Variety reports that More Than a Game, a documentary about NBA star LeBron James' high school days in Akron, Ohio, has been sold to Lionsgate in an unusual deal.
The studio, teaming with music notables Harvey Mason Jr. and Interscope Records, plans a fall 2009 release. Lionsgate has world rights.
After a well-received world premiere in Toronto, where James received a five-minute standing ovation and presided over a spirited latenight party and a street dunk contest, the film had been chased by several buyers.
"Game" is being positioned not merely as a record of James' achievements but as a feel-good story of overcoming adversity. It follows the five starters on the varsity team at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, who travel a winding road from a rundown gymnasium to national glory and NBA riches, seeking to remain a tight-knit quintet even as James becomes a megamillionaire.
The film mixes newly unearthed archival footage and family memorabilia with fresh interviews.
Director Kristopher Belman, an Akron native, began the film nine years ago as a thesis project at Loyola Marymount U. He co-wrote (with Brad Hogan) and produced the film along with Mason (producer of the Dreamgirls soundtrack), Matthew Perniciaro and Kevin Mann.
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