On February 21st of 2014, the news hit the web that Warner Bros greenlighted a Space Jam Sequel with LeBron James in mind. Now keep in mind that “in mind” doesn’t mean shit. Did you know that Indiana Jones had Tom Selleck instead of Harrison Ford in mind? Jerry Maguire was written for Tom Hanks and not Tom Cruise? The Matrix creators wanted Will Smith and not Keanu Reeves for the role of Neo?
Well, the bloggers and twittersphere didn’t mind the “in mind” and quickly turned that story into a tweet that LeBron and Warner Bros were already working on a sequel to the 1996 Cult Classic. Less than a few hours later, news from LeBron’s camp broke that James is not in any discussion to do the film.
In the past, LeBron has showed his love for the film and said he had interest in doing the sequel during impromptu Twitter Q&A sessions but I just don’t see why he would want to star in a sequel that requires him to “replace” Michael Jordan of all people.
SPACE JAM
Jordan and Bugs Bunny first met a few years earlier in 1992 when they teamed up to take on Marvin the Martian in a Nike commercial. They later met again in a Nike commercial called “Hare Jordan” that aired during the Super Bowl. It was during the making of these Nike commercials, Jordan also met director Joe Pytka who directed many ad spots for Nike & Gatorade with MJ and it was during this time that Jordan’s agent, David Falk, approached Warner Bros with the idea of expanding those popular commercials into a full-length family film/PR project that would makes lots of money and paint Jordan as a hero and savior that many basketball fans didn’t see Jordan as anymore.Many popular actors, from Michael J. Fox to Chevy Chase, also didn’t see Jordan as a savior for this project either as they rejected the chance to play a sidekick to MJ in the film.Supposedly Jordan wasn’t so fond of the 8 week project either as he complained to Pytka about the filmmaking process.
“I just think he hated the whole experience, every aspect of it,” Pytka said. “Remember, in basketball, you’re in total control of everything. In a movie, you’re at the mercy of everybody — the director, cinematographer and in this case Bugs Bunny and a green screen. Standing in front of a camera and remember your lines, acting is a devastatingly difficult profession, trying to create those emotions. … We were very, very careful that Michael was comfortable when he came on the set. The stuff that irritated him was the PR stuff.”
Jordan spent most of the frustrating days playing ball in front of the revolutionary green screens but in the evenings he got to play ball in the custom court, nicknamed the “Jordan Dome” aka “The Bubble,” that was built on set just for him. The stories about pick-up games in the bubble are legendary as the best pro and collegiate players, from Zo to Patrick Ewing to Magic Johnson, would come by and play.
“A typical day for Michael would start with about 30 or 40 minutes of conditioning in the bubble,” said MJ’s trainer Tim Grover. “This would include stretching, running, and various basketball stuff, nothing long distance, to get his wind up. Then he’d go to the movie set for some shooting. At lunch time, he’d work out with weights for about an hour and a half. Then he’d go back to the set from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. From 7:30 p.m. to about 10 p.m., he’d play basketball in the bubble. One night there were 22 top NBA players on different teams playing games.”The shoot ended within 2 months and after a year of post-production, the $90 million film was released to mixed reviews from critics and lot and lots of money from the public.The movie was a box office smash, grossing over $230 million worldwide, and remains (and probably will always remain) the top grossing basketball film of all-time.The theatrical release also benefited from a soundtrack that went platinum 6 times with two giant hit songs by R Kelly and Seal and even a rap song by Bugs Bunny that was ghost-written by Jay-Z.
SPACE JAM 2 TIMELINE
1998Supposedly Jordan was approached about doing a sequel with Mel Brooks as the bad guy and MJ didn’t want anything to do with it. Famous artist Bob Camp was in the process of creating concept art for the film.
2006Scoop Jackson reports the first rumor that Space Jam 2 is being made with LeBron James.
2007
Under it’s Warner Bros Premier division, Warner Bros was planning on releasing a direct to video sequel along with 15 other sequels and prequels. Most of these, including a Beetlejuice and Goonies sequel were never released.
Under it’s Warner Bros Premier division, Warner Bros was planning on releasing a direct to video sequel along with 15 other sequels and prequels. Most of these, including a Beetlejuice and Goonies sequel were never released.
2011News is released that Kevin Durant has agreed to star in an upcoming basketball film for Warner Bros. Many speculated that it was the sequel to Space Jam but the film ended up being “Thunderstruck.” The film grossed $587k in the theaters and was released on DVD a month later. Thunderstruck grossed less money in the theaters than Space Jam did during matinee showings on opening day.
2012
LeBron says he would love to make Space Jam 2 during a Twitter Q&A
LeBron says he would love to make Space Jam 2 during a Twitter Q&A
2014
Deadline releases news that Warner Bros is willing to produce and script a Space Jam sequel FOR LeBron James. LeBron’s “camp” says they are not in discussion with Warner Bros.
Deadline releases news that Warner Bros is willing to produce and script a Space Jam sequel FOR LeBron James. LeBron’s “camp” says they are not in discussion with Warner Bros.
LEBRON’S NEXT FILM
So don’t expect to see LeBron balling with Bugs Bunny anytime soon but you can expect to see LeBron balling with Kevin Hart in the upcoming film ‘Ballers.’
Ballers was originally conceived back in 2009 under producer Brian Grazer with the title “Fantasy Basketball Camp” but it’s now being executive produced by LeBron, his business partner Maverick Carter, Kevin Hart and Kim Roth. Hart will also co-write the script about his character, who is the little brother of LeBron James, that attends a fantasy basketball camp in Miami.History has shown us that films with lead roles played by basketball players aren’t that profitable so it will be very interesting to see if LeBron’s popularity is enough to make it a box office hit.Here’s a list of films with NBA players in supporting or lead roles and how well they did (in millions) at the box office. Also be sure to consider inflation and the rise of ticket prices and the amount of screenings when comparing the films. Back in the mid 90s, most theaters didn’t carry more than 10 films and tickets were between $2.50-7.50.
- Space Jam (1996) w/ Michael Jordan: $230
- Grown Ups 2 (2013) w/ Shaq: $133
- Scary Movie 4 (2006) w/ Shaq: $90
- Airplane (1980) w/ Kareem: $83
- Like Mike (2002) w/ lots of players: $62
- Eddie (1996) w/ lots of players: $31
- Blue Chips (1994) w/ Shaq & Penny Hardaway: $23
- He Got Game (1998) w/ Ray Allen: $21
- Just Wright (2010) w/ lots of players: $21
- Kazaam (1996) w/ Shaq: $19
- Double Team (1997) w/ Dennis Rodman: $11
- The Perfect Score (2004) w/ Darius Miles: $10
- Black and White (2000) w/ Allan Houston: $5.2
- Steel (1997) w/ Shaq 1.7
- Thunderstruck (2012) w/ Kevin Durant: $587k
- Minis (2007) w/ Dennis Rodman – Straight to DVD.
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