Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures are teaming up with director Brian Helgeland for “42,” the story of baseball great Jackie Robinson. Slated for release on April 12, 2013, the film will open in time to commemorate the 66th anniversary of Jackie Robinson Day — April 15, the date of his first game as a Brooklyn Dodger — and on the heels of the opening of the 2013 Major League Baseball season. The announcement was made today by Dan Fellman, President, Domestic Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.
“42” will star Harrison Ford (“What Lies Beneath,” “Air Force One,” “Witness”) as Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey, the MLB executive who first signed Robinson to the minors and then helped to bring him up to the show. Chadwick Boseman (“The Express”) stars as Robinson, who was the first man to break the color line in the big leagues.
The film also stars Nicole Beharie (“Shame”) as Rachel Isum, who would become Robinson’s wife, as well as Christopher Meloni (upcoming “Man of Steel”) and T.R. Knight (TV’s “Grey’s Anatomy”).
“42” is set to start production on May 14 in Birmingham, Ala., with additional locations to include Macon and Atlanta, Georgia, and Chattanooga Tennessee, where the production will mount much of the film’s baseball action at Engel Stadium, double for Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field.
Academy Award-winner Helgeland (“L.A. Confidential”) will direct from his own screenplay. Thomas Tull will produce, with Dick Cook, Jon Jashni, and Jason Clark executive producing. Oscar nominee Don Burgess (“Forrest Gump”) is the director of photography, Richard Hoover (HBO’s “Temple Grandin”) is production designer, and Caroline Harris (“A Knight’s Tale”) is the costume designer.
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Sounds interesting.