Bill Simmons will be an executive producer on Million Dollar Arm

ESPN''s Bill Simmons will be an executive producer, along with Connor Schell, on the film Million Dollar Arm, starring Jon Hamm, Bill Paxton, and Lake Bell. Million Dollar Arm tells the true story of a sports agent attempting to recruit a pair of teenage Indian cricket players to play professional baseball.

Simmons, of course, has been listed as an executive producer on all of the 30 for 30 documentaries, and Schell has also done work on the 30 for 30 films. Putting the pair on Million Dollar Arm makes sense, considering it's a true story and something that could have reasonably worked well as a 30 for 30 instead of a feature film.

But let's be honest here: whether the movie succeeds or fails, it won't be because of Simmons. Million Dollar Arm has a talented cast, a solid director in Craig Gillespie, and all of the praise or derision should be heaped upon them as opposed to Simmons – yet I have a feeling that might not happen with Simmons' name attached. Million Dollar Arm will be released on May 16th.

[Hollywood Reporter]