Even as excitement is building for Caymanian filmmaker Frank E. Flowers’s latest movie project ‘Shooting Stars’, about a young LeBron James, he is supporting the Writers Guild of America strike and opting out of attending the film’s premiere.
The movie trailer has already been seen 2 million times on YouTube, with the film set to be released this week.
The screenplay was written by Flowers, Tony Rettenmaier and Juel Taylor, and directed by Emmy nominee Chris Robinson.
Flowers, in a statement to the Cayman Compass following the debut of the movie’s trailer last week, said he is always grateful for the opportunity to share stories with “my Caymanian people, but, unfortunately, as a proud member of the Writers Guild of America, I cannot do any press or promotions for Shooting Stars”.
The three screenwriters based the movie script on the book by basketball superstar James and Buzz Bissinger, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of ‘Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream’.
Though it was a passion project, Flowers said he cannot promote the movie at this time.
“These past few weeks have allowed for much reflection about the journey of this project that began in 2014, while my mother was still with us. Choosing not to give any comments on the film or attend next week’s premiere with my family was an emotional decision but is a small gesture in context to the sacrifices that many fellow writers are having to make as we stand in solidarity,” he told the Compass.
Excitement for the premiere is growing, especially with the NBA finals starting 1 June, but the ongoing Writers Guild strike is putting a damper on the promotion of this and other movies.
“I pray for a quick, equitable resolution to this strike and look forward to supporting the film once the press ban has been lifted,” Flowers added.
The writers’ strike, which commenced on 2 May, is the first Hollywood walkout since 2007.
“Some 11,500 film and television writers represented by the union put down their pens and laptops after failing to reach a new contract with the trade association that represents Hollywood studios and production companies,” according to an AP article.
About the movie
According to Universal Pictures, ‘Shooting Stars’ is “the inspiring origin story of a basketball superhero, revealing how LeBron James and his childhood friends become the #1 high school team in the country, launching James’s breathtaking career as a four-time NBA Champion, two-time Olympic Gold Medalist and the NBA’s all-time leading scorer”.
The movie is set in the 1990s and follows a young James, played by Marquis ‘Mookie’ Cook and his three best friends – Lil Dru (Caleb McLaughlin, ‘Stranger Things’), Willie McGee (Avery S. Wills, Jr., ‘Swagger’) and Sian Cotton (Khalil Everage, ‘Cobra Kai’).
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