Robert Redford to play Brooklyn Dodgers boss in Jackie Robinson film

[HMG Celebrity News] – Robert Redford has both made and enabled some fine films in his time, but his next project concerns a decision that helped change the world. He’s going to explore the Brooklyn Dodgers’ choice to hire Jackie Robinson.

The 74-year old Hollywood legend has signed on to star as Branch Rickey, the Brooklyn Dodgers boss who hired Jackie Robinson, the first black player to appear in the Major Leagues in over five decades.

The film – which so far has no title – has been in development limbo for years. Brian Helgeland [who wrote 'L.A. Confidential' and 'Mystic River] has been tapped to write and direct, and getting a name like Redford’s involved should now secure the last bit of finance so they can schedule the shoot.

“No one really knows the Rickey part, the political maneuvers and the partnership they had to share,” Redford tells the Times. “It’s the story underneath the story you thought you knew.”

For those not addicted to baseball, when Jackie debuted with the Dodgers in April 1947 he was the first black player since the late 1800′s. His arrival helped end the racial segregation which had condemned black players to the minors for the past fifty years. It’s also seen as a key factor in starting the civil rights movement.

The film will focus on the connection between Rickey and Robinson, exploring the idea that his boss hired Jackie more for the economic benefits he’d create than from some unspoken desire to perhaps ‘do the right thing.’

And Rob has the right roots for the part – In younger days he played baseball at Van Nuys High School, and more recently he threw the opening pitch for the Chicago Cubs.

If you love baseball this sounds like the movie for you. There’s no word on who might be cast as Jackie but who would you choose?…