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.

Connect with Midwest Movie Maker on Facebook and Instagram …
… and don’t forget to subscribe to the Midwest Movie Maker newsletter

Comments

Everything we know about Hulu’s ‘The Land’ TV pilot

Actor Christopher Meloni hanging with the Cleveland Browns (photo Christopher Meloni) >> Does Hulu’s new streaming series, The Land , focus on the Cleveland Browns? Maybe? Here’s everything we know about Hulu’s The Land streaming series. What is The Land TV series about? Nothing official has been announced, but some digging suggests that The Land , aka 17 Sundays , is This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman‘s upcoming Hulu series set in the world of pro football, starring Christopher Meloni and William H. Macy. Meloni was spotted in Cleveland over the summer in Berea, attending a Browns' training camp session, according to News 5 Cleveland . Meloni’s Instagram account confirms it, with snaps of Meloni alongside Miles Garrett and other Browns players. Meloni also visited the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. On August 27, Deadline reported that “'The Land' … got the largest allocation (of California tax credits) … with nearly $43 milli...

A chat with Erik Kripke, creator of 'Supernatural' and 'The Boys'

Erik Kripke on the set of 'The Boys' Those that know Eric Kripke from when he was a boy growing up in the Toledo, Ohio, suburb of Sylvania often tell him they didn’t know that he was “secretly disturbed.” And even the filmmaker admits that his happy, idyllic life seems out of place for the guy that created the horror sensation, Supernatural . “I guess the only thing weird may have been how normal everything was,” Kripke says. Kripke’s Supernatural, which ran for 15 seasons on The CW, tells the tale of two monster-hunting brothers – Sam and Dean Winchester, played by Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles respectively. Think of it as a sort of Route 66 with chainsaws, muscle cars and a boatload of demons. It's a bit of a 180 for a guy who started his career as a comedy writer. Dangerously obsessed Kripke says that since he was 8 or 9 years old, his focus was on becoming a filmmaker. “I never really wanted to do anything else. You could say I was ‘dange...

Everything we know about ‘Eenie Meanie’ on set in Cleveand, Toledo and Sandusky

Samara Weaving as Edie in 'Eenie Meanie' Before James Gunn and the cast and crew of Superman took over Cleveland, another star-studded feature film was laying claim to the sights and sounds and gritty streets of Northeast Ohio: Shawn Simmons Eenie Meanie , debuting today on Hulu. While both films tell the tale of a misunderstood hero just trying to live an honest life, each production brought an entirely different vibe to Cleveland’s neighborhoods. And I say this from personal experience. As a cinephile working downtown during Superman ’s shoot, getting a peek behind the scenes was an exercise in watching from a distance, peering through second-story grocery store windows, or finding hidden spots in parking decks looking over Progressive Field. Eenie Meanie ? Well, all you had to do was ask, and the crew would point you to a good spot on set to watch the action. The set was so open and friendly on the one day I went exploring in Ohio City, I was too self-conscious to take pictu...

Midwest Movie Maker

Search This Blog