Films about Ohio phenoms LeBron James and Nathaniel Ayers - 'More Than a Game' and 'The Soloist'

Films about Ohio phenoms LeBron James and Nathaniel Ayers - 'More Than a Game' and 'The Soloist' - open in local theaters

Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx in a scene from 'The Soloist'

The Soloist, starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr., tells the true story of Cleveland native Nathaniel Ayers, a gifted young musician whose life falls into chaos when he is overtaken by schizophrenia.

Foxx plays Ayers and Downey Jr. plays journalist Steve Lopez, an L.A. Times columnist who encounters Ayers, now homeless, in downtown L.A. Lopez takes on Ayers' story - not believing, at first, that this talented homeless man once went to the Julliard School in New York - and the two form a bond of friendship unexpected by both.

Scenes of Ayers childhood were shot in Cleveland. Foxx was on hand for the shoot.

LeBron James and his St. Vincent-St. Mary teammates

LeBron documentary 'More Than a Game'

Another film coming soon about another Northeast Ohio phenomenon is More Than a Game. The documentary paints a portrait of Cleveland Cavaliers great LeBron James during his days at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio.

More than that, it tells the story of how James worked his way through a difficult life to find friendship and family among his high school basketball teammates. The trailer is slick and the film looks like it could be the next Hoop Dreams. Certainly, it looks like it could have been a feature film. (And it was: 2023's Shooting Stars.)

With talk that James is shopping a TV show based on his life growing up in Akron, you can be sure that this documentary would serve as a great pilot.

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