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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“This is an insightful, moving film that helps to shatter stereotypes and preconceptions, and reminds us of the power of this seemingly simple stick ball game to bring us all together.”  – Ken Burns

New Documentary Features Major Sandy Koufax Interview;

Recollections from Ron Howard, Larry King, Bob Feller,

Bud Selig, Marvin Miller, Al Rosen, Hank Greenberg and Many More

Los Angeles (October 28^th) – “Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story,” a major new documentary release is set to open theatrically November 5th in New York and as the title promises, documenting the impact of Jewish players on America’s national pastime, together with the impact of America’s national pastime on American Jews.

NEW YORK OPENING – FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2010

Quad Cinema 34 West 13^th Street

Malvern Cinema, Malvern Long Island

Kew Gardens Cinema, Kew Gardens, Queens

Sag Harbor Cinema, Sag Harbor

LOS ANGELES OPENING – FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2010

Music Hall Theater – Beverly Hills

Town Center – Encino

From the first – Lipman Pike – and on through Moe Berg, Hank Greenberg, Al Rosen, Sandy Koufax, Shawn Green and Kevin Youkilis, the film records the contributions of Jewish players and the recollections of Jewish fans, spanning the history of the game.  Major League Baseball has had top tier Jewish players, almost uninterrupted from its very beginnings, and through vintage newsreels, archival and new interviews, the story is woven together in a 91-minute presentation narrated by Academy Award winner Dustin Hoffman.

The film is directed by Peter Miller, and produced by Miller and Will Hechter.  Pulitzer Prize-winner Ira Berkow wrote the script.  Amy Linton edits.

A highlight of the film is a rare interview with the Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax, who agreed to sit down with the producers to talk about his remarkable career.  Koufax discusses his experiences with missing a World Series game for a Jewish holiday, and of pitching a perfect game, one of his four no-hitters.  “I went out every day to pitch a perfect game”, he said.  “A first walk you are going to pitch a no-hitter, the first hit you are going to pitch a one-hitter.  Your goals are to be as good as you can be and you give up your goals very grudgingly and if you’ve given up nine hits, it’s going to be a nine-hitter, there’s not going to be a 10^th one.”

Director Ron Howard, a young Dodger fan when Koufax pitched, talks about rooting for Sandy as a youngster, and about his shock and embarrassment when he discovered that he was making more money as “Opie” on the Andy Griffith Show, than Koufax was pitching for the Dodgers.

The film includes recollections from Hank Greenberg (vintage) and his son Steve, Al Rosen, as well as from CNN’s Larry King, author Roger Kahn, Commissioner Bud Selig, Players Association’s Marvin Miller, former Montreal Expos owner Charles Bronfman, the Mets’ Fred Wilpon, players Yogi Berra, Bob Feller, Norm Sherry, Ron Blomberg, Shawn Green, Kevin Youkilis, and a delightful opening scene in which actor Dennis Leary, a guest in the Red Sox broadcast booth, discovers that Youkilis is Jewish.

Among the discoveries for audiences: the co-author of Take Me Out to the Ballgame was Jewish (and the song is performed over closing credits by jazz artist Sophie Milman); Washington’s Buddy Myer was a Jewish batting champion, and the New York Giants were frequented by Jewish talent (including Andy Cohen, Sid Gordon, Harry Danning and Phil Weintraub).

Moe Berg’s spy adventures, while undercover as a ballplayer, are revealed; the question of whether not pitching to Greenberg as he threatened to break Babe Ruth’s home run record involved anti-Semitism, and Al Rosen’s realization that sometimes you had to fight emerge.  Selig ponders out loud what his predecessors would have thought of a Jew becoming commissioner.

A coda to the production is the tale of Adam Greenberg, who, as a Chicago Cub in 2005, saw one pitch, and was hit in the head with it.  He continues his attempt to return to the majors: “You don’t have to be taught to never give up,” he says, which could apply to many in the film.

For more information on the film go to

http://www.7thart.com/films/Jews-and-Baseball-An-American-Love-Story

About 7^th Art Releasing

7^th Art is an independent full service distributor, producer, sales agent, and specialized marketing company that has distributed unique, award-winning documentaries and fiction films for over 15 years. 7th Art’s releases have received many awards including multiple Academy Award nominations as well as one Oscar.

Recent 7^th Art releases include Vlast (Power) (Los Angeles Film Festival), 45365 (Independent Spirit Award Winner), The White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights among many others.

Press Contact:

Rachel Owen

Seventh Art Releasing

323-845-1455

[email protected]

Editor’s note:Fans of this film should also like the following books…

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