Malcolm D. Lee says Space Jam: A New Legacy, starring NBA superstar LeBron James, is one of coolest films he's ever made.
Lee joined SportsJam with Doug Doyle via Zoom to talk about the Warner Bros. Pictures film that hits theaters and HBO Max on July 16.
The original SpaceJam was a 1996 American live-action/animated sports comedy film, starring the legendary Michael Jordan was a box office success.
Lee addressed those who didn't want to see another Space Jam-themed movie or LeBron James on the screen in the lead role.
"You know you're not going to please everybody. I think the movie that I made, that we made, is a great time at the movie theater. I think there are LeBron haters that are still going to show up. Give the movie a chance. It's entertainment, but at the same time if you don't want to go, don't go, but it's your loss because the movie is fun, it's funny, we want to get back to normal in the country and around the world. One of the most normal things to do is to go on a Friday night or Saturday afternoon to a darkened room, eat popcorn, drink soda and watch a movie with friends and family and have a shared experience."
Lee says LeBron James was great to work with and feels the Lakers superstar grasped the emotional aspect of movie-making.
"I felt like he was capable of doing things required of him and it was just about how silly he was going to get at times, and you know he was all in. LeBron loves to have fun. He loves comedy. I was surprised though at the some of the depth he was able to get to with some of the emotional things I asked him to do. I think people will be pleasantly surprised that he was able to get there. It was a pleasure to worth with him because he's pretty much game to do anything and that trust was there. We had met before but I think based on the movies in the past that he'd seen of mine and the people I've worked with, I'm sure he felt a level of comfort and trust that I wouldn't steer him wrong, but put him into a position to win."
Some of those movies that Malcolm De. Lee, founder and director of Blackmaled Productions, is referring to is The Best Man, Girl's Trip, The Best Man Holiday and Night School. All of those movies did well at the box office.
Working with animation was new to Lee and in this case he had the Looney Tunes group to work with. What hurdles did that pose?
"I was intimidated. Animation and the level of visual effects that are in this movie I'd never experienced before. I never even thought about it. When a movie gets this big what tends to happen is there's a lot of micro-managing, from the studio from the producers, there's a lot of cooks in the kitchen and so I don't want to be a traffic cop, I want to be a director. Fortunately with this, I didn't find that to be the experience. The good thing was I had a lot of experienced people, which is super important when you're working on a movie at no matter what level you are to have people around you who have been around the block a couple of times. I've had a tremendous love of Looney Tunes. You know growing up in the house I grew up in Saturday morning cartoons were all about the Looney Tunes, Daffy Duck, Roadrunner and Bugs Bunny. For me , I was glad to embrace those characters."
In Space Jam: A New Legacy, LeBron James and his young son "Dom" are trapped in a digital space by "Al-G Rhythm" the King of the Serververse (Don Cheadle). LeBron must get them home safe by leading Bugs Bunny and the whole group undisciplined Looney Tunes to victory over the Al-G Rhythm's digitized champions on the court.
"I love Don Cheadle, another person I've been angling to work with in my 20-year career, but never connected. He's such a great actor. He's so versatile and it wasn't an easy character to define, Al-G Rhythm, it took a number of iterations to land where we landed with him."
Malcolm D. Lee's cousin is award-winning filmmaker Spike Lee who actually spent a summer working with Malcolm's family basement earlier on in his brilliant career.
"This is a man who gave me my start, who showed me that it was possible and took off the veil of what it means to make movies. To this day I'll call on him for advice. When SpaceJam was announced he was like he was one of the first people to call me."
Having grown up with his dad Cliff as a jazz musician, Malcolm eventually grew to appreciate jazz and some of it's legendary artists.
"I definitely have a love of jazz and it's because of my dad. When you're growing up and he's playing in the house and he's doing his scales and when he's doing his thing, it's annoying when you're a pre-teen or a teenager and it's like please I don't want to hear all that. But as I got into college I started hearing "Giant Steps", "Kind of Blue", Charlie Parker, I recognized some of those songs and it was like a great study tool for me. I am a jazz enthusiast, not a purist like my dad is, but it's certainly a great influence on me in so many aspects of my life."
The next project for Lee is a ten-part limited series for Peacock titled The Best Man: Final Chapters which brings back the entire emotional cast for the series.
You can see the entire Space Jam on SportsJam chat with Malcolm D. Lee here.
