Shooting Stars | |
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Directed by | Chris Robinson |
Screenplay by |
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Based on | Shooting Stars by LeBron James |
Produced by |
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Starring |
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Cinematography | Karsten Gopinath |
Edited by | Jo Francis |
Music by | Mark Isham |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Peacock |
Release date |
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Running time | 115 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $25 million [2] |
Shooting Stars is a 2023 American biographical sports drama film about the high school sports career of LeBron James. Directed by Chris Robinson, and starring Mookie Cook as the lead, it is based on James' 2009 memoir of the same name, co-authored by Buzz Bissinger.
The film was released on June 2, 2023, by Peacock.
Based on the book by LeBron James and the Pulitzer Prize winning author of Friday Night Lights, Buzz Bissinger, Shooting Stars is the inspiring origin story of a basketball superhero, revealing how LeBron James and his childhood friends become the #1 high school team in the country, launching James's breathtaking career as a four-time NBA Champion, two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, and the NBA's all-time leading scorer. [3]
In 2014, it was reported that a film based on LeBron James' high school years would be produced by Universal Pictures. [6] The film is based on James' 2009 memoir of the same name, co-authored by Buzz Bissinger. [4]
Principal photography began on April 18, 2022, in Beachwood, Ohio. [7] Filming lasted until June 2022. Among the locations used for filming were St. Paul's Episcopal Church. [2]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 53% of 34 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.9/10.The website's consensus reads: "Although Shooting Stars isn't without its engaging moments, this dramatized look back at LeBron James' early years is less entertaining than simply watching him play." [9] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 62 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. [10]
LeBron Raymone James Sr. is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport and is often compared to Michael Jordan in debates over the greatest basketball player of all time. James is the all-time leading scorer in NBA history and ranks fourth in career assists. He has won four NBA championships, and has competed in 10 NBA Finals, including eight consecutive Finals appearances from 2011 to 2018. He has also won four Most Valuable Player (MVP) Awards, four Finals MVP Awards, and two Olympic gold medals, and has been named an All-Star 19 times, selected to the All-NBA Team 19 times and the All-Defensive Team six times, and was a runner-up for the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award twice in his career. As of October 2023, he is the oldest player in the NBA.
Dermot Patrick Mulroney is an American actor. He is known for his roles in romantic comedy, western, and drama films.
Harry Gerard Bissinger III, also known as Buzz Bissinger and H. G. Bissinger is an American journalist and author, best known for his 1990 non-fiction book Friday Night Lights. He is a longtime contributing editor at Vanity Fair magazine. In 2019, HBO released a documentary on Bissinger titled “Buzz”.
St. Vincent–St. Mary High School is a co-educational college preparatory Catholic high school in Akron, Ohio, United States. It is sponsored by the Society of Mary and is associated with the Diocese of Cleveland. As of the 2017–18 school year, the school had an enrollment of 638 students.
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Dru Joyce II, known as “Coach Dru,” is a high school basketball coach. He is the founder of the Northeast Ohio Basketball Association, a subject of the documentary More than a Game, author of the book “Beyond Championships: A Playbook for Winning at Life,” and the National Championship winning coach for the 2003 St. Vincent St. Mary boys basketball team, led by the “Fab Five.”
Dru Joyce III is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is an associate head coach for the Duquesne Dukes men’s team. His coaching career began in 2019–20 with the Cleveland State Vikings men's team after a 12-year professional playing career in Europe. He retired as the all-time assists leader in Germany's Basketball Bundesliga. Joyce is a close friend of LeBron James and was his teammate at St. Vincent–St. Mary High School.
LeBron Raymone "Bronny" James Jr. is an American college basketball player for the USC Trojans of the Pac-12 Conference. A consensus four-star recruit, he was named a McDonald's All-American as a senior in high school in 2023. James is the eldest child of professional basketball player LeBron James.
Space Jam: A New Legacy is a 2021 American live-action/animated sports comedy film produced by Warner Animation Group, Proximity Media, and The SpringHill Company, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film was directed by Malcolm D. Lee from a screenplay by Juel Taylor, Tony Rettenmaier, Keenan Coogler, Terence Nance, Jesse Gordon, and Celeste Ballard, and a story by Taylor, Rettenmaier, Coogler, and Nance. It serves as a standalone sequel to Space Jam (1996) and is the first theatrically released film to feature the Looney Tunes characters since Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003). The film stars basketball player LeBron James as a fictional version of himself; Don Cheadle, Khris Davis, Sonequa Martin-Green, and Cedric Joe star in live-action roles, while Jeff Bergman, Eric Bauza, and Zendaya headline the Looney Tunes voice cast. The film follows James enlisting the Looney Tunes' aid to win a basketball game in a Warner Bros.–themed virtual multiverse against a rogue artificial intelligence's avatars after James's son is abducted by the AI.
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Cameron Bouchea Thomas is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the best shooting guards in the 2020 class. He played college basketball for the LSU Tigers.
Jalen Montez Duren is an American professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Memphis Tigers. A center, he stands 6 feet 10 inches (2.08 m) and weighs 250 pounds (113 kg). He was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2021 class. Duren was ranked as the top player in the 2022 class before reclassifying.
SpringHill Company is an entertainment development and production company founded in 2020 by LeBron James and Maverick Carter. Its board of directors includes Serena Williams. The company unites three earlier companies founded by James and Carter: SpringHill Entertainment, an entertainment production company founded in 2007, the Robot Company, an integrated marketing agency and brand and culture consultancy founded by Carter and James together with Paul Rivera, the creator of the talk show The Shop, and Uninterrupted, founded in 2015 with the aim to empower athletes by providing a platform that allows them to share their stories.
The Book of Clarence is a 2023 American epic biblical comedy-drama film produced, written, and directed by Jeymes Samuel. Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, James Lassiter, and Tendo Nagenda also produce. The film stars LaKeith Stanfield, Omar Sy, Anna Diop, RJ Cyler, David Oyelowo, Micheal Ward, Alfre Woodard, Teyana Taylor, Caleb McLaughlin, Eric Kofi-Abrefa, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, James McAvoy, and Benedict Cumberbatch.
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