"In my opinion, it is too far-fetched to say that James went to Los Angeles to play in pursuit of development in the entertainment industry, not to win a championship," Peter Nelson, vice president of HBO Sports, added to James's joining the Lakers! When James announced that he would join the Lakers as a free agent, there were rumors that James's move was for his development in the entertainment industry.
However, in fact, the development of James's entertainment production company has not required James to travel to Los Angeles to sit down. So how much influence does he have in the entertainment industry? This article from the Los Angeles Times will tell us the answer.
When James and his mother moved to his apartment in Spring Hill, Akron, Ohio, he had his first room, a year in sixth grade. James lived with his mother and grandmother as a child, but his grandmother died of a heart attack at the age of 42, and many friends, family, and generous neighbors helped him. James spent a period of displacement with his mother in fourth grade— during which time he even missed more than 80 days due to frequent moves.
And in Spring Hill, James finally lived a stable life. The apartment bedroom on the 6th floor was also the starting point for his dreams. "I've always thought about having a time machine or something, to let me go back in time and see what my dreams looked like when they started," James said in an interview.
In 2008, James named a new company, SpringHill Entertainment, after the apartment, and produced a documentary about his high school years, More Than A Game. For James, perhaps he didn't realize at the time that the company could also help him break into Hollywood.
Just over a decade later, the entertainment company became the producer behind The Slam Dunk in the Air 2, starring James. It is worth mentioning that this upcoming film will be produced by Ryan Coogler, a director who has previously directed "Black Panther".
Bryant won an Academy Award for his animated short film "Dear Basketball" after retiring; Stephen Curry's production company Ananimous Media signed a deal with Sony Agreement Pictures last year, but the matters are still in the early stages of preparation; Curry's teammate Kevin Durant also has his own self-media platform, Threey Five Media, like James. But none of them could match Spring Hill Entertainment.
Studios, online platforms, and entertainment production companies are known to be part of James's business landscape. James is very focused on his performance on the big screen, even from his 2015 cameo in the film Trainwreck. But James's ideas are more than that, and now he and Springhill's team have achieved success in this field.
"They are really very smart, very good and have good taste. The reason is simple, that's why people want to work with them," says renowned actor, director and author Mike O'Miley. It is worth mentioning that the basketball sitcom "Star Road Regret", produced by O'Miley, also has the participation and production of James himself and the SpringHill team, and has been broadcast on Starz for four seasons.
Since its inception, SpringHill has continued to make breakthroughs and successes. Over the course of 6 years, they moved forward step by step, starting with James's high school basketball documentary, and during this time, "Star Road Regret" also witnessed the company gradually mature.
Today, Spring Hill is in its formative years, and the company owns the right to use a two-story building in the Warner Work Park near Warner Studios. James' longtime friend and business partner, Marfryk Carter, is also the co-founder of SpringHill Entertainment. He usually travels to the company once or twice a week to deal with things, while James does so much less, and he mostly comes back after the end of the season.
Carter also said in an interview that he and James share a common vision for the company. As a child, Carter's father worked on drugs and his mother worked as a social worker. He and James have known each other since elementary school, and the two have gradually become close friends in high school. Shortly after James entered the league, Carter became James' business partner, and he was involved in James' multibillion-dollar contract with Nike.
"For me, seeing Springhill produce new works again and again always reminds me of room 602 of the apartment at 1180 Lentar Road. Frankly, it's crazy," James says, and you can feel the enthusiasm he has in his words when he talks about these things that concern him.
"It's always a reminder of where I'm from, how far I'm from where I want to go, and how many children are living in such apartments as I used to be, and what their dreams are." Therefore, it is my duty to try to make this "building" straight to the sky. ”
As activists, James and Durant slammed U.S. President Donald Trump on the show last year, and then the Fox News host criticized James for "shuting up and dribble." Shortly after the incident, Spring Hill announced that it would produce a three-part documentary, Shut Up and Dribble, which would be broadcast on Showtime.
In the Lakers' game, we always find a lot of celebrities on the sidelines. In addition to some celebrities with Lakers season passes, we'll see other stars and Hollywood heavyweights occasionally come to the show, and Marvyk Carter tends to sit in the lineup.
In the Lakers' win over the Pelicans late February, James hit a Golden Rooster independent back three-pointer at a pivotal moment in the game, sending the whole game crazy. After the game, he met and celebrated with Carter in the locker room aisles, avoiding the remaining fans. And the two of them are already familiar with and accustomed to the basketball court surrounded by Hollywood celebrities.
James & Carter's office is located on the second floor of Spring Hill's office building. On the wall of Carter's office were two newspaper front pages, both of which the Cavaliers had won the team's first championship in 52 years. It was this championship that paved James's path to Los Angeles.
During spring hill's six years of existence, James and Carter have had more and more connections to the entertainment industry. The two also share the nickname "Four Horsemen" alongside two other close friends, Randy Mims and Richie Paul. If nothing else, Slam Dunk in the Air 2 will be released in July 2021, with filming starting this summer.
But the chase for the championship will take another year. The Lakers missed the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season this season, and James has failed to play in the playoffs for the first time since 2005. For James, he's passionate about the entertainment industry, but he's sure to stress over and over again that he doesn't get distracted from things other than basketball.
Many of Spring Hill's projects have been in motion for years, and they now realize they don't need James to attend too many of them. Of course, that doesn't mean james has stopped favoring the field, James said, "everybody wants to see what James, Marvyk Carter, and Springhill can do." But we don't always make stories we like, sometimes we rely on price advantages, and sometimes we are stillborn. Running a production company always comes with all kinds of pitfalls and temptations, and running a studio is the same. We just want to be able to do it better. ”