He said, he said

July 19, 2011 · 3 comments

Dan Gutman has created a series of pretty good kids’ books with the premise of a boy who can travel back through time to meet some of the greatest players in the game, among them Honus Wagner, Mickey Mantle, Shoeless Joe Jackson, and Babe Ruth, among others.

Now, I don’t know the whole story here, but it strikes me as very fishy when, after all this time — Gutman began publishing these books in 1997 — someone else comes up with the same premise and turns it into an animated movie featuring, among others, Richard Gere.

From the story in SchoolLibraryJournal.com:

“You GOTTA be kidding me! A new baseball movie called “Henry & Me” starring Richard Gere???,” posted Gutman to his Facebook wall.

He also tweeted: “Can’t believe Richard Gere is coming out with a baseball movie for kids called “Henry & Me.” “2 years ago, Gere invited me to meet with him and we discussed turning my baseball card adventure series into movies.

Gere and Gutman in happier times.

Gutman’s next book — Ray & Me (Baseball Card Adventures) — focuses on Ray Chapman, the only Major Leaguer to die during a ballgame, as the result of being hit in the head by a Carl Mays pitch. Seems pretty dark for a juvenile book and I can’t imagine how the author would change the scenario. But then, it is fantasy.

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Tagged as: Dan Gutman, Richard Gere

{ 3 comments }

1 Mark Ahrens July 19, 2011 at 11:47 pm: Hey Ron,
Gutman’s books are really good entertainment for kids and adults alike. It is very sleazy is Gere comes out with the Henry and Me movie. One of his books, Honus and Me, was already adapted for the big screen — The Winning Season with Matthew Modine.Also, Ray and Me has already been released. He did a good job of taking a dark subject and making it interesting.

I am hoping Dan can sue the backside off of Gere and his grifter-like handlers.

Mark Ahrens
2 Anonymous July 19, 2011 at 11:50 pm: I had forgotten about the Modine movie, Mark. You’re right; it was pretty good. As for the current situation, I’m not sure if it’s Gere or Negron that’s the alleged perpetrator.
3 Kent Morgan July 24, 2011 at 4:27 pm: The Modine movie was filmed in Winnipeg with the baseball scenes shot at CanWest Gobal Park , the home of our independent Northern League (at the time) team, the Goldeyes. Around the same time, we were hosting the Senior Softball World Championships and had a celebrity fundraising game scheduled for Canwest. The producers asked if Modine could play in the game and he was assigned to the team I was coaching. As we already had our team in place, I had fun when I announced the starting lineup and said that another player was starting at shortstop instead of Honus Wagner. Modine turned out to be a good guy and a decent player.