Warner Bros. has landed a Kobe Bryant movie titled “With the 8th Pick.” The project is still in development, but the spec script comes from Alex Sohn and Gavin Johannsen, and rather than a conventional biopic, it’s designed as a draft-day “thriller” — set during the two weeks leading up to the 1996 NBA Draft.
The story is framed through the eyes of John Nash, the New Jersey Nets’ General Manager, and incoming coach John Calipari, both of whom were eager to land Bryant, but the Nets were financially strapped, and Bryant was already a devoted Lakers fan. On top of that, his Adidas sneaker deal would have been far more lucrative in Los Angeles than in New Jersey.
“With the 8th Pick” is being described as something in the vein of Ben Affleck’s “Air,” which turned sneaker contracts into prestige drama and grossed $90M worldwide. Unlike Air, though — where Michael Jordan was an offscreen presence — this film will actually feature Kobe, as well as his father Joe “Jellybean” Bryant.
It’s still early days on this project. No cast has been announced. No director is currently attached. One thing is clear: this film isn’t focused on Kobe’s illustrious career, nor his untimely death. Instead, it’ll be about the high-stakes world of basketball drafting and the teenage phenom who would reshape the game.
While James L. Brooks teased last year that "we'll soon be seeing" Jack Nicholson, 89, act again, and that he was "reading scripts," that idea has now been shut down by his close friend Michael Douglas, 82.