Award-winning director Spike Lee has, for years, wanted to do a documentary about the sport he loves so much — NBA basketball. One day watching a game on ESPN, the idea finally came to him.
How about taking a fan inside the game in a way never before seen and have it star one of the sport’s biggest names?
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He got on the phone and called Kobe Bryant and asked if he would star in his movie.
The result is “Kobe Doin’ Work” — perhaps the most comprehensive look at one player in one game ever produced.
I spoke to Lee about his film and working with Kobe.
JW » Tell about the film and how it came together?
Lee » Well, I told Kobe that this was going to be a movie about basketball. I wanted to show the fans every aspect of game day: from the moment he got up to the time the buzzer sounded. The focus, of course, would be the game — with the interaction of the players and the coaches, the players and the fans and the intensity of the play on the court.
JW » How was it to work with the ESPN crew?
Lee » It was great. We used the entire technical crew, as well as their broadcast team of Mike Breen, Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy. I had my own film crews that I hired from NFL Films, but the game footage from ESPN/ABC was very important to the film.
JW » How much access did you have to Kobe and the Lakers?
Lee » More than I ever expected or could have ever hoped for. We were allowed in the locker room with Coach [Phil] Jackson going over his game plan. We were able to wire a number of players so that fans could really feel that they were inside the game — getting a feel for how intense the action was on the court. What we have is a film that is perfect for teaching the game, as a fan of the game myself I learned so much more about the details of the game.
Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer. Check out his blog, Watch this! on washingtonexaminer.com.