Mere hours after LeBron James broke the NBA’s all-time scoring record, one held for decades by the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the two-part documentary Bill Russell: Legend debuted on Netflix.
Directed by Sam Pollard (MLK/FBI), it’s a three-hour-plus survey of the life and career of the basketball legend, civil rights icon, Boston Celtic Bill Russell. There isn’t much to talk about, stylistically or structurally. It features talking-head interviews with NBA stars present and past (as well as Barack Obama), canned music, a chronological narrative. But Legend has...
Directed by Sam Pollard (MLK/FBI), it’s a three-hour-plus survey of the life and career of the basketball legend, civil rights icon, Boston Celtic Bill Russell. There isn’t much to talk about, stylistically or structurally. It features talking-head interviews with NBA stars present and past (as well as Barack Obama), canned music, a chronological narrative. But Legend has...
- 2/8/2023
- by Corbin Smith
- Rollingstone.com
Last November, HBO premiered Nelson George’s Say Hey, Willie Mays!, a sturdy documentary that explored the life of the baseball icon — including an underlying argument about Willie Mays’ role, or lack thereof, in the civil rights movement and how that shaped his public image.
George, one of our most prolific and deservedly acclaimed documentarians, has a key role as talking head in Bill Russell: Legend, a new Netflix two-parter from Sam Pollard (Citizen Ashe), one of the few filmmakers able to rival George’s steady output.
In Bill Russell: Legend, George doesn’t directly compare Mays and Russell, but sports documentary devotees will find the link to be irresistible. Russell and Mays were foundational performers whose place on the respective Mt. Rushmores of their sports wouldn’t be in question except for recency bias.
Did Russell’s prickly relationship with the Boston press and his outspokenness about key sociopolitical...
George, one of our most prolific and deservedly acclaimed documentarians, has a key role as talking head in Bill Russell: Legend, a new Netflix two-parter from Sam Pollard (Citizen Ashe), one of the few filmmakers able to rival George’s steady output.
In Bill Russell: Legend, George doesn’t directly compare Mays and Russell, but sports documentary devotees will find the link to be irresistible. Russell and Mays were foundational performers whose place on the respective Mt. Rushmores of their sports wouldn’t be in question except for recency bias.
Did Russell’s prickly relationship with the Boston press and his outspokenness about key sociopolitical...
- 2/7/2023
- by Daniel Fienberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Click here to read the full article.
Bill Russell, the intimidating center who rejected layups and bigotry with equal authority while leading the Boston Celtics to pro basketball’s greatest dynasty, died Sunday, his family announced. He was 88.
Russell won five Most Valuable Player awards and the Celtics captured 11 NBA championships during his 13-year career, including eight in a row from 1959-66. His powerful adversary during the 1960s, Wilt Chamberlain, ended the streak by leading the Philadelphia 76ers to the league title.
The 7-foot-1 Chamberlain and the 6-foot-9 Russell met 142 times in an epic rivalry of big men that riveted basketball fans for a decade. His Celtics went 57-37 against Chamberlain’s teams during the regular season and owned a 29-20 advantage in the playoffs.
“Wilt and Russell were to basketball what Arnold Palmer was to golf,” 76ers Hall of Fame forward Billy Cunningham once said. “Turn on the television on Sunday,...
Bill Russell, the intimidating center who rejected layups and bigotry with equal authority while leading the Boston Celtics to pro basketball’s greatest dynasty, died Sunday, his family announced. He was 88.
Russell won five Most Valuable Player awards and the Celtics captured 11 NBA championships during his 13-year career, including eight in a row from 1959-66. His powerful adversary during the 1960s, Wilt Chamberlain, ended the streak by leading the Philadelphia 76ers to the league title.
The 7-foot-1 Chamberlain and the 6-foot-9 Russell met 142 times in an epic rivalry of big men that riveted basketball fans for a decade. His Celtics went 57-37 against Chamberlain’s teams during the regular season and owned a 29-20 advantage in the playoffs.
“Wilt and Russell were to basketball what Arnold Palmer was to golf,” 76ers Hall of Fame forward Billy Cunningham once said. “Turn on the television on Sunday,...
- 7/31/2022
- by Ira Kaufman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Paul Lee’s independent studio wiip (Mare of Easttown) has optioned the rights to Gary M. Pomerantz’s bestselling nonfiction book Where Peachtree Meets Sweet Auburn: The Saga of Two Families and The Making of Atlanta to adapt for television.
In Where Peachtree Meets Sweet Auburn, Pomerantz traces five generations of two of Atlanta’s defining political family dynasties — the Allens, descending from slave owners, and the Dobbses, descending from slaves. These families produced the two most influential mayors of the modern South: Ivan Allen Jr. and Maynard Jackson Jr.
Through interviews and research, Pomerantz shows how the families rose to social, economic and political prominence but also demonstrates how their compelling lives paralleled the shifting relations between Atlanta’s blacks and whites, as the city grew to become the capital of the New South. It is a representative story of the transformation of a city and the entire South.
In Where Peachtree Meets Sweet Auburn, Pomerantz traces five generations of two of Atlanta’s defining political family dynasties — the Allens, descending from slave owners, and the Dobbses, descending from slaves. These families produced the two most influential mayors of the modern South: Ivan Allen Jr. and Maynard Jackson Jr.
Through interviews and research, Pomerantz shows how the families rose to social, economic and political prominence but also demonstrates how their compelling lives paralleled the shifting relations between Atlanta’s blacks and whites, as the city grew to become the capital of the New South. It is a representative story of the transformation of a city and the entire South.
- 9/15/2021
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Featuring Lawrie Sanchez's green and white army, Nate Jackson on drugs, Rush, Wayne Rooney philosophising, Spain v Brazil, Nigel Clough and a former basketballer's love for his wife
Thanks for all your comments and suggestions on our last blog.
The article of the week
1) Lawrie Sanchez: Northern Ireland's unlikely saviour
The rise and fall of Lawrie Sanchez and the men from Northern Ireland is one of those beautifully understated underdog stories. To the outsiders, Northern Ireland remained the same under Sanchez; they were still a lowly international team that couldn't qualify for a major championship. But, to the insiders, these were heady days indeed.
Ask any Northern Ireland fan for memories of the past decade and three moments will stand out: England, Spain and Sweden. Qualifying for Euro 2008 would have been incredible, but these nights will be savoured for generations.
To support Northern Ireland is to expect nothing...
Thanks for all your comments and suggestions on our last blog.
The article of the week
1) Lawrie Sanchez: Northern Ireland's unlikely saviour
The rise and fall of Lawrie Sanchez and the men from Northern Ireland is one of those beautifully understated underdog stories. To the outsiders, Northern Ireland remained the same under Sanchez; they were still a lowly international team that couldn't qualify for a major championship. But, to the insiders, these were heady days indeed.
Ask any Northern Ireland fan for memories of the past decade and three moments will stand out: England, Spain and Sweden. Qualifying for Euro 2008 would have been incredible, but these nights will be savoured for generations.
To support Northern Ireland is to expect nothing...
- 10/4/2013
- by Paul Campbell
- The Guardian - Film News
Making much of the year’s top athletes, the 2013 Espy Awards too place at Los Angeles’ Nokia Theatre La Live earlier this evening (July 17).
With Vintage Trouble serving as the house band and Jon Hamm manning the emcee position, the 21st edition of the Espys was a raging success, complete with plenty of Tinseltown celebrities as well as sports stars.
The night’s big winner was the Miami Heat, which scored the top prize for best team, while LeBron James and Serena Williams took home the awards best male and female athlete respectively.
As for the celebrity presenter roster, folks like Don Cheadle, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, Ben Affleck, Selena Gomez, Jason Sudeikis, Chrissy Teigen, Lake Bell, and Kevin Bacon all turned out for their chance to pass out the evening’s trophies.
The complete list of 2013 Espys Winners is:
Best Male Athlete
Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
• Al Mvp was the...
With Vintage Trouble serving as the house band and Jon Hamm manning the emcee position, the 21st edition of the Espys was a raging success, complete with plenty of Tinseltown celebrities as well as sports stars.
The night’s big winner was the Miami Heat, which scored the top prize for best team, while LeBron James and Serena Williams took home the awards best male and female athlete respectively.
As for the celebrity presenter roster, folks like Don Cheadle, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, Ben Affleck, Selena Gomez, Jason Sudeikis, Chrissy Teigen, Lake Bell, and Kevin Bacon all turned out for their chance to pass out the evening’s trophies.
The complete list of 2013 Espys Winners is:
Best Male Athlete
Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
• Al Mvp was the...
- 7/18/2013
- GossipCenter
A week ago, this question would have been much easier to answer. Without a championship ring under his belt, LeBron James is merely an explosive all-round forward, a physical specimen and a great player. That is not to say that such a description isn’t impressive, but in the history of NBA many have been considered “great.”
With a ring under his belt however, LeBron James has vaulted himself onto a list of some of the greatest NBA players of all time. Many will argue that he isn’t quite there yet, and that is debatable, but no one can argue that his dominating performances throughout the 2011-2012 playoffs didn’t give him an extraordinary boox.
To begin, it would be advantageous to list players that are definitely above LeBron James. Also, I apologize in advance if certain legends are omitted, but due to the sheer number of greats, it...
With a ring under his belt however, LeBron James has vaulted himself onto a list of some of the greatest NBA players of all time. Many will argue that he isn’t quite there yet, and that is debatable, but no one can argue that his dominating performances throughout the 2011-2012 playoffs didn’t give him an extraordinary boox.
To begin, it would be advantageous to list players that are definitely above LeBron James. Also, I apologize in advance if certain legends are omitted, but due to the sheer number of greats, it...
- 6/25/2012
- by John Tang
- We Got This Covered
Right now is a great time to be a basketball fan. NBA enthusiasts are in the middle of what is certainly one of the game's golden ages, full of talented, charismatic superstars and dynamic, history-making teams. LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade and Steve Nash are all among the greatest players of all time, and they're all playing right now.
They're contributing to the game's evolution and destroying records along the way, but there is one particular feat that seems untouchable. On this day in 1962, Wilt "The Stilt" Chamberlain scored 100 points by himself as his Philadelphia Warriors beat the New York Knicks 169-147 in Hershey, Pennsylvania. It was a pretty absurd game for Chamberlain, who put up 63 shots (sinking 36 of them) and took another 32 free throws (making 28). Wilt was a dominant player, but as you can see by the score of the game (which was a regulation game — 48 minutes,...
They're contributing to the game's evolution and destroying records along the way, but there is one particular feat that seems untouchable. On this day in 1962, Wilt "The Stilt" Chamberlain scored 100 points by himself as his Philadelphia Warriors beat the New York Knicks 169-147 in Hershey, Pennsylvania. It was a pretty absurd game for Chamberlain, who put up 63 shots (sinking 36 of them) and took another 32 free throws (making 28). Wilt was a dominant player, but as you can see by the score of the game (which was a regulation game — 48 minutes,...
- 3/2/2010
- by Kyle Anderson
- MTV Newsroom
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