LeBron James Teams With Netflix To Produce Native American Basketball Film ‘Rez Ball'
The coming-of-age drama is set to feature an Indigenous cast.
LeBron James is not only making big moves on the court but he appears to be taking large strides off the court as well. In his latest film venture, King James is now set to produce a Native American basketball film titled Rez Ball for Netflix.
The film is described as a hybrid that sees Friday Night Lights meet Hosiers. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the project “follows the Chuska Warriors, a Native American high school basketball team from Chuska, New Mexico, that must band together after losing their star player if they want to keep their quest for a state championship alive. It’s an all-American underdog story about Navajo kids and coaches told from the inside-out.”
Legendary TV director, Sydney Freeland is set to direct the film and co-write the script with Sterlin Harjo, a veteran in the field who co-created Taika Waititi’s FX series Reservation Dogs. The script is based on the story behind Michael Powell’s sports novel, Canyon Dreams. It also includes elements from his New York Times articles that preceded the novel. All the pieces have explored the world of “reservation basketball,” which for the longest time is assumed to have influenced many top NBA teams and coaches over the years for its quick-paced nature.
Freeland shares, “Basketball on the Rez is like high school football in West Texas. It has a fanatical following that few sports can rival. This is a story that’s commonplace on Indian reservations all over the US, but most people aren’t even aware it exists. What we want to do is bring people into our world, to tell a story about the people and places we know, and what better way to do that than through a sports movie?”
The film has not yet begun production but it is expected that it would include an Indigenous cast. There is currently no information on the official release date of the film.
In other entertainment news, Quentin Tarantino has said that his dream “good movie” would involve casting Adam Driver as Rambo.
