"People are entitled to their opinions, " Roskam said.

WSJ: Ty Cobb: A Juicy Look At the Georgia Peach

Peter Roskam from the great state of Illinois.

WHITEHOUSE: President Obama Takes Questions at GOP House Issues Conference | The White House

In 2008, Roskam had the rolls developed and transferred into a high-definition digital format, then set out again to find a documentary company to work with, finally connecting with Hayden 5 Media, a small New York firm.

WSJ: Ty Cobb: A Juicy Look At the Georgia Peach

But the dealings are so dense (and so complicated by the cultural tussles across the language frontier, between French and Flemish speakers), that we start to wonder if Roskam is determined to lose us in the murk.

NEWYORKER: Bullhead

Roskam had what he described as a "general understanding" of Cobb's personality and exploits as a ballplayer until the day seven years ago that he helped his grandparents, Thomas McLaren and Beverly Cobb McLaren, clean out their garage.

WSJ: Ty Cobb: A Juicy Look At the Georgia Peach

Though Hayden 5 would like to bring on a "high-profile name" as a director or executive producer for the documentary, Wiseman and Roskam said that they are committed to telling Cobb's story as dispassionately as possible in the hopes of providing the most complete and accurate rendering of his character.

WSJ: Ty Cobb: A Juicy Look At the Georgia Peach