HBO Sports and Mandalay Sports Media are getting in the skyhook business.
The two companies, in association with Iconomy Multi-Media & Entertainment, have begun production and commenced photography in Los Angeles on a documentary about the life and career of Hall-of-Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the National Basketball Association’s all-time leading scorer.
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Scheduled to debut in early 2015 on HBO, the film will be directed by Ron Yassen, produced by Deborah Morales (“On the Shoulders of Giants”) and executive produced by Mike Tollin (“Hank Aaron: Chasing The Dream”).
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“Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a legendary figure and an American sports icon,” Ken Hershman, president, HBO Sports, said in a statement. “While he has lived so much of his life in the media spotlight, his extraordinary story has never been explored in depth, and we are grateful to Kareem and his team for allowing us to bring this story to life.”
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Tollin, co-chairman of Mandalay Sports Media, added that the film will “reveal the complexity and genius of Kareem both on and off the court. By his own admission, Abdul-Jabbar has had a complicated and occasionally hostile relationship with the media. This is a unique opportunity to tell all sides of his story.”
Launched in 2012 by Peter Guber‘s Mandalay Entertainment and producer Mike Tollin, MSM is a diversified sports content and media company that creates sports-themed programming for all platforms and creates, acquires and invests in businesses and assets across the sports content and media landscape.