In the new Disney movie Million Dollar Arm, we find sports agent JB Bernstein pulling his last trick out of the hat. To try to save his career, Bernstein comes up with a reality show competition in India to find a baseball pitching star among thousand of hopeful kids that had never even heard of the sport before. The prize, a million dollars and a chance to try out for major league baseball, in the United States. Two 18-year-old boys, Rinku and Dinesh, win the opportunity to change their own lives forever, but also end up teaching Bernstein about teamwork, commitment and family. And if all of this sounds unbelievable, but mostly impossible, hold on to your seats because this film is based on a true story!

Jon Hamm, who plays JB Bernstein, leads a great cast in this amazing journey of discovery. At a recent press conference, Hamm couldn’t stop giving us reasons on why he joined this project. “It’s an incredibly uplifting story about thinking outside of the box and really following through with something, and working hard, and succeeding,” he said. Moving in the opposite direction of Don Draper, the character we’re all used to seeing him as, Hamm is pleased to portray Bernstein and be part of a family movie. He added, “having spoken to JB [Bernstein] and learning these events changed his life positively, it’s a tremendous honor to get to be able to tell that story and I’m so pleased with it, and I’m so proud of it.”

Suraj Sharma (Life of Pi) and Madhur Mittal (Slumdog Millionaire) give life to Rinku and Dinesh, respectively, and make this incredible story real. “The boys [Sharma & Mittal] are so fantastic in it. They bring so much soul and depth to what could be a one-note kind of performance. They bring this whole world of emotion to it and it resonates,” said Hamm. He also added, “the unbelievable hard work that both of them [Rinku & Dinesh] went through to will this thing into existence is so inspiring to so many people.”

A great part of how we can feel the soul of this movie has to do with the beautiful script written by Tom McCarthy, and it’s one of the reasons Lake Bell (Brenda) felt so attracted to this film. “Everybody has their own world, so the female character in a sea of male characters, still is well thought out and has her own world. It’s a well drawn character. She’s smart, and she’s layered, and I’m very thankful for it,” she said. Hamm couldn’t agree more, “Tommy is a wonderful writer and he has the ability to make what seems like a simple story resonate in a way that brings so much more to it, and you see it in this film.”

Million Dollar Arm is so much more than a sports movie, it’s a relationships movie and as the ‘real’ JB Bernstein puts it, “the reality is that having Rinku and Dinesh trust into my life opened me up, mostly, to the importance of family and having people around that you love and that you love them, and you support each other.” Rinku Singh is still playing with the Pirates and is still living the dream, and he has one message for all the kids out there, but mostly for all the kids in India, “it’s not about just seeing a dream, it’s about following through. Respect the opportunity.”

It’s been a while since we’ve seen an all-ages family movie be a non-animated, live-action movie with such an inspiring message. Don’t miss this film, which promises to be the feel-good movie of the Summer. Million Dollar Arm is a real winner!

Million Dollar Arm opens in theaters May 16.