We’re not huge basketball fans or anything, but Spike Lee is so intense and zealous, his passion for any topic soon becomes of interest to those beyond its initial frame. Ergo we’re pretty interested in his upcoming and completed documentary, “Kobe Doin; Work,” which played this weekend at the Tribeca Film Festival and features L.A. Lakers basketball superstar Kobe Bryant. Basically it’s a day in the life documentary and it’ll soon be featured on ESPN May 16.
[Lee, Barry Levinson, Albert Maysles, Richard Linklater, Barbara Kopple and other filmmakers are going to be directing hour-long sports docs for an ESPN program called “30 For 30” set to launch this fall]
Here’s the synopsis:
For most of us, a day at the office is never accompanied by media interviews and roaring crowds. For Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, though, this is just a routine part of his job. In the spring of 2008, with the Lakers set to face off against the San Antonio Spurs in a late-season game with major playoff implications, legendary filmmaker and conspicuous sports fan Spike Lee took the opportunity to show what it’s like for a top athlete like Kobe to go to work. With unprecedented access, Lee follows him from his arrival at the Staples Center through team meetings and pregame warm-ups, during the game itself, and at the end of his day as he, his wife, and his kids get in the car to drive home.
Lee said he had unprecedented access to the basketball superstar. “We had complete access. We had thirty cameras. Kobe wore a mic. And Phil Jackson allowed us to bring a camera into the locker room before the game, halftime, and after the game. Phil Jackson never does that.”
And apparently the Lakers organization demanded zero editing changes. “There was not any change suggested. And also, the method of broadcast… it will be uncensored so there’s a lot of language. You really get a feel for what these guys are saying out there. And they’re not mincing words either.”
“Kobe Doin’ Work” airs on ESPN on May 16.