Here's a Trailer for Screwball, Billy Corben's Hilarious New A-Rod Doc

At its slimy heart, the Biogenesis steroid scandal boiled down to a bunch of tanning-salon aficionados and small-time South Florida crooks scamming one another — all while bringing down the biggest performance-enhancing drug ring in the history of professional sports. So it makes sense that in retelling the tale...

By Tim Elfrink

August 29, 2018

screencap via YouTube

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At its slimy heart, the Biogenesis steroid scandal boiled down to a bunch of tanning-salon aficionados and small-time South Florida crooks scamming one another — all while bringing down the biggest performance-enhancing drug ring in the history of professional sports.

So it makes sense that in retelling the tale, which began with a 2013 Miami New Times investigation that exposed Alex Rodriguez and other superstar cheats, documentary filmmaker Billy Corben leaned into the absurdity behind the multimillion-dollar suspensions and bare-knuckle legal fights.

A new trailer shows exactly how Corben highlights that dark humor: namely, by casting child actors to play everyone from A-Rod to Biogenesis owner Tony Bosch to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred to New Times Managing Editor Tim Elfrink, who helps frame the story around his book, Blood Sport: A-Rod and the Quest to End Baseball's Steroid Era.

The result is a hilarious blend of true-life storytelling and kids in mustaches that the Playlist calls "absurdly amazing... or just plain absurd."

A few of those young actors are highlighted in the first trailer for the new documentary from Corben and filmmaking partner Alfred Spellman. The doc will premiere next month at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Tim Elfrink is a former investigative reporter and managing editor for Miami New Times. He has won the George Polk Award and was a finalist for the Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting.

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