The Aaron Sorkin Screenplay Touch

Moneyball is a great movie for a variety of reasons, but one is that Aaron Sorkin contributed to the screenplay. He was not the sole writer, but you can "hear' him in the film, in the ping-pong back-and-forth arguments of the characters. Its fun to listen to.

Example : Billy Beane(Brad Pitt) talking to manager Art Howe(Philip Seymour Hoffman) about why Howe won't be able to play the line-up he wants:

Billy Beane: Art, you got a minute?
Art Howe: Yeah. Take a seat.
Billy Beane: You can't start Peña at first tonight. You'll have to start Hatteberg.
Art Howe: Yeah, I don't want to go fifteen rounds, Billy. The lineup card is mine, and that's all.
Billy Beane: That lineup card is definitely yours. I'm just saying you can't start Peña at first.
Art Howe: Well, I am starting him at first.
Billy Beane: I don't think so. He plays for Detroit now.
Art Howe: You *traded* Peña?
Billy Beane: Yeah. And Menechino, Hiljus, Tam are all being sent down.
Art Howe: You are outside your mind.
Billy Beane: Yeah. Cuckoo.
Jeremy Giambi: [knocking on door] You wanted to see me?
Billy Beane: Yeah, Jeremy, grab a seat.
[Jeremy sits down]
Billy Beane: Jeremy, you've been traded to the Phillies. This is Ed Wade's number. He's a good guy, he's the GM. He's expecting your call. Buddy will help you with the plane flight. You're a good ballplayer, Jeremy, and we wish you the best.
[Jeremy sighs and exits]
Billy Beane: Jeremy's gone, too.
Art Howe: [shaking his head in disbelief] You're killing this team.

..

Classic comedy in there but also..some pain.. players get traded out "just like that," over (to another good team) down (to the minors) or out. And Hoffman uses his classic slow burn to underplay the scene.

Other great dialogue scenes:

Pitt arguing with his old time scout over the moneyball method -- and firing that scout.

Pitt "meeting cute" with his more young and portly soon-to-be assistant, Jonah Hill: "Who are you?" later "Who are you?" later "Whose nephew are you?"

Pitt and his assistant meeting the catcher (Chris Pratt) alone with his wife, his child, his arm injury and his hopeless state. And they often him first base to play.

Pratt: I don't know how to play first base.
Pitt: Its easy(to other guy) Tell him how easy it is to learn first base.
Other guy: Its incredibly hard to play first base.

And so forth and so long, all movie long, with the plot kept clear even for non-baseball fans, a "goal in sight"(prove that Moneyball works) and all that sweet dialogue to get us from start to finish.

I like this one, too(paraphrased from memory)

Pitt is seeing his daughter off at the airport to return to his ex-wife:

Pitt: Stop worrying. I'm not going to get fired. Heck, you're getting on a plane. Tjhose things crash all the time. You should be worried about THAT.

What a dad.

Great movie.