Amy Adams finds herself in Trouble with the Curve

MANILA, Philippines - Before she makes her much-awaited turn as the new Lois Lane in next year’s Man of Steel, Amy Adams is seen stepping up her game in Warner Bros.’ new family drama Trouble with the Curve as the estranged daughter of Clint Eastwood’s character.

In the film, Gus Lobel (Eastwood) is an aging baseball scout for the major league team, the Atlanta Braves. Long since widowed and living alone, Gus has embarked on a recruiting trip — maybe his last, considering his age and the changing business — to find a talented young player. He’s joined by his daughter Mickey (Adams), a busy corporate lawyer. The two have maintained a mostly episodic and often strained relationship in the past, which secrets and lies have not helped to mend. As they reconnect and attempt to work out their personal issues, they cross paths and fates with Johnny (Justin Timberlake), an upcoming rival scout, in a season that will be deeply cathartic for all of them.

Adams says that there’s universality to Mickey’s feelings about her dad. “Daughters always want the approval of their fathers. So, naturally, Mickey wants Gus’ attention; she wants him to be proud of her, but he, like many dads, has a hard time conveying that. Over time, she’s built up a wall and things between them have become contentious, to say the least.”

Unlike Gus, Mickey’s career is on the rise: She’s an associate competing for a coveted slot as a partner at her law firm. “Mickey and Gus have a lot in common,” Adams states. “They’re two people who focus on their work to keep from having to focus on anything else. She learned from the best; she keeps really busy so that she doesn’t have to explore the deeper, emotional side of herself.”

Despite her reluctance, Mickey takes it upon herself to look out for Gus, joining him on his latest scouting trip, hoping to be his eyes on the field. However, Eastwood notes, “He doesn’t want anybody to help him, because he equates that with them feeling sorry for him, which he can’t stand. He especially doesn’t want Mickey there because he doesn’t think it’s a healthy atmosphere for a young woman, even though she was around it a lot when she was growing up and knows the game very well. He’s also afraid she’ll catch on to what’s really wrong with him.”

Adams observes, “I think Mickey views going to North Carolina to help her dad as potentially her last chance to connect with him, and to convince him to start taking care of himself. But it’s hard for her because she doesn’t know how to communicate with him. They don’t talk, they argue. And she’s no more comfortable taking care of him than he is being taken care of.”

Director Robert Lorenz says, “Mickey’s got so much going on in her life at the start of this story — she’s on the verge of achieving her career goals, her relationship with her boyfriend is at a crossroads, and then she learns her father’s livelihood is in jeopardy. It’s a perfect storm of life events that forces her to re-examine what matters to her.”

The director adds that he was eager to work with Adams, noting, “Amy embodies the characters she plays so well. I also had a sense she’d be a good match for Clint, that she could stand up to him on screen, which she had to do…a lot.”

Adams was drawn to the script, and even more to the opportunity to work alongside Eastwood. “Working with Clint was amazing,” she confirms. “He is truly a legend, so to share the screen with him was an honor.”

“Amy was a joy to work with,” says Eastwood, who was equally impressed with Adams’ skills on the diamond. “She was perfect for the part of a woman who isn’t an athlete, but who grew up around a sport, who has it in her blood.”

Opening across the Philippines on Nov. 28, Trouble with the Curve is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.