by Gill Pringle
Twenty-five years after basketball legend Michael Jordan starred in animated action comedy, Space Jam, there’s a new basketball icon in town, four-time champion LeBron James carrying on the torch with Space Jam: A New Legacy.
Directed by Malcolm D Lee, he believes this new iteration bears little resemblance to the original, other than, it stars a basketball icon along with Warner Bros’ beloved Looney Tunes characters.
Despite all its special effects and animation mash-up, A New Legacy is more of a family story at heart, with a very different setting.
“With this movie, we’re going to cyber space – not outer space,” says Lee, best known for his raunchy comedies Girls Trip and Night School.
As Space Jam: A New Legacy opens, we learn about the hard work and sacrifice it takes to be the greatest basketball player of all time – and meet with a version of LeBron who is frustrated with his younger son, Dom, who does not adhere to his own strict work ethic, preferring to play and design video games.
The family’s struggles make them easy prey for egomaniacal digi-villain, Al G. Rhythm, who lures LeBron and Dom into the server room, where he essentially kidnaps them, sucking them into his digital domain and forcing them to go head-to-head in a basketball showdown for the ages.
Casting award-winning actors Don Cheadle as AI G Rhythm and Sonequa Martin-Green (Walking Dead, Star Trek: Discovery) as LeBron’s movie wife Kamiyah James, the film also features Cedric Joe as Dom James and Gabriel ‘Fluffy’ Iglesias as the voice of Speedy Gonzales.
We caught up with Don Cheadle and Sonequa Martin-Green.
What drew you to this project?
Don: The concept is really interesting, all these elements coming together. I mean, come on, there’s family, there’s basketball, there’s all the Warner Bros. IP, there’s this spectacular world to behold. And inside of that there’s real characters that are hitting real human emotional beats. I thought it would be pretty fun to be a part of all that.
Would you describe Al G as a charming villain?
Don: My character is clearly unhinged and feels slighted and unseen, but that was what we were trying to do; to humanise this concept. But the script did a great job of that, and Malcolm Lee had a vision and we worked arduously every day to try and calibrate who Al G is and how he fits in this world.
Did you feel a lot of pressure, cast as LeBron’s movie wife, Kamiyah James?
Sonequa: It was an interesting journey. I was creating this life as Kamiyah James with the real LeBron James, because he is himself in the movie, but he’s also not himself; he’s this alternative version of himself, so it was odd because I had to do a collection of real life things that happened to him and Savannah, but also brand new things that happened to Kamiyah and LeBron in this story.
Was that tough? Did you meet with LeBron’s real life wife Savannah?
Sonequa: It was interesting and took a little bit of adjusting but it was so great being able to work with LeBron. He showed up 100% ready to go, ready to take on the task at hand, leading this movie. He brought the championship mindset and all of that leadership from the court, to the set, which was really impressive. We had a great dynamic that was easy and fast along with Ceyair, Cedric and Harper who play our children. And I did get to meet Savannah. She came to set a few times and we chatted, but I was actually just able to pull and create from the page but I do think it’s paying homage to her so I appreciate the role of Kamiyah – this strong, graceful woman who the family could not survive without.
You and LeBron have since become good friends?
Don: We had a great time, and it was cool to meet him and whatever ideas I had about him, I didn’t expect him to be any different from what he was really. I didn’t know how hard he was going to be working. LeBron was nursing an injury at the time and putting together his team and also having to go to work-outs sometimes before we would shoot and then practice afterwards so he was having to put all that in – after 12-14 hours on set.
Did you pass on any acting tips?
Don: No, I did not. LeBron’s work ethic was really impressive, and we met on a very equal footing on the set. He was interested in acting and really wanting to make sure that we were playing the scenes right. I didn’t feel like I needed to pull his coat and give him any pointers here or there.
Is it more fun to play a villain or good guy?
Don: The thing about villains is that most villains don’t think of themselves as villains; they think of themselves as having a goal that other people can’t quite understand, and I think that’s who Al G is. I’m not playing an idea because what does it mean to play an AI? That’s some nebulous thing. I’m trying to play a person who has wants and desires and dreams and goals and insecurities and everything that human beings have, because we’re trying to tell a story and not only connect with each other as characters but connect with the audience, so I think Al G would push back on saying he’s a villain. He is someone who wants respect, and so when you think of it in terms of that, all those beats make sense.
What did you learn about the private LeBron and is he a fan of Walking Dead?
Sonequa: I actually don’t know if he’s a fan of Walking Dead or Star Trek: Discovery because we never talked about it interestingly. It was great to see how he navigates his day-to-day life because there are so many things in place that ensure his success. He has everything set up very strategically and he has deemed these things necessary, and they are, and I thought it was so smart and I was inspired by being able to see how, day in and day out, he has people and techniques and processes that all aid in his ultimate victory and help him be that champion that we know him to be and that was really inspiring to see.
Is your character of Kamiyah James similar to who you are at home as a mother?
Sonequa: I never use my real life when I tell stories, so I only create based on the parameters of the story and I set them up as boundaries and I let my imagination run freely within that; so I’m very different from Kamiyah – of course, everything is coming from me and I do take ownership of the story. But it’s different from the day-to-day Sonequa. I would love to be as affective of a manager as Kamiyah is for her family, and I would love to give my children the grace that Kamiyah gives her children. So, I would hope that those similarities are already in place – gosh, my son is six and my daughter is about to be one, so let’s hope I’m giving them the grace that I see Kamiyah giving! And let’s hope that I manage my home as well as she does.
You’re a keen basketball player. Would you have liked to show that more in the movie?
Don: Yeah, it would have been fun to play, and I would have loved to have the opportunity to play around with LeBron but, at the same time, if LeBron had injured himself on our set because he was just goofing around with some of the actors – that would have been very bad. So, I’m fine with how it all turned out. I played basketball very hard for 20 years straight, so it was time to hang up the gym shoes for sure.
What challenges are there on a CGI movie with all the special effects?
Don: Nothing new for me. At this point I’ve been in several movies that have that special effects component and you just have to really keep focused on where you are and what you’re looking at and that relies on not just you but also the special effects team, the director and the script supervisor. Everyone has to really keep their eye on the story and on the ball, so that when you get into post-production, you know that you’re telling the same story that you agreed upon.
Space Jam: A New Legacy is in cinemas now.
