Fever Pitch 1989, a Michael Thomas goal giving Arsenal the 0–2 win they needed to win the title. "Fever Pitch" compares Hornby's life at Arsenal and other football clubs. A 2005 film remake of "Fever Pitch", directed by the Farrelly Brothers with Hornby as an executive producer, starred Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore. In this adaptation (based on the 1997 film, not the 1992 book), the action is moved from London to Boston, the focus of the protagonist's obsession is shifted from football to baseball and the story is based on the 2004 Boston Red Sox season, which culminated with the team's
Drew Barrymore directorial debut with the sports dramedy "Whip It" (2009); she also starred opposite Ellen Page and Marcia Gay Harden in the film, about a high-schooler (Page) who ditches the teen beauty pageant scene so she participate in an Austin roller derby league. Barrymore worked with screenwriter Shauna Cross for months on script revisions, with Barrymore pushing her to "avoid her story's tidier prospects, to make things 'more raw and open ended.'" While the film found limited box office receipts, it was favorably received; according to review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, critics agreed that her "directorial debut has enough charm, energy,