Rise of LeBron About “More Than A Game”
In many ways, LeBron James’ senior year of high school played out as if it were clichéd teen sports movie: phenom is ordained for greatness, controversy builds around him, he leans on teammates and finds success. It was only a matter of time before James’ story received the Hollywood treatment.
Thanks to “More Than A Game”, a new documentary by first-time director Kris Belman, the story of how LeBron became King James will indeed be told, but in his own words.
“More Than A Game” premieres this weekend at the Toronto International Film Festival. It is said to combine footage taken during James’ high school career at Akron, Ohio’s St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, along with revealing interviews and home videos.
When he began principal photography for the picture, Kris Belman was a student at Loyola Marymount University’s School of Film and Television. He had gone to Akron, his hometown, to get footage of St.Vincent-St.Mary’s team as they prepared to try to win a national championship. Belman’s goal was to film a 10-minute short documentary for a school project.
But he was soon fascinated by the team and wanted to pursue the project further. With the authorization of head coach Dru Joyce, Belman spent two months filming the team’s daily activities and sitting down with players for one-on-one interviews.
The obvious attraction for Belman was James. While still in high school, James had already become a household name among sports fans. When he was in the eleventh grade, Sports Illustrated had him grace its cover under the banner of “The Chosen One” and declared that he would be a lottery pick that year if possible.
The media attention around James grew. His team was the first high school to have its game broadcast national on ESPN. He appeared on the cover of Slam magazine multiple times while in high school and was already being courted for shoe endorsement deals.
Many of us remember that James’ also attracted a high level of negative attention his senior year. From the scandal involving his mother purchasing a Hummer for him to the loss of his amateur status after receiving free jerseys, his actions were nationally scrutinized.
Belman was with the team throughout these turbulent events and was able to capture the relationships between James and his friends in the locker room and away from basketball. In that way, the film focuses not solely on James’ narrative, but also that of his friends and former teammates Dru Joyce III, Sian Cotton, Willie McGee and Romeo Travis.
The film’s creators have expressed that it is a movie about “much more than basketball.” It will supposedly focus on their bonds as friends, how teammates interact, and how their friendship was tested. It will also show how each player used basketball as a tool for success beyond the game itself. These cheerful and inspiring messages are all time-honoured elements of sports documentaries; it is predictable and understandable that such uplifting facets will be in the film.
Primarily though, “More Than A Game” is an attempt to chronicle James’ life before the NBA and will give LeBron a transcendent quality. Having a documentary made about his life in high school gives LeBron’s narrative added weightiness. Many NBA fans are already familiar with James’ story, but making it into a feature-length film elevates it unconditionally. It tries to bring extra legitimacy to his current success and put it on record for the future.
James has become a worldwide star. Thanks to his play and numerous endorsement deals, his name and image are known universally. He was once asked what his main career goal was and responded that he strives to become a “global icon.” Having a film made that focuses on his overcoming controversy and being successful intends to add to the global ‘Brand of LeBron’.
The film will also have the positive marketing impact of humanizing James, as it shows him amongst his high school friends in ordinary, everyday circumstances. Certainly seeing James go through common teen activities will positively enforce that he is likeable and relatable.
In these ways, it is clear why James would encourage such a film. It pays tribute to his successes, lionizes his talents, and lets the world glorify him like a king (pun-intended). And while I do not doubt that “More Than A Game” will be an interesting film, it has little hope of resonating with this writer as much as the genre-defining 1994 film “Hoop Dreams.”
“Hoop Dreams” did more than follow William Gates and Arthur Agee, two Chicago high school students, as they chased their dream of becoming successful basketball players. It dealt subtly with issues of class, education, racism, inner-city society and the idea of the American Dream.
“Hoop Dreams” wasn’t about publicizing a known figure, or increasing a player’s marketability. It was not a tool to promote or idolize anyone. In fact, it really wasn’t much of sports movie as much as a film about two young men and their community.
“More Than A Game” may well touch on issues larger than the game and provide new levels of insight into the journey of LeBron James. But it is very unlikely that it could replicate the mastery of “Hoops Dreams”. Steve James’ film was a uniquely human story about joy and failure that was moving and honest. It merely happened to be about basketball.
If Belman’s film can be half as affecting as “Hoop Dreams”, he has made an admirable piece of art.
Photo Credit: Icon Sports Media
This article was written by:
Trevor Smith - who has written 38 posts on Hoops Addict.
Trevor Smith is a management consultant living in Toronto, Ontario. He currently writes for HoopsAddict.com, and previously worked for NBA Cares. He is a graduate of Queen's University.
Comments
By Ryan Smith on September 10th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
I loved HOOP DREAMS as well and felt it was about much more than basketball but the reviews for this film are great and a few critics called it the best basketball movie ever….even better than HOOP DREAMS but we’ll see.
By Trevor Smith on September 11th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
I didn’t get a chance to see the screening last Saturday, but my brother did and he reported back to me that it was indeed an “amazing piece of work”, commenting that it was about a lot more than just LeBron and focused on everyone equally.
Here is hoping it gets picked up for a distribution deal.
By Roberto on September 23rd, 2008 at 8:10 am
Salve, spero che questo film documentario sia in vendita al più presto. Il grande Lebron James è un grande come grande è la sua voglia di vincere e divertirsi!!
By Adrian on September 23rd, 2008 at 1:27 pm
When will this Documentary be available to the public?
By Trevor Smith on October 3rd, 2008 at 9:29 am
It doesn’t yet have a distribution deal as far as I know, though it is expected to be picked up after being well received by most critics at TIFF. Absolute worst case, HBO Sports or ESPN Films is sure to secure its distribution rights within the months ahead.
By Dan Howard on October 18th, 2008 at 7:04 am
It is unlikely this film will be picked up by HBO which refuses to distribute films it doesn’t produce in-house or ESPN which has decided to put all of its doc dollars into 30/30, its new series honoring the first 30 years of ESPN. The producers of More Than a Game are currently in negotiations with Overture Films which enjoyed indie success with The Visitor. The film is favorably compared to genre defining Hoop Dreams and the more recent ESPN Films Second Chance Season which similarly covered the senior year of high school of the Wizards Nick Young and Lakers Jordan Farmar.