Claim: Brad Pitt has had roles.

Moneyball is a 2011 American sports drama film directed by Bennett Miller from a screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin . The film is based on Michael Lewis 's 2003 nonfiction book of the same name , an account of the Oakland Athletics baseball team 's 2002 season and their general manager Billy Beane 's attempts to assemble a competitive team .   In the film , Beane -LRB- Brad Pitt -RRB- and assistant GM Peter Brand -LRB- Jonah Hill -RRB- , faced with the franchise 's limited budget for players , build a team of undervalued talent by taking a sophisticated sabermetric approach towards scouting and analyzing players . Columbia Pictures bought the rights to Lewis 's book in 2004 .   Moneyball was featured at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival and was released on September 23 , 2011 to box office success and critical acclaim . The film was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Actor for Pitt , Best Supporting Actor for Hill , and Best Picture .