Lucky Leonsis
It was a good weekend for Ted Leonsis.
As we previewed last week, the Washington Capitals owner headed to the Sundance Film Festival this weekend with a posse of local notables in order to premiere his new film, “Kicking It,” which was directed by longtime Washingtonian filmmaker Susan Koch. The film takes a look at homeless soc-
cer players and their journey to the Cape Town 2006 Homeless World Cup.
Leonsis got off to a good start when he ran into U2’s The Edge at lunch. U2 donated its song “Where the Streets Have No Name” to “Kicking It,” and Leonsis had the opportunity to thank the U2 guitarist in person.
Then, there was even better news for Leonsis, mere hours before the Saturday night premiere: ESPN acquired the documentary as part of a broader deal for the film’s distribution and will showcase the film on its networks.
In related news, the Creative Coalition held its annual industry dialogue and dinner in Park City, Utah, on Sunday night, featuring presidential candidate and former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel, Motion Picture
Association of America chairman and former Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman, actor and the Creative Coalition co-chairman of DNC/RNC activities Tim Daly, CNBC correspondent Julia Boorstin, CNBC editor Dennis Kneale, the New Republic magazine Senior Editor Christopher Orr, and chief
executive officer of Paul Mitchell, John Paul DeJoria. The dinner featured a discussion moderated
by “The West Wing’s” Lawrence O’Donnell Jr.
