Chronicling the 14-month legal battle over a baseball, first-time documaker Mike Wranovics brings a keen eye for comic absurdity to the saga. "Up for Grabs", whose appeal is by no means limited to baseball fans, is pop-culture footnote as parable, with money, greed, fame, sports frenzy and the philosophy of law all playing a role. The compelling documentary, which screened Friday and Sunday at the Los Angeles Film Festival, deserves theatrical at-bats.
The ludicrous tale begins Oct. 7, 2001, when San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds hit his 73rd home run during the final game of the season. In the stands of San Francisco's Pac Bell Park, a mob dove after the valuable orb. Patrick Hayashi, who emerged from the crush of bodies holding the prize -- expected to fetch as much as $3 million -- soon became the defendant in a lawsuit, with Alex Popov claiming Hayashi attacked him and nabbed the ball from his glove.
Thus began a clash of biblical proportions, dividing eyewitnesses and fans. Refusing Hayashi's offer to split the proceeds from the sale of the ball, Popov amassed legal bills of more than $640,000 in his all-or-nothing pursuit of justice.
A colorful slew of characters offer comments on the case, with increasing exasperation over what one journalist dubs the world's "two worst baseball fans." Bolstering that contention is the easygoing presence of Sal Durante, who 40 years earlier caught Roger Maris' record-shattering 61st home run ball and promptly offered it to the Yankee. "Make yourself some money, kid", Maris said, knowing that a collector had pledged to pay the unheard-of sum of $5,000 for the piece of Major League Baseball history. Durante's humility and good nature stand as implicit rebuke to the present-day feuding duo's sense of entitlement.
Wranovics deftly navigates the story's layers and shifting sense of truth. Such elements as the expert testimony of an umpire and a twisted nod to Abraham Zapruder in the all-important "Keppel Tape" -- footage of the infamous brawl shot by Josh Keppel, a cameraman for the local NBC outlet (and co-cinematographer of this film) -- play like plot points in a well-crafted satire. Keppel and Zack Richard's camerawork, edited with high energy by Wranovics and Dave Ciaccio, captures the excitement of the game as well as the intimate drama -- and comedy -- of the human conflict.
The ludicrous tale begins Oct. 7, 2001, when San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds hit his 73rd home run during the final game of the season. In the stands of San Francisco's Pac Bell Park, a mob dove after the valuable orb. Patrick Hayashi, who emerged from the crush of bodies holding the prize -- expected to fetch as much as $3 million -- soon became the defendant in a lawsuit, with Alex Popov claiming Hayashi attacked him and nabbed the ball from his glove.
Thus began a clash of biblical proportions, dividing eyewitnesses and fans. Refusing Hayashi's offer to split the proceeds from the sale of the ball, Popov amassed legal bills of more than $640,000 in his all-or-nothing pursuit of justice.
A colorful slew of characters offer comments on the case, with increasing exasperation over what one journalist dubs the world's "two worst baseball fans." Bolstering that contention is the easygoing presence of Sal Durante, who 40 years earlier caught Roger Maris' record-shattering 61st home run ball and promptly offered it to the Yankee. "Make yourself some money, kid", Maris said, knowing that a collector had pledged to pay the unheard-of sum of $5,000 for the piece of Major League Baseball history. Durante's humility and good nature stand as implicit rebuke to the present-day feuding duo's sense of entitlement.
Wranovics deftly navigates the story's layers and shifting sense of truth. Such elements as the expert testimony of an umpire and a twisted nod to Abraham Zapruder in the all-important "Keppel Tape" -- footage of the infamous brawl shot by Josh Keppel, a cameraman for the local NBC outlet (and co-cinematographer of this film) -- play like plot points in a well-crafted satire. Keppel and Zack Richard's camerawork, edited with high energy by Wranovics and Dave Ciaccio, captures the excitement of the game as well as the intimate drama -- and comedy -- of the human conflict.
Chronicling the 14-month legal battle over a baseball, first-time documaker Mike Wranovics brings a keen eye for comic absurdity to the saga. "Up for Grabs", whose appeal is by no means limited to baseball fans, is pop-culture footnote as parable, with money, greed, fame, sports frenzy and the philosophy of law all playing a role. The compelling documentary, which screened Friday and Sunday at the Los Angeles Film Festival, deserves theatrical at-bats.
The ludicrous tale begins Oct. 7, 2001, when San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds hit his 73rd home run during the final game of the season. In the stands of San Francisco's Pac Bell Park, a mob dove after the valuable orb. Patrick Hayashi, who emerged from the crush of bodies holding the prize -- expected to fetch as much as $3 million -- soon became the defendant in a lawsuit, with Alex Popov claiming Hayashi attacked him and nabbed the ball from his glove.
Thus began a clash of biblical proportions, dividing eyewitnesses and fans. Refusing Hayashi's offer to split the proceeds from the sale of the ball, Popov amassed legal bills of more than $640,000 in his all-or-nothing pursuit of justice.
A colorful slew of characters offer comments on the case, with increasing exasperation over what one journalist dubs the world's "two worst baseball fans." Bolstering that contention is the easygoing presence of Sal Durante, who 40 years earlier caught Roger Maris' record-shattering 61st home run ball and promptly offered it to the Yankee. "Make yourself some money, kid", Maris said, knowing that a collector had pledged to pay the unheard-of sum of $5,000 for the piece of Major League Baseball history. Durante's humility and good nature stand as implicit rebuke to the present-day feuding duo's sense of entitlement.
Wranovics deftly navigates the story's layers and shifting sense of truth. Such elements as the expert testimony of an umpire and a twisted nod to Abraham Zapruder in the all-important "Keppel Tape" -- footage of the infamous brawl shot by Josh Keppel, a cameraman for the local NBC outlet (and co-cinematographer of this film) -- play like plot points in a well-crafted satire. Keppel and Zack Richard's camerawork, edited with high energy by Wranovics and Dave Ciaccio, captures the excitement of the game as well as the intimate drama -- and comedy -- of the human conflict.
The ludicrous tale begins Oct. 7, 2001, when San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds hit his 73rd home run during the final game of the season. In the stands of San Francisco's Pac Bell Park, a mob dove after the valuable orb. Patrick Hayashi, who emerged from the crush of bodies holding the prize -- expected to fetch as much as $3 million -- soon became the defendant in a lawsuit, with Alex Popov claiming Hayashi attacked him and nabbed the ball from his glove.
Thus began a clash of biblical proportions, dividing eyewitnesses and fans. Refusing Hayashi's offer to split the proceeds from the sale of the ball, Popov amassed legal bills of more than $640,000 in his all-or-nothing pursuit of justice.
A colorful slew of characters offer comments on the case, with increasing exasperation over what one journalist dubs the world's "two worst baseball fans." Bolstering that contention is the easygoing presence of Sal Durante, who 40 years earlier caught Roger Maris' record-shattering 61st home run ball and promptly offered it to the Yankee. "Make yourself some money, kid", Maris said, knowing that a collector had pledged to pay the unheard-of sum of $5,000 for the piece of Major League Baseball history. Durante's humility and good nature stand as implicit rebuke to the present-day feuding duo's sense of entitlement.
Wranovics deftly navigates the story's layers and shifting sense of truth. Such elements as the expert testimony of an umpire and a twisted nod to Abraham Zapruder in the all-important "Keppel Tape" -- footage of the infamous brawl shot by Josh Keppel, a cameraman for the local NBC outlet (and co-cinematographer of this film) -- play like plot points in a well-crafted satire. Keppel and Zack Richard's camerawork, edited with high energy by Wranovics and Dave Ciaccio, captures the excitement of the game as well as the intimate drama -- and comedy -- of the human conflict.
- 6/24/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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