Robert De Niro and Tommy Lasorda. Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Haute Living, J.D. Cuban/Allsport Robert De Niro is in talks to portray Tommy Lasorda, the legendary manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, in a new sports film with the working title Tommy & Me, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter.
Reid Carolin, who previously helmed 2022’s Dog with Channing Tatum, is also set to direct the pic for Skydance Sports.
While storyline details have yet to be released, Carolin, George Gallo and Cambron Clark are penning the script.
Lasorda, who died in 2021 at age 93, spent seven decades with the Dodgers as a player, scout, coach, manager and ambassador in Brooklyn and Los Angeles.
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After initially playing for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1945, and then serving two years in the U.S. military, Lasorda eventually made his way back to baseball, first in the minor leagues. He then made his major league debut in 1954 with the then-Brooklyn Dodgers, playing with the team for two seasons.
Lasorda was then traded to the Kansas City Athletics and played as a pitcher for one season. That was the end of his career as a player, but the beginning of his larger turn with the Dodgers.
After the 1960 season, he became a scout for the famed team through 1965. Lasorda had a stint with the minor leagues from 1966-1972, returning to the majors as a third base coach for the Dodgers in 1973. He took over as a third base coach in 1976, staying with the Dodgers through his retirement in 1996.
He once said, “I bleed Dodger blue and when I die, I’m going to the big Dodger in the sky.”
De Niro next stars in Focker-in-Law, alongside Ben Stiller and Ariana Grande. The film hits theaters in November. The two-time Oscar winner is also best known for his roles in Taxi Driver, Cape Fear, Raging Bull, The Irishman and Killers of the Flower Moon, among many others.
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