Second chances are precious. But achieving redemption? That is a whole ‘nother ballgame, which is precisely the point of “Bottom of the 9th.”
Mt. Lebanon natives and brothers Joe and Nick Manganiello are producers on the baseball-themed feature film opening July 19 at the Harris Theater, Downtown. Their 3:59 Inc. production company has been involved in this Saban Films indie for almost eight years.
Joe Manganiello stars as Sonny Stano, a once-promising New York Yankees prospect. Out one night, he gets into a dumb neighborhood brawl and loses both his baseball career and his freedom.
Cut to a state prison, 17 years later. Sonny is being launched back into the real world, where people haven’t forgotten how he accidentally killed a guy.
“I liked the idea of this man who had everything, and the world at his fingertips, and he made a huge mistake,” he says. “What would it take for him to look in the mirror and honestly think that he deserved to have good things in his life again?”
Putting his life back together to become the person Stano always wanted to be struck a chord with Joe Manganiello. “I think it’s never too late, and that is something I definitely identified with.”
The Carnegie Mellon University graduate talked publicly about his issues with alcohol; he’s been sober for more than 17 years. “That had a lot to do with things in my life, being far away from that person you wanted to be.”
Tiger Woods’ victory at this year’s Masters tournament played into the American tradition of sports comeback as folklore. Baseball in particular seems to be best for telling this kind of tale.
“[Baseball stories] have the magic in them, whether it’s ‘Field of Dreams’ or ‘The Natural,’ or even ‘Major League,’ where those characters are kind of on their way out, trying to get one last shot.”
The Manganiellos got involved with the project through Oscar-winning director John Avildsen (“Rocky,” “The Karate Kid”). After Avildsen died in June 2017, Raymond De Felitta would take over, working from Robert Bruzio’s script.
At first glance this sounds like a throwback to the “Rocky” era of feel-good comeback films, but Nick Manganiello said the production wanted to achieve a grittier feel.
“It’s not just a great story for Joe, but there is a complexity,” said Nick Manganiello. “We shot it in the Bronx, which is almost a character in the film, and many of the actors were from there.”
Playing the part of Angela, Sonny’s long-ago girlfriend, is Sofia Vergara, Joe Manganiello’s wife of almost four years.
About eight years ago, while reading the script that would one day be the foundation for “Bottom of the 9th,” it struck him that Angela — originally written as an Italian girl from the Bronx — might be a great role for Vergara.
“This pre-dated us ever going out on a date. ... I just knew it would work.”
“There’s no question they have chemistry, so there was no concern going into it,” Nick Manganiello said. “It’s sort of serendipitous.”
“I loved working with my wife. She’s super-professional and does a great job and I ended up writing a lot for our scenes together.”
This is the third time the couple has worked together.
Four years ago, he directed a “Live Read” staged reading of “Major League” at the Los Angeles County Museum or Art. He also took the Tom Berenger role of Jake. Others in the cast were Vergara and former San Francisco Giants pitcher Brian Wilson.
In “Bottom of the 9th,” Wilson plays —- what else? — a cocky pitcher.
Kevin William Paul, who plays the young Sonny Stano, is another CMU grad.
“He actually matched my swing!” Joe Manganiello said.
Growing up in Mt. Lebanon, the brothers were always into sports. “We never went home after school,” Nick said, tied up in workouts, games, matches. Joe was a captain on the Blue Devils’ football, volleyball and basketball teams, while basketball, track and cross country (he won numerous WPIAL track titles and was on the PIAA-winning cross country team) were more Nick’s forte.
“We were fortunate to be athletes, to have the genetics to be tall,” Nick Manganiello said, laughing. “But to this day it’s very much a part of who I am and what my work ethic is.”
Last week, Joe Manganiello was one of the celebrities — including Matt Damon, Aza Aduba and Zachary Levi — who appeared in a “Stand Up to Cancer” PSA that aired during the MLB All-Star game.
Earlier this summer, the brothers were in Hawaii in June for the Maui Film Festival. Joe Manganiello was presented, by Vergara, with the “Shooting Star” award, and “Bottom of the 9th” made its debut.
Joe Manganiello said that when they set out to make this film, the goal was to make a movie that had “integrity.”
“Look, none of us made a lot of money making an independent film. We did it to tell an honest story.”
Maria Sciullo: msciullo@post-gazette.com or @MariaSciulloPG.
First Published: July 17, 2019, 4:00 a.m.
