LeBron James, the basketball star, is making moves off the court, this time in a different kind of game. The stage? Hollywood.
When LeBron James and his mother moved into the Spring Hill apartments in Akron, Ohio, it was the first time he had a room of his own. He was in sixth grade.
Just over 10 years later, SpringHill Entertainment is not only behind the upcoming “Space Jam 2,” with James as its star and “Black Panther” director Ryan Coogler on board as a producer, it’s premiering the documentary “What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali,” directed by Antoine Fuqua for HBO at the Tribeca Film Festival next month and has a full slate of scripted and unscripted series, as well as a remake of “House Party” in the works.
Studios, networks and production companies all over town want to be in the LeBron James business. And not only for his screen presence — even though his performance in Amy Schumer’s “Trainwreck” was considered a revelation. He and his SpringHill team are very good for business . Now SpringHill Entertainment lives its young adolescence in a charming two-story house on the Warner Bros. lot, complete with a kitchen, den, full bar and bike in the back . “Gilmore Girls” was filmed in this “neighborhood.” Tour groups ride by on elongated golf carts and see parking spaces out front that say “L. James” and “M. Carter.” Carter is Maverick Carter, who co-founded SpringHill Entertainment with James.
“For me to be able to look at my Spring Hill buildings every time there’s a production going on, and just think about 1180 Rentar Lane, Apartment 602. It’s pretty wild to be honest,” James says, his enthusiasm growing with each word as it does when he talks about anything that matters to him.“It reminds me of where I come from, and how far I still want to go, and how many kids are living in those buildings right now and how far they want to go.
Activism is part of James’ ethos. He brings it onto the court — while playing in Miami he wore a hoodie to protest the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, and wrote a message to Martin on his game shoes. He speaks about issues that matter to him, like racism and inequality, and his LeBron James Family Foundation does tangible work to help change his hometown. In July, the foundation helped open a public school in Akron, pouring millions into the project.
The company has also teamed up with Oscar winner Octavia Spencer to make a scripted limited series, “Madam C.J. Walker,” about Sarah Breedlove — a laundrywoman who rose to become a black hair-care entrepreneur with a company valued at more than $1 million by the time she died in 1919. One February night, as the Lakers played the New Orleans Pelicans, Carter was in the same corner where Washington normally sits. At halftime, Adam Sandler, who had been seated next to the Lakers bench, made his way over to Carter, whose camouflage shirt had just the top button fixed. Carter held a drink in his right hand and wore a friendly expression as a series of courtside dignitaries approached for his time.
In a scene from James' HBO interview show"The Shop," from left, Odell Beckham Jr., LeBron James, Maverick Carter and Michael Bennett. In the six years between SpringHill’s genesis and its first show, Carter and James developed contacts around the entertainment world.
“I know it feels like we’re doing a million projects, but we’re mostly in the ‘no’ business,” Henderson says, as he sits on a pillow-adorned sectional couch in the company’s “pitch room.” It seems as if everyone in Los Angeles has a script in their trunk, he says, but quickly adds, “By the way, we’re super flattered to be in the mix.
Meehan pestered Byron for clues about whether James would be a Laker. Byron, who only recently learned who Cavalier Kevin Love is, got that a lot. James made his decision on the first day of free agency and then promptly left the country. Meehan also acted quickly and bought a new figurine for his shelf. He has his tickets from James’ first game as a Laker displayed there too.
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