''Chasing 3000'' is a 2007 American

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is film production, produced outside the Major film studios, major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independ ...

chronicling the cross-country travel of two brothers to see the 3,000th

base hit In baseball statistics, a hit (denoted by H), also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches or passes first base after hitting the ball into fair territory with neither the benefit of an error nor a fielder's c ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

legend

Roberto Clemente Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker (; August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball player who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, primarily as a right fielder. On December ...

. It stars Trevor Morgan, Rory Culkin,

Ray Liotta Raymond Allen Liotta (; December 18, 1954 – May 26, 2022) was an American actor. He first gained attention for his role in the film '' Something Wild'' (1986), which earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination. He was best known for his portray ...

, and

Lauren Holly Lauren Michael Holly (born October 28, 1963) is an American actress. She has played the roles of Deputy Sheriff Maxine Stewart in the television series ''Picket Fences'', NCIS Director Jenny Shepard in the series '' NCIS'', and Dr. Betty Rogers ...

. The film was originally meant to premiere at the

2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game The 2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 77th playing of the midseason exhibition baseball game between the all-star game, all-stars of the American League (AL) and National League (baseball), National League (NL), the two leagues co ...

, but its release was delayed until April 2007.

Plot

In 1972,

is close to making his 3,000th hit. High school student Mickey ( Trevor Morgan) and his younger brother Roger ( Rory Culkin) drive to

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

from

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

with a

learner's permit A driver's permit, learner's permit, student permit, learner's license or provisional license is a restricted license that is given to a person who is learning to driving, drive, but has not yet satisfied the prerequisite to obtain a driver's lic ...

to attend the baseball game. Roger has

muscular dystrophy Muscular dystrophies (MD) are a genetically and clinically heterogeneous group of rare neuromuscular diseases that cause progressive weakness and breakdown of skeletal muscles over time. The disorders differ as to which muscles are primarily affe ...

, but that does not deter them from traveling with their grandfather (

Seymour Cassel Seymour Joseph Cassel (January 22, 1935 – April 7, 2019) was an American actor who appeared in over 200 films and television shows, with a career spanning over 50 years. He first came to prominence in the 1960s in the pioneering independent f ...

). Their mother (

) follows them and they are later helped by a runaway, a motorcycle gang leader, a farmer, and an emergency room doctor.

Production

The film was originally meant to premiere at the

, but the filmmakers changed their minds because they wanted a better chance of securing a distribution deal. It cost less than $3 million to produce the film. The film's producer Ryan Johnson gave the script to actor

business agent. When Liotta read the script, he said that he could relate to it and wanted a part in the film. Liotta joining the film as an actor caused other actors to join the production. It was originally intended to have a straight to DVD release, but the filmmakers changed their mind once Liotta had a role. Bill Mikita began to write the

screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...

in 1999 and he decided to add Clemente's 3,000th hit to the script because he and his brother Steve are major fans of the athlete. The film was based on Mikita and his brother's own cross-country trip to the game.

Release

The film had its debut on April 29, 2007 at the AMC Loews 34th Street Theater. It was shown at the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

in 2007 and former Vice President

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...

hosted the

gala Gala may refer to: Music * ''Gala'' (album), a 1990 album by the English alternative rock band Lush * Gala (singer), Italian singer and songwriter *'' Gala – The Collection'', a 2016 album by Sarah Brightman * GALA Choruses, an association of ...

on opening night. The DVD release date was on September 28, 2010.

Reception

Andrew Barker of '' Variety'' wrote, "A brotherly love tale substantially weightier than its baseball road-trip premise might indicate, ''Chasing 3000'' overcomes some heavy-handed moments and narrative shortcuts with a surprising degree of emotional honesty". Bob Hoover, writing for ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving Greater Pittsburgh, metropolitan Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the fi ...

'' stated, "Its earnestness and innocence carries ''Chasing 3000'' a long way, and its sweet appreciation of the 'Burgh will win over local hearts." Michael Ordona of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' gave a mixed review, stating, "This sincere, nostalgic, brothers-on-the-road movie has its strong points but sadly fails to do what Clemente so famously did in his final at-bat—finish on a high note".

References

External links