The Winning Season (2004 film)
The Winning Season is a 2004 television film with elements of a fantasy drama. It chronicles a young boy's dream in 1985 with playing with the Pittsburgh Pirates' great Honus Wagner.[1] The film follows the dream to the point where the boy is assisting Wagner in his 1909 World Series duel with fellow hall-of-famer Ty Cobb. It is adapted from the 1997 children's novel Honus & Me by Dan Gutman. The film premiered on TNT on April 4, 2004.
The Winning Season | |
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Written by | Dan Gutman |
Directed by | John Kent Harrison |
Starring | Matthew Modine Kristin Davis |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Producer | Lesley Oswald |
Release | |
Original network | TNT |
Original release |
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Production
The film was made by TNT and first broadcast on April 4, 2004. Modine prepared for his role as Wagner by playing with a minor-league team, the IronBirds in Aberdeen, Maryland, owned by Cal Ripken, Jr..[2]
Critical reaction
Variety condemned the film as "schlocky" and sentimental. Their critic found Modine's performance started to wear and Davis brought "little conviction", but director John Kent Harrison was praised for the performance he got out of Rendall.[3]
Cast
- Matthew Modine - as Honus Wagner
- Kristin Davis - as Mandy
- Mark Rendall - as Joe Stoshack
- William Lee Scott - as Ty Cobb
References
- Margo Nash with Robert Strauss (April 4, 2004). "An Early Great". New York Times.
- Leopold, Todd (April 5, 2004). "Taking on 'The Flying Dutchman'". CNN. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
- Gallo, Phil (Apr 1, 2004). "The Winning Season (Review)". Variety.