Exclusive: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is developing a docuseries about pioneering Black basketball players including Chuck Cooper, Earl Lloyd and Nat Clifton.
The NBA legend has teamed up with Cineflix Productions, the company behind Nancy Buirski’s recent feature doc Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy, and his longtime business partner Deborah Morales, who runs Iconomy Multi-Media & Entertainment, on The Pioneers.
The four-part series, which is out to broadcasters and streamers, will tell the story of the players who paved the way toward integrating the sport.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Dan Winters)
It will tell the complete off-the-court story behind basketball’s racial integration, beginning with the Boston Celtics’ surprising second-round selection of Cooper during the 1950 NBA draft. Breaking the color barrier, Cooper’s pick was met with severe pushback during a harsh racial climate, but it would also open doors for other Black players to make the league,...
The NBA legend has teamed up with Cineflix Productions, the company behind Nancy Buirski’s recent feature doc Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy, and his longtime business partner Deborah Morales, who runs Iconomy Multi-Media & Entertainment, on The Pioneers.
The four-part series, which is out to broadcasters and streamers, will tell the story of the players who paved the way toward integrating the sport.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Dan Winters)
It will tell the complete off-the-court story behind basketball’s racial integration, beginning with the Boston Celtics’ surprising second-round selection of Cooper during the 1950 NBA draft. Breaking the color barrier, Cooper’s pick was met with severe pushback during a harsh racial climate, but it would also open doors for other Black players to make the league,...
- 6/20/2023
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
"Change is happening - but I don't know if my city can take it." Briarcliff Ent. has revealed a trailer for a sports movie called Sweetwater, telling the true story of an iconic basketball player. This opens in theaters in April, right after the NCAA finals, and hasn't played at any festivals. In the fall of 1950, Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton forever changed the game of basketball when he became the very first African American contracted to play in the NBA. "The game of basketball would never be played the same." This is "inspired" by the true story of Hall of Famer Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton - he played his first game for the New York Knicks four days after the debut of Washington Capitols player Earl Lloyd, the first black player to appear in an NBA game. Everett Osborne stars as Nat, with a cast including Jeremy Piven, Cary Elwes, Richard Dreyfuss,...
- 2/19/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Exclusive: Hacksaw Ridge backer Argent Pictures has joined upcoming action-comedy Kung Fury 2 as a financier and producer, with shoot due to get underway in September.
Michael Fassbender stars in the previously announced pic alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, Eiza Gonzales, David Hasselhoff and writer-director David Sandberg who is adapting his popular YouTube short. Tyler Burton Smith is co-writer.
This is a wild one. According to the production, “the feature is set in 1985, the best year ever. Miami is kept safe under the watchful eye of Kung Fury, the greatest damn cop of all time. His Thundercops are the ultimate police force assembled from across history to defeat the villainous Kung Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler. After the tragic death of one of their members causes the group to disband, a mysterious villain emerges from the shadows to aid in the Fuhrer’s quest to attain the ultimate weapon. Kung Fury must travel through space...
Michael Fassbender stars in the previously announced pic alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, Eiza Gonzales, David Hasselhoff and writer-director David Sandberg who is adapting his popular YouTube short. Tyler Burton Smith is co-writer.
This is a wild one. According to the production, “the feature is set in 1985, the best year ever. Miami is kept safe under the watchful eye of Kung Fury, the greatest damn cop of all time. His Thundercops are the ultimate police force assembled from across history to defeat the villainous Kung Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler. After the tragic death of one of their members causes the group to disband, a mysterious villain emerges from the shadows to aid in the Fuhrer’s quest to attain the ultimate weapon. Kung Fury must travel through space...
- 5/14/2018
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Constant Beta, Creative Control and Abramorama have teamed for a wide release in North American for The First to Do It, a documentary feature about Earl Lloyd, the NBA’s first black player. With exec producers including a number of basketball stars, the film will hit theaters in February. The First to Do It brings together current NBA players including Carmelo Anthony, Kawhi Leonard and Chris Paul as well as Hall of Famers Oscar Robertson, Dave Bing and Bob Lanier to…...
- 10/5/2017
- Deadline
Constant Beta Motion Picture Company, Creative Control and Abramorama will collaborate on the theatrical distribution of “The First to Do It,” a documentary about the life and times of Earl Lloyd, the first Black American to play in the NBA. The film brings together current basketball players including Carmelo Anthony, Kawhi Leonard and Chris Paul, as well as Hall of Famers Oscar Robertson, Dave Bing and Bob Lanier. Dean Cole provides the voice of Lloyd. Abramorama is planning a wide theatrical release in February 2018. “The First to Do It” is produced by Arka Sengupta and executive produced by Michael Finley,...
- 10/5/2017
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Wrap
Constant Beta Motion Picture Company, Creative Control and Abramorama are collaborating for the North American distribution of The First to Do It, a documentary about Earl Lloyd, the first African-American to play in the NBA. Abramorama plans a wide theatrical release for the film in February.
Directed by Coodie and Chike, First to Do It was produced by Arka Sengupta and in association with the National Basketball Players Association, and was executive produced by Michael Finley, Tony Parker, Carmelo Anthony, Kawhi Leonard, Pj Tucker, Harry I. Martin, Amit Sharma, Jason Cole, David T. Friendly, Jack Lechner, Michele Roberts and Chrysa Chin. Anthony, Leonard and Chris Paul,...
Directed by Coodie and Chike, First to Do It was produced by Arka Sengupta and in association with the National Basketball Players Association, and was executive produced by Michael Finley, Tony Parker, Carmelo Anthony, Kawhi Leonard, Pj Tucker, Harry I. Martin, Amit Sharma, Jason Cole, David T. Friendly, Jack Lechner, Michele Roberts and Chrysa Chin. Anthony, Leonard and Chris Paul,...
- 10/5/2017
- by Ashley Lee
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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