Kobe’s next task

Sports Illustrated will team with Kobe Bryant’s new production company, Kobe Studios, along with Believe Entertainment Group, for a multi-platform video production and development project devoted to Dear Basketball, Bryant’s tribute to the game. The deal will include the world premiere of Dear Basketball, an animated short film on SI.com that will debut this fall, as well as a slate of exclusive SI Films mini documentaries. The film will be narrated by Bryant with Glen Keane, animator behind the likes of Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Tarzan and Tangled, helming the production with John Williams composing the score.

“We are proud to collaborate with Kobe to tell the comprehensive story of his first endeavor after retiring from the NBA in a way that only SI can,” said Rich Battista, President of the Time Inc. Entertainment and Sports Group and Video. “We are excited for Kobe’s fans and the global community of sport, entertainment and art enthusiasts to experience these productions.”

Related Stories

Whoopi Goldberg and cast mates will take The Stand on CBS All Access Dec. 17

whoopi-goldberg

The Stand, CBS All Access’ television adaptation of the storied 1978 Stephen King novel, will debut December 17. Starring Whoopi Goldberg, Alexander Skarsgard, James Marsden, Odessa Young, Jovan Adepo and Amber Heard, the limited series unfolds around King’s apocalyptic struggle between good and evil after a plague destroys most of the country. Ben Cavell serves […]

McKinnon lands unprecedented Exotic deal

Get ready cats and kittens. Joe Exotic (working title), UCP’s limited series starring and exec-produced by Kate McKinnon, scored a straight-to-series order by both the NBCU television and streaming divisions. In an unprecedented move, project will roll out across broadcast net NBC, streamer Peacock, and a basic cable net USA. Series is based on the […]

Cat’s meow: Quaid will star in his own animal rescue story

Cat's meow: Quaid will star in his own animal rescue story

Dennis Quaid is the cat’s meow. He’s partnering with ITV America’s Leftfield Pictures for unscripted TV project Saving Dennis Quaid, which he’ll star in and exec produce. Project documents the animal lover’s recent headline-making pet rescue where he and partner Jimmy Jellinek set out on a mission to adopt a 6-year-old black cat from Lynchburg, […]

Turner Sports Shaq’s up

Big news at Turner Sports, as the company lands a multiyear extension of its partnership with Shaquille O’Neal. Shaq’s expanded role gains the Basketball Hall of Famer more airtime, including on TNT’s Inside the NBA and NBA on TNT, as well as contributions to NBA.com. He also will develop projects throughout the WarnerMedia portfolio including […]

The Tonys go digital

The Tonys go digital

The 74th Annual Tony Awards ceremony will go on, presented digitally sometime in the fall. Date and platform are TBA. The event had originally been scheduled for June 7, but was replaced by plans for a streaming special on the same date due to COVID-19. That special was postponed amid unrest over the George Floyd […]

CynCity

Cynsiders

Instagram