back, was re-invited to the majors, and is now considered one of the best hitters in Major League Baseball. It's an inspirational story of recovery and one that Casey Affleck is keen to turn into a movie.
Deadline has learned that producer Basil Iwanyk and Thunder Road Pictures have acquired the rights to Hamilton's life story and now Casey Affleck is attached to both write and direct. Should things work out with the project, it will be Affleck's narrative feature debut as a director and sophomore effort as a writer. In 2010 he made the controversial documentary I'm Still Here, which featured a maddened Joaquin Phoenix quitting acting, growing a huge beard, and working to become a rap artist. It was eventually revealed that the documentary was a hoax and that Phoenix was only pretending to go off the deep end. As for the Hamilton movie, Thunder Road’s Kent Kubena is on-board as an executive producer and both Hamilton and his wife Katie will co-produce with Hamilton’s business manager, Steve Reed.
Hamilton's story really is amazing and most definitely suited for the big screen. Let's hope Affleck can do it justice.
