the industry

Paul Rudd Lands Role of Multilingual Baseball-Playing Top Secret Spy

Photo: Ian Gavan/Getty Images

You wouldn’t think Paul Rudd would have time to take on other projects with his three-plus-plus film contract with Marvel, but the man is clearly bent on moving beyond superheroes and bro comedies. Rudd is set to star in The Catcher Was a Spy, a film that is not a genre-bent version of J.D. Salinger’s classic novel. Instead, the movie will focus on the life of Moe Berg, a catcher and coach in the majors whose life is begging for the big-screen treatment. Berg was more than a ballplayer — the man was a polyglot who spied for the United States during World War II. It’s fitting then that Robert Rodat, who wrote the screenplay for Saving Private Ryan, penned the adaption, which is based on Nicholas Dawidoff’s bestselling book. According to a report from Deadline, Ben Lewin is set to direct and Palmstar Media will produce. So to tally it up, this movie’s got baseball, WWII spies, the screenwriter from Saving Private Ryan, and a lead actor who is also a superhero. This may just be the most American film made this year.

Paul Rudd Lands Lead in ‘The Catcher Was a Spy’