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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2009 > December > 04 > Entry
Kevin Riley: Book about Reds might find new home team
Mark Donahue continues to pursue his dream of making a movie in southwest Ohio about a fictional Cincinnati Reds player. He’s recently taken a big step forward. His novel, “Last at Bat,” has been published, and he’s doing local book signings.
The captivating story is about Dylan Michael, a baseball player who falls from grace as a young star and then earns redemption. It’s is built around Donahue’s beloved Cincinnati Reds — although that part of the story could change.
Donahue is a Kettering resident and 1971 Wright State graduate. An athlete who became a successful real-estate developer in Florida, his hobby is writing fiction.
A friend of his got “Last at Bat” into the hands of a Hollywood producer, who is interested in making it into a movie.
Donahue produced a screenplay, and started picking up support, including from the Reds. Phillip J. Castellini, chief operating officer of the Reds, has offered to make the team’s stadium available to the film’s producers.
According to Donahue, potential investors like the idea of a published novel as a precursor to making the movie. He hopes that the project could be part of larger efforts to bring more movie-makers to Ohio.
The novel is a good story, whether you’re a baseball fan or not. It’s easy to see why people would see it as a great movie.
Donahue says his local book signings are a way of testing how the novel is received — and will influence decisions by his publisher about a national effort. He’s getting a lot of interest, and was at Wright State for a couple of events on Friday.
Many of the details in the book revolve around the Reds and southwest Ohio locations.
But the state has a couple of strikes against it when it comes to pitching the idea that the movie should be made here.
The first relates to cost. While the state recently created a tax incentive for film producers, investors tell Donahue that it still would be less expensive to make the movie in other states. That raises the specter of making the story about another team.
“If the book and screenplay generate some interest locally, we are more than willing to talk to local investors,” Donahue said. “However, unless there are ways to reduce costs to match the incentives other states are offering, even local investors would likely want to film the movie somewhere else, even if the Reds remain the team in the book and movie.”
Donahue, a die-hard Reds fan, doesn’t want that to happen.
He said he doesn’t want to be called a “sell-out,” “carpet-bagger,” or “money grubber” if he has to change the story.
Donahue wanted to release the book in southwest Ohio first, “so at least Reds’ fans could hopefully enjoy the first edition of the book with their team in it before it possibly morphs into a story/movie about a Cub, Cardinal, Red Sox, Dodger, Philly or Met.”
“I have been counseled by each of these groups to avoid using the Reds as the team in the book or the movie,” Donahue said. “The logic being there are more Cub fans, Yankee fans, Mets fans, Phillies fans, etc, than there are Reds fans and, therefore, an immediate big draw at the box office.”
Donahue has his own strong feelings, and key details of the story make it ideally suited to a “small-market” team.
“The investors look at demographics, not loyalty to a team, in doing their math,” he said.
Donahue is convinced that his story will get made because of the passion he sees in some investors.
“There has been an interesting and consistent dynamic in these meetings,” he said. “We talk about the finance aspect for 10 minutes, and then an hour on why the investors’ favorite team should be the team in the movie.”
Let’s hope it ends up being our team.
Area book signings for “Last at Bat”
Dec. 7: 6-8 p.m., New Bremen Coffee and Books, New Bremen
Dec. 12: 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Browse Awhile Books, Tipp City
Dec. 12: 3-5 p.m., Around About Books, 8 West Main St., Troy
Dec. 16: 7-8 p.m., Books and Co., The Greene
Dec. 17: 1-3 p.m., Ole Book Nook, Urbana
Dec. 19: 12:30-3 p.m., New and Old Pages Book Shoppe, Englewood
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment |
Comments
By Bibliophile Baseball Fan
December 6, 2009 2:54 PM | Link to this
I guess this is why most movies made from books are such a disappointment. When you replace the artistic aspect with the marketing/financial concerns, it never works. The end result is always such a let down. Other than the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, I cannot think of a single time where I was pleased with the movie version of the book. My advice? Keep Hollywood away from your book, Donahue!!!
By New & Olde Pages Book Shoppe
January 5, 2010 11:30 AM | Link to this
The reason this book works is because a small town conceives the idea to enable someone to fulfill their dream. without selling the secret of this for money. The volunteering of help to someone in need doesn’t fit my idea of a big metropolis. The book works great also for the midwest’s love for their “redlegs”
By New & Olde Pages Book Shoppe
January 5, 2010 11:30 AM | Link to this
The reason this book works is because a small town conceives the idea to enable someone to fulfill their dream. without selling the secret of this for money. The volunteering of help to someone in need doesn’t fit my idea of a big metropolis. The book works great also for the midwest’s love for their “redlegs”