By Derrik J. Lang, Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --"NBA 2K16" will be a Spike Lee joint.
2K Games announced Thursday that it recruited the acclaimed filmmaker — and die-hard New York Knicks fan — to write and direct the single-player campaign for the interactive basketball franchise's next edition.
What did it take for the creator of such landmark films as "Do the Right Thing" and "He Got Game" to sign on to produce a video game?
"They asked me," Lee matter-of-factly noted during a recent phone interview from Chicago, where he's in production on his next project, "Chiraq."
Lee said the game's story centers on a basketball player named Frequency Vibrations, whose personal exploits off the court are just as chaotic as the game on it.
"It's about the trials and tribulations of life on a big stage with the money, fame, temptations, family members, the press, fans, all that stuff," said Lee.
While the game is a basketball simulation at its heart, "NBA 2K" developer Visual Concepts has integrated cinematic elements into the single-player mode over the past five years. For the latest round, the gamemakers passed that task to Lee in hopes of achieving a slam dunk with gamers.
"It wasn't a hard sell," said Jeff Thomas, vice president of sports development at Visual Concepts. "Spike was really receptive when I first met with him. He actually said to us, 'It's about time I worked with 2K.' He loves basketball, and this is a new frontier for him."
The "Malcom X" and "She Hate Me" filmmaker focused on drawing out realistic performances from actors, whose voices and movements were all digitally recorded. Lee, whose teenage son Jackson is an avid gamer, said he actually felt liberated working on a motion-capture stage for the first time in his career.
"I didn't really realize how quick it was going to be," said Lee. "We didn't have to do costumes, makeup or hair. We didn't have to move props around. We didn't have to move from location to location. Everything was just there."
Despite the writer-director's penchant for gritty storytelling, "NBA 2K16" won't only be aimed at adults. Lee worked within creative parameters set forth by the NBA and 2K Games.
"We make an E-rated game," said Thomas. "It's an NBA licensed project and obviously the NBA cares a lot about their brand and makes sure we stick within those boundaries. Spike understood that from the get-go, but he didn't take his foot off the gas because of that. He still brought the drama."
The series' previous installment, "NBA 2K15," has sold more than 5.5 million copies since its release last October, according to 2K Games' parent company, Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.
"NBA 2K16" will feature Stephen Curry, James Harden and Anthony Davis on three separate covers. It isn't the first time 2K Games has sunk such star power into the successful sports series. The publisher tapped Jay Z to curate the soundtrack for "NBA 2K13," which also featured three cover athletes.
Review: Director Morgan Neville’s “Piece by Piece”
A movie documentary that uses only Lego pieces might seem an unconventional choice. When that documentary is about renowned musician-producer Pharrell Williams, it's actually sort of on-brand.
"Piece by Piece" is a bright, clever song-filled biopic that pretends it's a behind-the-scenes documentary using small plastic bricks, angles and curves to celebrate an artist known for his quirky soul. It is deep and surreal and often adorable. Is it high concept or low? Like Williams, it's a bit of both.
Director Morgan Neville — who has gotten more and more experimental exploring other celebrity lives like Fred Rogers in "Won't You Be My Neighbor?,""Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain" and "Steve! (Martin): A Documentary in Two Pieces" — this time uses real interviews but masks them under little Lego figurines with animated faces. Call this one a documentary in a million pieces.
The filmmakers try to explain their device — "What if nothing is real? What if life is like a Lego set?" Williams says at the beginning — but it's very tenuous. Just submit and enjoy the ride of a poor kid from Virginia Beach, Virginia, who rose to dominate music and become a creative director at Louis Vuitton.
Williams, by his own admission, is a little detached, a little odd. Music triggers colors in his brain — he has synesthesia, beautifully portrayed here — and it's his forward-looking musical brain that will make him a star, first as part of the producing team The Neptunes and then as an in-demand solo producer and songwriter.
There are highs and lows and then highs again. A verse Williams wrote for "Rump Shaker" by Wreckx-N-Effect when he was making a living selling beats would lead to superstars demanding to work with him and partner... Read More