Universal Pictures to Debut LeBron James-Themed Movie ‘Shooting Stars’ on Peacock June 2
Universal Pictures and Peacock March 27 announced that the first look 30-second TV ad for the new feature film Shooting Stars — streaming on Peacock starting June 2 — will premiere during the 9 p.m. EST game of the 46th Annual McDonald’s All American Games on March 28, featuring the country’s top high school basketball players.
Shooting Stars, based on the book by LeBron James and the Pulitzer Prize winning author of “Friday Night Lights,” Buzz Bissinger, is the story of how LeBron James and his childhood friends at Catholic high school St. Vincent – St. Mary in Akron, Ohio, became the No. 1 high school team in the country, launching James’s career as a four-time NBA Champion, two-time Olympic Gold Medalist and the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
The film, directed by Emmy nominee Chris Robinson (“Beats,” “Grown-ish”), stars five-star high school small forward Marquis “Mookie” Cook, in his film debut, as a young James.
Notably, Cook and James’s son, top-ranked guard Bronny James, will play together on the West team at the McDonald’s All American Games held at Toyota Center, home of the Houston Rockets, in Houston, Texas.
The game will air on ESPN. LeBron James played in the same game exactly 20 years ago, when he was in high school.
Shooting Stars is set in the 1990s, where a young James (Cook) and his three best friends — Lil Dru (Caleb McLaughlin, “Stranger Things”), Willie McGee (Avery S. Wills, Jr., “Swagger”) and Sian Cotton (Khalil Everage, “Cobra Kai”) — declare themselves the “Fab Four,” after the famed Michigan Wolverines’ “Fab Five” of that era.
Under the guidance of coach Dru Joyce (Wood Harris, Creed), the movie showcases how the boys are connected by more than basketball. In their quest to become national champs, the young men rediscover that what matters most about the game is the people playing beside you.
The film’s screenplay is by Frank E. Flowers (Metro Manila) and Tony Rettenmaier (Space Jam: A New Legacy) and Juel Taylor (Creed II).
The film is produced by Academy Award nominee Rachel Winter (Dallas Buyers Club), Spencer Beighley (executive producer, Hustle), James, Maverick Carter (Space Jam: A New Legacy), Jamal Henderson (executive producer, “The Shop”) and Academy Award nominee and Emmy winner Terence Winter (“Boardwalk Empire”). The film is executive produced by Gretel Twombly.
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Jan. 23 said fourth-quarter (ended Dec. 31, 2018) revenue decreased 14.3% to $315 million from $368 million, reflecting the DVD/Blu-ray Disc and digital retail success of several releases in the prior year period, including Despicable Me 3, partially…
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment July 29 reported second-quarter (ended June 30) revenue of $245 million, which was down about 18% from revenue of $299 million during the previous-year period. Through six months of the fiscal year, sales of physical, digital…
The movie business is often a financial rollercoaster, with release slates and fickle box office turning previous successes into future fiscal headaches. Universal Pictures said first-quarter (ended March 31) revenue dropped 16.3% to $1.6 billion from $1.9 billion in the previous-year period,…
Universal Pictures’ home entertainment unit April 30 reported first-quarter (ended March 31) revenue of $171 million, down 36% from revenue of $267 million during the previous year period. The decline reflected the retail success of The Grinch, Halloween and Night…
This content was originally published here.
