By Derrik J. Lang, Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --"NBA 2K16" will be a Spike Lee joint.
2K Games announced Thursday that it recruited the acclaimed filmmaker — and die-hard New York Knicks fan — to write and direct the single-player campaign for the interactive basketball franchise's next edition.
What did it take for the creator of such landmark films as "Do the Right Thing" and "He Got Game" to sign on to produce a video game?
"They asked me," Lee matter-of-factly noted during a recent phone interview from Chicago, where he's in production on his next project, "Chiraq."
Lee said the game's story centers on a basketball player named Frequency Vibrations, whose personal exploits off the court are just as chaotic as the game on it.
"It's about the trials and tribulations of life on a big stage with the money, fame, temptations, family members, the press, fans, all that stuff," said Lee.
While the game is a basketball simulation at its heart, "NBA 2K" developer Visual Concepts has integrated cinematic elements into the single-player mode over the past five years. For the latest round, the gamemakers passed that task to Lee in hopes of achieving a slam dunk with gamers.
"It wasn't a hard sell," said Jeff Thomas, vice president of sports development at Visual Concepts. "Spike was really receptive when I first met with him. He actually said to us, 'It's about time I worked with 2K.' He loves basketball, and this is a new frontier for him."
The "Malcom X" and "She Hate Me" filmmaker focused on drawing out realistic performances from actors, whose voices and movements were all digitally recorded. Lee, whose teenage son Jackson is an avid gamer, said he actually felt liberated working on a motion-capture stage for the first time in his career.
"I didn't really realize how quick it was going to be," said Lee. "We didn't have to do costumes, makeup or hair. We didn't have to move props around. We didn't have to move from location to location. Everything was just there."
Despite the writer-director's penchant for gritty storytelling, "NBA 2K16" won't only be aimed at adults. Lee worked within creative parameters set forth by the NBA and 2K Games.
"We make an E-rated game," said Thomas. "It's an NBA licensed project and obviously the NBA cares a lot about their brand and makes sure we stick within those boundaries. Spike understood that from the get-go, but he didn't take his foot off the gas because of that. He still brought the drama."
The series' previous installment, "NBA 2K15," has sold more than 5.5 million copies since its release last October, according to 2K Games' parent company, Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.
"NBA 2K16" will feature Stephen Curry, James Harden and Anthony Davis on three separate covers. It isn't the first time 2K Games has sunk such star power into the successful sports series. The publisher tapped Jay Z to curate the soundtrack for "NBA 2K13," which also featured three cover athletes.
After 20 Years of Acting, Megan Park Finds Her Groove In The Director’s Chair On “My Old Ass”
Megan Park feels a little bad that her movie is making so many people cry. It's not just a single tear either — more like full body sobs.
She didn't set out to make a tearjerker with "My Old Ass," now streaming on Prime Video. She just wanted to tell a story about a young woman in conversation with her older self. The film is quite funny (the dialogue between 18-year-old and almost 40-year-old Elliott happens because of a mushroom trip that includes a Justin Bieber cover), but it packs an emotional punch, too.
Writing, Park said, is often her way of working through things. When she put pen to paper on "My Old Ass," she was a new mom and staying in her childhood bedroom during the pandemic. One night, she and her whole nuclear family slept under the same roof. She didn't know it then, but it would be the last time, and she started wondering what it would be like to have known that.
In the film, older Elliott ( Aubrey Plaza ) advises younger Elliott ( Maisy Stella ) to not be so eager to leave her provincial town, her younger brothers and her parents and to slow down and appreciate things as they are. She also tells her to stay away from a guy named Chad who she meets the next day and discovers that, unfortunately, he's quite cute.
At 38, Park is just getting started as a filmmaker. Her first, "The Fallout," in which Jenna Ortega plays a teen in the aftermath of a school shooting, had one of those pandemic releases that didn't even feel real. But it did get the attention of Margot Robbie 's production company LuckyChap Entertainment, who reached out to Park to see what other ideas she had brewing.
"They were very instrumental in encouraging me to go with it," Park said. "They're just really even-keeled, good people, which makes... Read More