Rinku And Dinesh: The Movie

[Sweetleaf22]

It's been a while since we have heard anything about Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel, the Indian game show winners signed by the Pirates in a nicely-disguised PR stunt in 2008. Of course, I maintain that it was only categorized as a PR stunt since the Pirates were involved. Had Theo Epstein summoned the boys to Red Sox Nation, it would've been hailed as a forward-thinking step in a previously-untapped resource of a baseball territory. But I digress.


Both young men pitched in 2009 in very small doses: Patel was 1-0 with a 1.42 ERA in six innings in the Gulf Coast League, while Singh went 1-2 with a 5.84 ERA in 12 1/3 innings. They returned home to a hero's welcome in November, and recently landed back in Pirate City. Said Patel of the Pirates' play earlier in the week: "We watching Pirates losing very bad this week. We not liking this - Pirates our team."


Truer words have never been spoken.


With the baseball end of things ready to hit full stride again, we can now turn our attention to other news of Indian-game-show-winning Pirates, specifically their upcoming movie treatment, entitled Million Dollar Arm (after their reality show).

That's right, plans for the long-rumored movie about the duo continue to steam forward, and the producers will be Mark Ciardi, Gordon Gray and Joe Roth, whose impressive resume of past projects includes The Rookie, Miracle, Invincible and the upcoming Secretariat. It will be written by Hollywood veteran Mitch Glazer, who is fresh from writing and directing Passion Play with Mickey Rourke, Megan Fox and Bill Murray. This is not a project that's being taken lightly.


Ciari and Gray see Million Dollar Arm as a combination of Slumdog Millionaire and Jerry Maguire, two movies that combined to rake in over $650 million worldwide. In other words, I think it's safe to say that this movie should do well at the box office, considering the behind-the-scenes talent and the worldwide appeal of such a film.


But what does all this really mean? It sounds to me like the best return-on-investment in Pittsburgh Pirate history, regardless of what these guys ever accomplish on a baseball diamond.





http://www.deadline.com/2010/04/sony...lar-arm-pitch/

http://www.themilliondollararm.com/blog/

[Sweetleaf22]

Rinku And Dinesh quotes from thier Million dollar arm blog..



Dinesh and i feel like king here Pirate City.

Everyday things very good. New pitching coach is Coach Bo. he very big big man. very strong. he calling me big dog. He say we start throw next week.

Food here very good Pirate City. We liking Korean foods. many korean player here early with us. Other play start coming this week.

We also going American Doctor. this is first time we ever going doctor like this. He having many things he testing us with. They hit knee with rubber hammer. He looking in our nose and ears even. He also checking us for hernia. We not saying how he checking, but we happy JB Sir telling us Doctor doing this thing. If he not telling us, being big surprise.
...............................................
Hello.

My arm was little sore from throwing when I get back USA. I not throwing in india for long time, so I needing more time to loosen my arm.

This week, now arm good. i throwing bull pens, and sim games. I thinking end week I starting pitching game.

This is good. i need pitching good

[Sweetleaf22]

If they sign Harold and Kumar to play the leads, this could have blockbuster written all over it.

[Sweetleaf22]

The trouble with jock films about American sports like baseball and football is, they do little business overseas. So how about a fact-based baseball film about a scout who hatched an Indian reality show to find pitching talent, and wound up signing a cricket player and javelin thrower to minor league contracts with the Pittsburgh Pirates?

Columbia Pictures has Mitch Glazer writing Million Dollar Arm, a film that will be produced by Mark Ciardi, Gordon Gray and Joe Roth. The movie borrows its title from a reality series by sports agent JB Bernstein that aired on TV in India. Bernstein watched a cricket match and noticed that the throwing motion was similar to baseball. Though scouts routinely scour Latin America and Japan for prospects, Bernstein wondered could the next Nolan Ryan reside in India? Over 40,000 auditioned, and Bernstein returned to the U.S. with 19-year old cricket player Rinku Singh and javelin thrower Dinesh Patel. Both grew up in strict Hindu households and neither had never ventured beyond their small rural villages. They learned English through rap songs and action movies, and the rules of baseball. Each of them throws over 90 mph, and the Pirates signed them. They are working their way through the minors. Glazer just wrote and directed Passion Play with Mickey Rourke, Megan Fox and Bill Murray starring.

[JSi922]

Are you Talking to Yourself????

They should make a movie about you!

[Sweetleaf22]

wrong side of the bed......today?


sure wasnt talkin to you.

[Sweetleaf22]

The progress between last spring and now is remarkable, Pirates farm director Kyle Stark said, considering they knew next to nothing when they arrived.

They had a difficult time getting the concept of catching the ball with the glove, not their bare hands, and the first time a ball was hit back to one of them during live batting practice, he jumped and screamed in surprise.

So how does it work having two strangers to the game playing professionally alongside guys who started playing tee ball at age 5?

“I think the beauty about this game is that there are certain things that are so fundamental that we practice, practice, practice no matter how much experience a player has,” Stark said. “So they’re getting a taste of the same things (as everyone else). In terms of being on the mound and competing, you just back up the expectation of where they start. Everything we do is progression-oriented anyway. It’s just starting further back in the progression with those guys.”

Singh got his first win on July 13; Patel earned his one month later.

Patel, a right-hander, finished with a 1-0 record and a 1.42 ERA in six games, 6 1/3 innings pitched. He allowed five hits and two runs, one earned, with no walks and four strikeouts.

Singh, a lefty, was 1-3 with a 5.84 ERA in 12 1/3 innings. He gave up 14 hits, nine runs, eight earned, with four walks and eight strikeouts.

Singh and Patel used to frequently update their joint blog, but it seems like they’ve abandoned it this season. That’s a shame, because it was really delightful at points.

[be47320]

update?