David Fanucchi worked as the Director of Communications for Team USA Baseball in 1999 as they tried to qualify for the Olympics at the Pan American Games in Canada and continued when the team played for Gold in Sydney, Australia at the 2000 Olympics. We talk to him about how his book “Miracle On Grass” came to be as well as his partner Ted Collins who is trying to develop David’s book into a motion picture. We also discuss their early careers in sports, how the movie will be centered around Baseball Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda and a little about the movie business.
00:00 - Episode 25 introduction
00:45 - Introduction to Dave Fanucchi and how he began his career in sports.
03:35 - Introduction to Ted Collins and how he began his career in movie producing
09:30 - Ted Collins Working with Women of Wrestling (WOW), owned by Jeannie Buss, Owner of the Los Angeles Lakers
11:50 - What Women of Wrestling is about in 2022 and future years.
13:15 - How Dave Fanucchi got started with the USA Baseball Team as the Director of Communications in 1999, just as professional baseball players were allowed to participate in the Olympic Games.
15:00 - Hall of Fame baseball manager Tommy Lasorda being introduced as the manager of the team.
16:12 - Team USA were underdogs against Korea, Japan and Cuba.
17:30 - How the idea for the book happened.
19:30 - How Dave was able to pitch the story to a movie producer.
22:20 - How Dave met Ted in Tommy Lasorda’s office.
24:00 - Ted was hooked on the idea of producing this film because of it’s underdog element.
26:10 - General public doesn’t know about how significant Team USA Baseball’s accomplishment was.
27:50 - What it means to “option” a book in order to make a movie.
29:30 - The type of movie Dave, Ted and the players want to make.
31:20 - The challenge of making a movie is having enough obstacles and drama to place into the script.
32:40 - Stories that didn’t make the book that could be part of the movie.
34:45 - The stories that Tommy Lasorda would tell while Dave was around him for 6 weeks.
36:30 - How that experience for Dave was one of the highlights of his career.
36:30 - My personal video clip of Tommy Lasorda talking to NYY outfielder Bernie Williams in the Dominican Republic and how getting any photos or video in the early 2000’s was not as easy as today.
41:20 - How and who Ted would like to cast for Tommy Lasorda’s role.
44:00 - How Ted envisions what the film will be in terms of the characters, the decisions that USA Baseball made and the environment at the time.
46:00 - How Dave perspective of being behind the doors helped him write the book and how Lasorda made the players believe they were going to win Gold.
47:30 - How this film will not be a Disney-type movie.
49:30 - Why Ted wants the movie to be called “Tommy Ball.”
50:45 - What some of the challenges are in getting a movie green-lit.
53:26 - How Ted is navigating the studios in making this movie.
54:15 - Who Ted thinks should portray Dave Fanucchi in the movie and if studios are interested in distributing the film.
56:20 - How Ted wasn’t afraid to approach actors at the 2022 MLB All Star Game.
58:00 - How Don and Dave knew each other from the minor league baseball team they worked at in Arizona.
Twitter:
@davefanucci
@grittyfilmproductions
@sportsmaking
Linkedin:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidfanucchi/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-collins-2291006/
Facebook: