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00:00 Can you talk to me just a little bit in what ways
00:03 is "Shooting Stars" proof that teamwork makes the dream work?
00:08 The bond that these guys had.
00:11 The film is representing that basketball
00:16 is more than a game.
00:17 It's about friendship.
00:19 And to me, it's very spiritual.
00:20 Like how-- when they weren't good,
00:23 how it affected their game.
00:25 When LeBron was drinking and how it affected his game.
00:30 You know what I mean?
00:31 Like it really represented--
00:33 it's not just about dribbling a basketball
00:36 and putting it in the rim.
00:37 It's bigger than that.
00:39 It's about hard work.
00:40 It's about dedication.
00:41 The pressure that's going to be put on you.
00:44 And the spotlight that these men had.
00:47 Like what are you willing to do?
00:49 What are the limits are you willing to go to to be great?
00:52 You know what I mean?
00:53 So it's-- and the confidence that you
00:57 had to go out on the court.
00:58 Even people that are going to watch this film,
01:00 this is not just for basketball people.
01:02 This could be for anybody, any field
01:04 that you're competitive in.
01:06 The confidence that you need.
01:08 The level of responsibility that you're
01:10 going to need to take it to the next level.
01:13 Absolutely.
01:14 I definitely agree.
01:15 Because in watching the film, I was like, wow,
01:17 this is so much more than just basketball.
01:19 And for you, Mookie, since you are a ball player,
01:23 in what ways did you prepare for this role?
01:26 And how is stepping into LeBron's shoes
01:29 kind of like a full circle moment for you?
01:32 Definitely.
01:32 I just watched a lot of interviews on his--
01:35 how he talks.
01:36 Watched a lot of interview--
01:37 I mean, watched a lot of highlights of just how
01:39 he moved in high school.
01:41 Like little antics, facial expressions.
01:44 And man, no, yeah, definitely.
01:46 It's kind of crazy.
01:47 It definitely is a full circle, man.
01:50 Just being able to grow up, see Bronny,
01:52 and then now playing his father, you know what I mean?
01:56 It's kind of funny because that's my voice.
01:59 So it's just like--
02:01 it's definitely pretty surreal.
02:04 Being able to play LeBron James is pretty crazy, yeah.
02:07 Absolutely.
02:08 And Caleb, I love Drew because we just
02:12 learned so much about just advocating for yourself
02:17 through this character.
02:18 So can you talk to me a little bit
02:20 about what you specifically learned about fighting
02:23 to have your voice heard?
02:25 And in what ways do you hope that that resonates
02:28 with those that are watching?
02:30 Yeah.
02:32 The one thing I realized what Drew--
02:37 well, at least for me, what I went into--
02:40 not even going into it, actually watching the film.
02:43 Watching the film, I'm like, wow.
02:45 I don't think Drew really cared about what people--
02:48 if people thought he was good or people thought he was bad.
02:51 He really wanted to prove himself right.
02:53 It was really about who he was as a person.
02:58 He had to know for himself that he was good
03:01 or that his confidence-- he had to bring--
03:03 I think he had the most confidence out of everybody
03:06 because of his height and people trying to put him down.
03:09 Oh, you're not good because you're too small.
03:10 You're too skinny.
03:11 No, I'm a dog.
03:12 I'm going to show you guys.
03:13 I'm going to make these threes.
03:14 I'm going to steal this ball.
03:16 You know what I mean?
03:17 I'm going to be a leader on the court.
03:19 I'm going to make my own decisions.
03:21 So I felt that that's what learning--
03:25 going into the film, of course, I had to know, OK.
03:27 I had to go in with a little bit of a chip on my shoulder.
03:30 I had to be confident.
03:31 But watching it from a different perspective,
03:34 seeing his level of his relationship with his friends,
03:38 his relationship within himself, his dad,
03:41 he couldn't allow other people to get inside his head.
03:44 He had to know who he was.
03:48 Yeah, and lastly for you, Mookie,
03:50 can you just tell me in what ways--
03:54 this film depicts Black brotherhood.
03:57 And we don't really get to see a lot of that from a young age,
04:01 seeing this bond that the guys had.
04:05 How did this mirror some of your own friendships?
04:09 And what message do you hope it sends
04:11 to young men who are watching?
04:15 Man, stick to your people that love you.
04:19 You know what I mean?
04:21 Just have a core group that you can depend on if needed.
04:25 If you need anything, just know that you just always
04:28 need people--
04:29 you need people around you that aren't
04:30 going to take from you.
04:31 You know what I mean?
04:32 Keep people around you that don't need nothing.
04:34 I mean, not necessarily don't need nothing,
04:36 but as in just they're not using you for the wrong things.
04:40 You know what I mean?
04:41 It's genuine.
04:42 And you can definitely see that.
04:44 You know what I mean?
04:45 Regardless of their having their ups and downs,
04:48 man, they were always able to come to a conclusion.
04:52 And they love each other, bro.
04:55 They wouldn't be friends to this day if it wasn't genuine.
04:58 You know what I mean?
04:59 Yeah, man, honestly, just find the people
05:02 that you truly care about and that you
05:04 feel like you're going to see yourself in five to 10 years.
05:09 If you see them in the picture, taking a picture with them,
05:12 you feel like they're going to be with you there.
05:14 You know what I mean?
05:15 Because ultimately, you just want
05:17 the right people around you.
05:19 Yeah.
05:20 Agreed.
05:21 Well, y'all did a phenomenal job.
05:22 I really enjoyed the film.
05:24 So hats off to y'all, and congratulations.
05:27 Thank you so much.
05:29 As much as this is a story about basketball,
05:32 "Shooting Stars" is also a story about fatherhood.
05:36 What do you hope Coach Drew depicts for those watching?
05:40 I hope Coach Drew depicts, first of all,
05:45 a father who also mentored others,
05:49 like a strong, compassionate person, with strength
05:55 and compassion, right?
05:58 Who had the hurdle-- really, it's
06:00 a hurdle dealing with a giant like LeBron James, who just
06:03 ascends right in front of you.
06:05 You might not know what to do with that type of energy.
06:08 And so I just know Coach Drew in real life,
06:12 he's such a great person.
06:14 I hope people gather that from this film.
06:16 I hope they understand that he had a lot to do
06:19 with nurturing all those boys.
06:22 Their ideology is nurtured through their interaction
06:26 with Coach Drew.
06:26 So I would hope they got that from it.
06:29 Absolutely.
06:30 And how much of this was art imitating life for you,
06:34 especially as a former ballplayer yourself?
06:38 Oh, well, I don't know about art imitating life,
06:41 but like dream coming true, for sure.
06:44 To be able to--
06:46 first of all, on the set, every day,
06:47 I was able to just play some basketball, OK?
06:50 So that makes the time go faster.
06:52 As you know, a movie set's 12 hours.
06:55 It's half your life the whole time you're on the set.
06:57 It's half your life, right?
06:59 So in six months, you spend three months on the set.
07:04 All right?
07:05 And so you need things that help you let energy out.
07:07 So when you do a sports movie, you
07:09 have those things right around you--
07:10 basketball, football, baseball.
07:12 You find when they say cut, you get active
07:15 and shoot some hoops.
07:16 I just like that aspect of working on sports films.
07:21 So I'm not sure if I answered your question, but--
07:24 Yeah, you did.
07:25 You did.
07:26 And I love that you mentioned working on sports films
07:29 because you're a veteran in this space.
07:31 And I'm a huge fan of a lot of the movies
07:34 that you've done in the past.
07:37 And so you've breathed life into so many characters that represent
07:40 various forms of brotherhood.
07:42 How is the brotherhood shown in "Shooting Stars"
07:45 different than anything we've ever seen before?
07:49 I think it's different because, well,
07:53 you get to see the dynamic of these young men
07:56 as they deal with this real-life historical figure, which
08:00 is what LeBron James is-- sports figure historically.
08:05 And you don't really know what's going to happen next.
08:08 You don't know your teammate is going
08:10 to be regarded as the greatest player of all times
08:13 by lots of people.
08:15 And so I think in real time, for those people,
08:21 they had to be concerned about their everyday lives,
08:26 not knowing that the guy standing next to them
08:29 would end up a person-- I don't know-- mega-famous,
08:33 historical-type figure.
08:35 So I mean, that's challenging.
08:38 It's challenging for the group.
08:40 People might have envy or jealousy.
08:42 Or they might have saw themselves as being a pro
08:45 but didn't become a pro.
08:47 And yet the person next to you became the biggest pro
08:49 of all time.
08:50 So sometimes the egos might engage.
08:54 I hope that this process shows a brotherliness
08:58 through that type of an obstacle,
08:59 a very unique obstacle.
09:01 That's why I like that the real LeBron and his friends
09:04 come out and in part of the ad, they lock arms
09:09 and they show some brotherhood throughout his whole time.
09:11 It's good for them to see young men like that, too.
09:15 Young men just being cool with each other,
09:17 despite what may be an obstacle or what
09:20 they might deem as a hurdle of some type,
09:23 but still coming together with real love.
09:27 And I feel like Coach Drew is the anchor for that.
09:31 He's like an anchor to keep them rooted in their path
09:36 and on their focus on whatever the goals were.
09:42 Absolutely.
09:43 I definitely understand that.
09:44 And I definitely saw that as a viewer.
09:47 And my last question for you is just,
09:50 what qualities does Coach Drew mirror
09:53 that are some of your own or just the sentiment of having
09:57 someone who is an elder believe in you before you even
10:00 believe in yourself?
10:03 Well, I would say in real life, Coach Drew
10:06 is a lot different than I am.
10:08 I gained from this experience some things
10:11 to add on to my personality from Coach Drew.
10:14 What would be mirrored?
10:18 Well, a love for sports is mirrored.
10:22 And I like young people.
10:27 I like to engage with young people.
10:29 And if I can mentor, that energy is in me.
10:32 Not everybody wants to be that way.
10:34 But I like to be that way.
10:37 So I think we have those two things in common.
10:40 Absolutely.
10:41 Well, thank you so much for your time, Wood.
10:43 And congratulations on yet another amazing role.
10:47 Oh, thank you so much.
10:48 What do you think or hope shooting stars will
10:51 teach a younger generation about brotherhood?
10:57 That's a good question.
10:58 I definitely think it will teach them
10:59 that you can't do it alone.
11:02 I don't think it's going to tell you, like, oh,
11:04 you have to find your friends or you have
11:06 to find this type of friend.
11:07 Nah, it's just whoever you're with,
11:09 like whoever you've been around your whole life,
11:12 it just shows the path and the journey that they took together.
11:16 And as teammates, basketball brings a big impact
11:21 to brotherhood and friendship.
11:23 So I think the film is just going to basically give
11:26 an idea of the brotherhood and the friendship
11:29 that the Fab Five share.
11:30 And I think that all athletes, not just basketball,
11:34 but for any sport, will pick up on that.
11:37 Yeah, for sure.
11:38 And you know, basketball obviously
11:40 is a big theme of the film.
11:42 But the big underlying thing for me
11:45 is, like, truly that brotherhood.
11:47 So for you, Khalil, in what ways does the Fab Five
11:51 mirror a lot of friendship between young Black boys
11:54 that we don't often see portrayed on the big screen?
11:58 Yeah.
12:01 I think just the togetherness, being able to stick together.
12:06 We don't really see that a lot.
12:09 And also, like, it wasn't much fighting going on in the movie.
12:13 You know what I'm saying?
12:14 It wasn't much violence.
12:16 It was just Black love, but Black love with your friends.
12:20 I'm kind of big on friendship and big on staying
12:26 ten toes with my brothers and making sure
12:28 that they know that I'm staying ten toes behind them.
12:30 So that shows in the film, for sure.
12:37 Yeah, it definitely does.
12:38 And for you, Scoop, in what ways is
12:41 "Shooting Stars" kind of proof that teamwork indeed
12:44 does make the dream work?
12:46 I think them just fighting through the adversity
12:49 was a huge thing for the team and just showing
12:53 that they can get it done together
12:56 and that they don't have to go their own way.
12:58 They don't have to try to be selfish,
12:59 because it was never that.
13:01 Since they were younger and with Romeo joining,
13:04 he came in not knowing that, but then they've
13:07 gotten better as a team and kind of came
13:09 into a collective agreement to where it's together or nothing.
13:13 So I think "Shooting Stars" movie just
13:15 showed that togetherness in the brothers and the area of sports.
13:20 Yeah, for sure.
13:21 And lastly, I have a question for all three of y'all.
13:24 And it's just, we get to see LeBron and his younger stage,
13:29 right, because we all know and love
13:31 LeBron today as the superstar mega athlete.
13:35 But this kind of, in my opinion, humanizes him a little bit
13:39 by talking about how it all started.
13:42 So I want to know, what was y'all's introduction to LeBron?
13:46 And how did being a part of this movie
13:49 make it was kind of full circle for y'all?
13:52 And we can start with you, AJ.
13:54 What do you mean by my introduction to LeBron?
13:59 Yeah, so when did you first--
14:01 [INAUDIBLE]
14:03 Yeah, the first time you noticed him,
14:06 whether it was playing basketball,
14:08 is there a specific--
14:10 Yeah.
14:12 Yeah, well, I know him just from being in the league.
14:16 Everybody's like, oh, LeBron James, LeBron.
14:17 Everybody knows LeBron James since I was a kid,
14:20 just from coming into the league,
14:22 straight from high school.
14:23 But that "More Than a Game" documentary
14:27 is when I really got to see, OK, this kid is crazy.
14:32 I'm a kid, but I'm saying, when he was in high school,
14:35 he's crazy.
14:36 So me seeing him, that whole documentary
14:39 from "More Than a Game," I think that's when I really
14:42 started to pick up he's going to be the greatest of all time.
14:45 That's who LeBron James is.
14:47 Yeah.
14:48 And what about y'all really quickly before we wrap?
14:51 When did y'all realize, oh, that's LeBron James, LeBron
14:55 James?
14:57 LeBron been that dude since.
15:01 Basketball been a part of my life, my whole life.
15:04 So I can't even tell you the first time I knew--
15:06 I seen LeBron.
15:08 Because I grew up watching NBA games,
15:10 being around all my uncles and my drunk uncles
15:13 watching basketball games, NBA games.
15:15 So I grew up off it.
15:18 So I don't even remember the first time I seen LeBron.
15:23 Yeah, and lastly, you, Scoop?
15:26 Like Lil said, basketball has always
15:28 been a part of me as a person.
15:30 And just going upstairs, watching the TV
15:33 for a little segment with my pops,
15:35 just seeing LeBron on the screen,
15:36 commercials, little commercials here and there.
15:39 That one commercial that he did with all of his self,
15:42 the little kid with the pool.
15:44 That was kind of--
15:45 That was iconic.
15:47 That was kind of like the first thing I remember.
15:50 Awesome.
15:51 Y'all did an amazing job in the film.
15:53 So hats off to y'all, and congratulations.
15:55 Thank you so much.
15:57 Hi, Chris.
15:58 My name is Shanique with Shadow and Act.
15:59 How are you today?
16:00 Hi, Shanique.
16:01 I am a big fan of Shadow and Act.
16:04 Yay, we love that.
16:06 And hats off on this amazing film.
16:09 I want to start by asking you, in what ways
16:12 is the story of shooting stars literal proof that teamwork
16:17 makes the dream work?
16:19 I think it's all about the village, right?
16:23 It's about all of us.
16:25 Obviously, LeBron James is this superhuman, superhero,
16:30 iconic person who's reached amazing heights
16:33 in his chosen sport.
16:35 But I think what really attracted me to the movie
16:39 to begin with is that we all go through this experience, right?
16:43 We all have friends, and we all have this village,
16:48 whether it's great or if you wish
16:52 there was a better village, we all have this process in life.
16:55 And I think that when you're on the same page, when
17:01 the reasons that you're doing it are right,
17:04 you can get results like what we see with LeBron James.
17:08 And just the fact that him and all his friends
17:10 are still brothers.
17:11 Absolutely.
17:12 And you know-- oh, sorry.
17:15 I don't know.
17:15 It cut out for a minute.
17:17 So I missed your end point.
17:19 You're good to go.
17:20 OK, perfect.
17:21 And this film gives viewers a peek inside,
17:24 like you mentioned, where it all started for LeBron James.
17:28 In what ways do you feel like this film humanizes him?
17:32 And what kind of message do you hope that resonates
17:35 with those that are watching?
17:38 You know, I haven't met LeBron yet in this whole process.
17:46 And in the beginning of the process,
17:48 I really wanted to meet him and talk to him.
17:51 But the more that I was in pre-production and production,
17:56 I found that it was a gift that I didn't get the opportunity
17:59 to meet him.
18:00 I met everyone around him.
18:02 I met his friends.
18:04 I went to his projects that he's from.
18:07 I met his coach.
18:08 I met his teachers.
18:09 I met the guy down at the diner who just knew LeBron
18:14 when he was 16 years old.
18:16 And I think what I learned was to tell--
18:21 what it inspired me to do was tell an authentic story
18:25 in a way that it was, not kind of a fantasy of what it was.
18:32 And in the film, I wanted to just really be authentic.
18:36 Like, what were his faults?
18:38 What was the relationship between the boys?
18:41 Why were they so close?
18:43 Why are they still close today?
18:45 And I think what's amazing about it
18:47 is that when you unravel the film,
18:51 it's just human nature, right?
18:54 It's just human.
18:56 And these relationships of brotherhood,
18:59 which we don't often see, right?
19:00 A lot of times, we'll see movies with black boys in it,
19:03 and it's about trauma.
19:05 And some of those are amazing films.
19:07 I love some of those films.
19:09 But the more I heard the story, the more I understood exactly
19:14 where he was from and what he did,
19:17 I thought it was beautiful to be able to tell
19:20 this story in this way and have this kind of representation
19:25 that, you know, like, wow, this is a father-son story.
19:29 Even though LeBron's dad wasn't present in the house,
19:32 his coach took that space.
19:34 This is a story about loyalty and how these young men,
19:38 you know, one friend is ascending to great heights,
19:41 but that doesn't mean that there's a jealousy.
19:43 That means that they want to push him forward.
19:46 You know, there's all kind of new friends
19:48 when you become LeBron James, but he
19:50 wanted to make sure that he stuck to what he loved
19:55 and what mattered to him most.
19:57 And I think, for me, that's the most amazing part.
19:59 Because, look, there's amazing basketball in this movie.
20:02 We're watching LeBron's iconic status grow every day.
20:07 Now his son's going to USC.
20:08 Like, we're all excited to see what happens next.
20:12 And he's like the best of us, right?
20:14 But I think what this movie shows
20:16 is that the minutia, the small things, the family part
20:22 is what matters so much.
20:25 And it was just such a great pleasure
20:27 to be able to tell a story that is more
20:31 stand-by me than something that's so shocking.
20:37 And at the same time, it's exciting.
20:41 People have said, hey, man, I laughed.
20:43 I cried.
20:43 It was great.
20:44 Like, you know, that's what real life is.
20:47 And I hope that we were able to communicate that.
20:50 Absolutely.
20:51 I enjoyed just seeing, like you said,
20:53 the story of Black Brotherhood at such a young age
20:56 and that unfold.
20:58 So hats off on amazing storytelling.
21:01 And I can't wait for the rest of the world to see it.
21:03 Thank you so much.
21:05 You're so welcome.
21:06 Keep shadowing that going.
21:07 I dig it.
21:08 Yay.
21:09 Thank you so much.