For a figure who spent decades in the dugout, Tommy Lasorda had an unusually close relationship with Hollywood. The Los Angeles Dodgers manager was a familiar presence around celebrities and entertainers, while his outspoken personality made him one of baseball's most recognisable figures even outside the sport. Now, a new film about Lasorda's life could bring that larger-than-life persona back to the screen.
Lasorda's story itself offers plenty of material for a sports drama. His playing career was brief and largely spent in the minor leagues, but he eventually found his place within the Dodgers organisation, progressing from scout to minor-league manager and coach before taking charge of the major-league team. He went on to spend two decades as the Dodgers manager, turning that position into the defining chapter of his career.
Oscar winner Robert De Niro is now in talks to portray Lasorda in Tommy & Me, a new sports film being developed by Skydance Sports, according to Deadline. Reid Carolin, who directed Magic Mike's Last Dance, is attached to direct, with George Gallo, Cambron Clark and Carolin writing the screenplay. The film's working title is Tommy & Me, though details about how much of Lasorda's life it will cover remain under wraps.
Lasorda took over as Dodgers manager in 1976 following Walter Alston's retirement and remained in the role until 1996. During that period, he guided the team to four National League pennants and two World Series titles, including championships in 1981 and 1988. He was twice named National League Manager of the Year and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997.
His connection with the Dodgers continued even after he left the dugout. Lasorda served as a special adviser and ambassador for the organisation and remained a regular presence around Dodger Stadium. He spent 71 years associated with the Dodgers, one of the longest relationships between an individual and the franchise. He died in 2021 at the age of 93.
Lasorda also had a chapter in international baseball, managing the United States team at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Under his leadership, the team defeated heavily favoured Cuba to win the gold medal, adding an unusual international achievement to a career otherwise closely identified with the Dodgers.
For De Niro, Tommy & Me would mark another sports-related role in a career that has previously taken him into the world of boxing with Raging Bull. He also played a fictional baseball player in Bang the Drum Slowly and appeared in the 1996 baseball thriller The Fan. The actor was most recently seen in Netflix's The Whisper Man and is also set to appear in Focker-in-Law, scheduled for release in November. Carolin, meanwhile, has another sports project in the pipeline with the motorcycle-racing drama Isle of Man.
With no official casting confirmation yet and the filmmakers keeping the film's narrative approach under wraps, it remains unclear whether Tommy & Me will be a conventional biopic or focus on a particular period or relationship from Lasorda's life.
