Actress, producer go to bat for sequel
Almost 27 years after its release, “A League of Their Own” remains a popular movie and it was recently voted the third greatest sports movie of all time in a survey of Times readers. Geena Davis, who starred in the film, would love to see a sequel.
“Oh God, a sequel?” Davis said at the annual Bentonville (Ark.) Film Festival last week. “Because I love the characters. … And so, yes, I would love to see a sequel. I have just as many girls and young women tell me they play sports specifically because of that movie, as when it came out originally. And it’s not just they want to play baseball, you know? Abby Wambach told me that she plays soccer because of that movie. So it’s fun to be in a movie like that.”
But would a sequel be possible? I reached out to Kelly Candaele, who produced the documentary “A League of Their Own” about his mom’s years in the All American Girls Professional Baseball League and received a “story by” credit for the Davis movie, to get his opinion. He answered some questions via email.
Q: Geena Davis recently said she would love to take part in a sequel to “A League of Their Own.” What did you think when you first heard that?
Candaele: I think it’s fantastic. The film made $100 million, the highestgrossing baseball movie in Hollywood history, but it made almost no money overseas. I suspect the French and Chinese didn’t get the baseball jokes. I would tell the nervous studio executives we could put one of the Avengers in it with some baseball superpower. Can you imagine Thor with a baseball bat?
Q: Any ideas for a sequel? The same cast 25 years later or a completely recast film with the same characters and cameos from the original actors?
Candaele: I’ve actually written up a story that I think is pretty good. It’s set around 1990 so the impact of Title IX, which allowed women equal access to athletic opportunities, is taking hold. Through a series of events, Dottie ends up coaching a high school girls softball team — taking over from a nitwit male coach. She recruits three of her former teammates — including Kit — to help her out. It’s really a story about how older women teach younger women about life lessons during some difficult social changes. Of course the title is “There’s No Crying in Baseball.”
Q: “A League of Their Own” was recently voted the third greatest sports film of all time by Times readers. What was your reaction to that?
Candaele: It’s really an enduring film that I’m so proud of. I meet young girls all the time who have been inspired to do something in their life that they didn’t think they could do because of that film. Parents love it too, even though there are moments of “adult humor,” which by today’s standards is tame I guess. Mother’s Day just passed and not a day goes by that I don’t think of her and how proud I was of her accomplishments.
Three in a row?
Brooks Koepka won the PGA Championship for the second year in a row Sunday, and on Monday he was installed as the early favorite by Betonline.ag to win his third consecutive U.S. Open. The favorites: Brooks Koepka, 6-1 Tiger Woods, 9-1 Dustin Johnson, 10-1 Rory McIlroy, 12-1 Jordan Spieth, 14-1 Justin Rose and Justin Thomas, 16-1 Jason Day, Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson, Francesco Molinari and Jon Rahm, 20-1 Rickie Fowler, 22-1 Tommy Fleetwood, 25-1 Xander Schauffele, 28-1 Patrick Cantlay, Tony Finau, Hideki Matsuyama, Patrick Reed and Henrik Stenson, 33-1