Ron Shelton

Checked out this book from the library mostly to force myself to finally watch the movie. Watched the movie on Monday, then read this book luesday and Wednesday. And I liked both! The movie is very good, definitely watch it if you're like me and somehow is both a big baseball fan and hadn't seen it. This book is also a great behind the scenes of the making of and I really like that kind of stuff. It's also quite funny. It had some lines that made me laugh out loud, including this one:

The reviews were terrific-except for the guy in Durnam-but two particular responses stuck with me then and now.
First, a message on my phone from Bill Kirkpatrick, a tough pitcher and teammate from the minors I hadn't talked to in years. The message was simple: "Shelly. Willy K. Great fuckin' flick. Bye." I had the guys on the bus.

Good stuff, definitely recommend.… (more)

This book is for a specific audience. You pretty much have to be a fan of the movie Bull Durham to get into this book. I also happen to be a fan of the city of Durham which helps also. If you are, then you will find much of this fascinating--he covers the origin of the story and the birth of it's characters, the crafting of the screenplay and translating it to film in a straightforward informative manner. If you are not a fan of the movie you will likely not care about any of it. Written by the writer/director, the book touches on broader industry topics but usually with a throwaway line or quip. A minor league player himself, his career is treated as a series of impressions rather than a personal history. Alas, I am a fan of the movie and Durham, so this is in my wheelhouse--otherwise this would be three stars.… (more)

Shelton, Ron. The Church of Baseball: The Making of Bull Durham: Home Runs, Bad Calls, Crazy Fights, Big Swings, and a Hit. Knopf, 2022.
In 1987, Ron Shelton was a first-time director, and Kevin Costner was not yet an actor whose presence would automatically greenlight a Hollywood movie. Nor was a script about minor league baseball an idea to make studio moguls dig for their wallets. But Costner looked good swinging a bat, and Shelton, who had played in the minor leagues, had the bones of the script that would eventually become Bull Durham. The film launched Shelton’s career and became a lasting cultural icon. His memoir about the gestation of the project is the best book I have read on the process of filmmaking since William Goldman’s Adventures in the Screen Trade (1983). It details a filmmaking process and an industry structure that already seem as nostalgic as a Whitman poem about baseball. 5 stars.… (more)