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like mike
Lil Bow Wow as Calvin with
Morris Chestnut.
“He handles the ball better than any 14-year-old I’ve ever seen,” says Theus. “He has to do some incredible things in this movie and he wanted to make sure that everything he did was right and true to form. I had to keep reminding myself that I was dealing with a 14-year-old kid.
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“MY FIRST DREAM, BESIDES RAPPING, WAS PLAYING
BASKETBALL, MAYBE IN THE NBA. I WASN’T REALLY
INTERESTED IN THE
WHOLE MOVIE THING”
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But, after just a few minutes with him, you understand why he’s been so successful in everything he’s done.”
Filming began on Like Mike just after New Year 2002 in Los Angeles and Philadelphia, with the NBA partnering in the production and a number of real-life stars taking part in the on-screen games. The NBA’s participation also meant that the crew was able to film scenes during real basketball games. “To allow us to shoot during their All-Star break, one of the biggest media events of the year, was unbelievable,” says Heller.
“Every single player we worked with had a great attitude,” adds Schultz. “They all quickly ‘got’ the idea of the movie and were more than willing to be ‘schooled’ by Calvin Cambridge: they knew exactly how to poke fun at themselves.”
Some of them also found echoes of the movie’s main theme in their own lives. “Dreaming helps build a little confidence and establishes hope for kids,” insists Allen Mourning of the Miami Heat. “They’re confronted with so many obstacles in life, and you want to make sure to keep your dreams alive.”
The basketball scenes in the movie were shot in two places: on the hallowed hardwood of the LA Forum, which is where the Lakers play; and then at Philadelphia’s Spectrum, where the great Dr J
Director John Schultz | himself used to play. The story - which kicks in when Calvin wins a spot prize at a local game and ends up beating the team’s best player - adds another element to the kid’s-dream-comes-true mix: the character of Tracey Reynolds, an on-the-slide basketball player for local team the Knights, who is about as fond of kids as is Stan Bittleman.
Tracey is played by African-American star Morris Chestnut, who admits to having been a lot more nervous about the on-the-court scenes than his young co-star was. “I had played a little basketball,” recalls Chestnut, “but football was really my game. The time with Reggie [Theus] was a great help and hopefully it will show on screen.
“Tracey is the star of a losing team. I’m in the middle of a long slump, and the general manager’s got me participating in these stunts,” he continues, referring to the beat-the-champ interval slot where he first encounters Calvin. “That’s bad enough, but being totally embarrassed is worse. I never want to see this kid again.”
What happens is that Calvin outplays him and sinks a 30-foot slam dunk into the bargain. This triggers a fresh idea in the brain of team manager Frank Bernard (Eugene Levy), who senses a way of getting the Knights out of their losing streak: send Calvin on the road with the team.
He proves, of course, to be a star - which doesn’t endear him to Tracey. The latter is even less happy when he is appointed Calvin’s guardian. But gradually - it’s that kind of movie - a bond develops between the two. And, as the Knights begin to win again, Calvin, too, finds what he has always been looking for: a home.
“I had recently watched a 60 Minutes piece on how difficult it is for teenage orphans to get adopted,” recalls producer Barry Josephson, “and I thought to myself: There’s a need to tell this story. But most of all, it’s a wonderful fairy tale with an edge – a real, contemporary fairy tale.”
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LIKE MIKE
Twentieth Century Fox, in association with NBA Entertainment
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Prod: Barry Josephson, Peter Heller; Exec prod: Adam Silver, Gregg Winik; Co-prod: Garrett Grant; Dir: John Schultz; Scr: Michael Elliot, Jordan Moffet; Ph: Shawn Maurer; Prod des: Arlan Jay Vetter; Cost des: Mary Jane Fort; Ed: Peter Berger, John Pace; Sp f/x co-ord: Paul Lombardi; Basketball co-ord: Reggie Theus; Casting: Risa Bramon Garcia, Brennan du Fresne; Mus: Richard Gibbs.
With Lil Bow Wow (Calvin Cambridge), Morris Chestnut (Tracey Reynolds), Eugene Levy (Frank Bernard), Jonathan Lipnicki (Murph), Crispin Glover (Stan Bittleman), Robert Forster (Coach Wagner), Anne Meara (Sister Theresa), Brenda Song (Reg), Jesse Plemons (Ox), Julius Ritter (Marlon).
International distribution:
Twentieth Century Fox.
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