It's about $$ just as much as it is about telling the unfinished story which is clearly advertised across any number of internet reviews. Let's face it, if Lin's career ended before the film came out, nobody outside of his most fanatical fan base would pay to see this on the big screen.
The director started the documentary before Lin had any NBA success. He wanted to document the story of an asian american basketball player. In other words, if Lin didn't have any success, the movie was still be made and it wouldn't be called Linsanity.
<object width="640" height="360"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/z3FXARpvZqM?hl=en_US&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/z3FXARpvZqM?hl=en_US&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="360" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object> Here is some background for you: MAR 'Linsanity': Jeremy Lin film highlights revamped CAAMFest Posted by JLin By Tony Hicks Two years ago, before Jeremy Lin became a household name, the Bay Area native was an NBA rookie languishing as a reserve on the Golden State Warriors. But a group of filmmakers were already experiencing their own form of "Linsanity" and were pushing to make a documentary about him. The only trouble, recalls Lin's cousin Allen Lu, was Lin didn't seem to want any part of it. "He said, 'These people have been bugging me for years now, and we don't know what to do with them,' " says Lu, a Mountain View resident. "He was like 'Hey, do you want to help me?' " Lu -- who was working in e-commerce -- met with producers Christopher Chen, Brian Yang and director Evan Jackson Leong. The trio had pursued Lin to be the subject of a documentary since the days he had played at Harvard (2007-10), where Yang first met Lin when he interviewed him for his basketball blog. But Lin, who is reportedly quiet and likes to focus on basketball, wasn't interested. That is, until after his cousin met with the filmmakers. "I went back (to Lin) and said, 'You can't replace the moments we have now,' " Lu says. —‰'Why not just flip on the cameras and see what happens?' Jeremy didn't care. So he said, 'We'll turn on the cameras and see what happens. A star is born What happened was "Linsanity," the 88-minute film that almost didn't happen but which met with raves at the Sundance Film Festival in January. And today, the movie will make its Bay Area debut as the opening night attraction and a star centerpiece of CAAMFest (formerly the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival) with a screening at 7 p.m. at the Castro Theatre (tickets are still available, but can only be bought at the theater). The film's arrival couldn't come at a better time for the organizers at CAAMFest (Center for Asian American Media Fest), which, in its 31st year, has undergone a name change and an ambitious rebranding and which now bills itself as an 11-day celebration of Asian-American culture. The festival is offering a broader array of concerts, culinary events and interactive media events and features a homegrown Web comedy series ("The Nice Girls Crew"), appearances by pop group Dengue Fever and a sneak peak at a new PBS cooking show, "Asian Chops." Beside "Linsanity," some of the high-profile films featured are "Midnight's Children," director Deepa Mehta's adaptation of the Salman Rushdie novel of the same name, and "The Reluctant Fundamentalist," a 9/11-themed drama directed by Mira Nair ("Salaam Bombay!") and starring Liev Schreiber, Kate Hudson and Kiefer Sutherland. But the biggest draw will likely be "Linsanity." Festival director Masashi Niwano says when organizers heard about the Lin documentary, they knew it would be a natural at the San Francisco event, especially since he was aware of Leong's skills as a filmmaker. "We were like 'Whoa, that would be exciting,' " Niwano says. "We saw a rough cut in December and fell in love with it Career turnaround In case you've been living under a rock, Lin's story is one that was practically made for the big screen. Receiving no major college scholarship offers after leading Palo Alto High to a state championship in 2006, Lin and his 4.2 grade-point average made the Harvard basketball squad as a walk-on (meaning he was offered no scholarship) and had a stellar career, but wasn't selected in the NBA draft. He did get an invite to the Las Vegas Summer League, where he made an impression and was signed by the Warriors. After a disappointing stint of little playing time and multiple trips down to the developmental league, the Warriors cut Lin at the beginning of the 2011 training camp. He went to camp with the Houston Rockets, got cut, and found himself on the bench with the New York Knicks last year, on the verge of getting cut again. The filmmakers were considering downgrading their documentary into a Web series. Then it happened. On Feb. 4, 2012, the Knicks had injuries and weren't playing well against the New Jersey Nets. And Lin got his chance, making the most of it with 25 points, seven assists and five rebounds, leading the Knicks to a comeback win. He kept playing, the Knicks kept winning, and Linsanity was born. Of course, it didn't hurt that all this was going on in one of the biggest media markets in the world. "I was in L.A.," says producer Yang, who grew up in Cupertino and San Jose. "I was at the gym and suddenly started getting text messages from people saying, 'Are you watching this?' Everyone was like, 'Holy crap, what's going on?' We were calling and texting each other with every bucket he made, having our own case of Linsanity. "I always said if he got more minutes in the right system, he could be a good player," Yang continues. "He spoke to Asian-Americans, he spoke to underdogs, whether you were Asian or not. Even among nonbasketball fans. Like Jeremy, our world changed overnight. You couldn't ask for a better chapter in your documentary." His magical season continued, and afterward, Lin signed a three-year, $25 million contract to go back to the Rockets, where he is compiling a strong year as a starting point guard. "Nobody knew this could happen, including Jeremy himself," says Lu. A new film What started out as a film documenting the life of an Asian-American basketball star in college became a valuable commodity. "Jeremy grew up with the same dreams that any American kid could have," says director Leong, who grew up in San Francisco. "His story is very different (than Yao Ming's, who came from China to become an NBA star). I think his success goes beyond just Asians. Black people, white people, Latinos, Christians, everyone can get with his success because his story is so universal." Niwano says that while the film's main attraction is Lin, another key attraction is the film's director. "With Evan, you trust him," he says. "He shows you all the highs and lows (of Lin's journey so far). You get the feeling that it's honest. He captures him as a struggling human being." What's next? Niwano says the film uses interviews and media clips to capture the reaction to Linsanity, which is a large part of the story. "If you're not a basketball fan, you'll still like it." What's next for "Linsanity?" The filmmakers say they're considering how to distribute the film. It could have a limited release in theaters in places it would do well, like the Bay Area and Houston, for example. There's also likely a big market for it in Asia, where Lu says there is "tons" of interest. "Like any filmmaker, I want as many people as possible to see this," Leong says. "You do the work, so you can share the work. I just hope it gets out there in theaters, TV, everything. It's an incredible story." To summarize : for many people it was all about the fact Jeremy Lin was a asian basketball star at the collegiate level. That he had become successful at the collegiate level. Many people seem to be thinking from the Knicks few months. But there was a dedicated following starting in High School and then College. The filmmakers had bothered Lin for years and years.
And one more thing. A public school doesn't go and beat Mater Dei. Mater Dei is a POWERHOUSE - one of those high schools that is top echelon nationally that is always in the news paper. Especially one of the private catholic schools ~ it just doesnt happen. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mater_Dei_High_School_(Santa_Ana,_California) A public school doesnt just run the gamut and stomp schools left and right and then beat Mater Dei. You don't beat one of the elite Private Schools that parents shell thousands of dollars to train their kids for D1 Collegiate programs. For example a local rival to Mater Dei in socal is Servite - it took them 21 years to win a football game finally. And Servite is another catholic hs. And Jeremy Lin led a public HIGH SCHOOL - from Nerd Valley ( aka silicon valley ) ~ Palo Alto ( where the east side has shootings on the regular ) and the West Side has one of your largest concentrations of law firms in northern california - along with Stanford University - to defeat Mater Dei. Thats Giant Killer status. Epic Legendary ~ "You just beat one of the greatest and oldest sports programs in the country" ~ moments. http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba/2012/11/jeremy-lin-livin-his-dream/ Great article ~ Excerpt Read above link from slamonline.
One more thing that comes to mind ~ if you review what Jeremy Lin was doing at the HS level - you would be able to comprehend why by the time Lin joined Harvard. These guys wanted to film Lin. For them they were late, Lin had already made Stanford University - NONNEWS ~ because of how he was shaking the region and the state. So they were trying to capture this in college. For them they were trying to play catchup - they were late to the scene. For some people on this forum. They aren't putting things into context or truly grasping what Jeremy Lin did at the HS and College level. They don't fully grasp what the situation was in California and then at Harvard and for that sports program as well, as these were understandably not Texas-centric. Quite honestly unless you were Asian American or regionally interested in HS sports & Harvard Sports it was a non-interest from the get-go for most people. He was discounted at every single step of the way so besides those that had a chance to watch him play - no one cared nor bothered to notice.
i like lin, but i hope the maimi three for the game winner is on it so i can here the commentary again.. After he air balled it i throw and broke my iphone on the ground...
i remember that day, i was so dumbfounded at what i had just saw happen on my TV screen. but as others have said, i think its wayy to premature to make a documentary thats basically covering a month of his basketball career. 90% of the documentaries out there are about their whole life pretty much. and how they rose to constant success. If lin would have had a breakout season this past season, i think the movie would be necessary.
Again, as noted in many other comments above, the documentary work started in 2010 and includes footage of his life before then. This documentary was supposed to be about a good Asian-American basketball player and his basketball career, but with a giant cherry on top known as Linsanity at the end.
I lived in SoCal in like 1997-98. It was unbelievable how much press Mater Dei got and how good they were. They had a few rivals, most seemed to be in SoCal. The NoCal (Northern California) equivalent of Mater Dei, to me, would be De La Salle (Concord, CA). A lot of pro athletes have come out of that school, I think, and I know Rick Barry (NBA Hall Of Famer) sent his sons there. I had forgotten that Lin's team beat Mater Dei. Yeah, that's epic. That might be hard to understand for anyone who has not lived in California. Those schools are just gigantic in the minds of people out there. I spent a year in high school in NoCal and you always heard people talk about De La Salle. They were the measuring stick for every other high school athletic program, just as Mater Dei is.
So you are saying that someone who was undrafted, 12th man at the end of the bench, who most improbably helped his team team win and get back into the playoff race after both of it's star players were injured and captured the world's attention for 2 weeks is not a good enough story to make a documentary about? To me, it's a better story than Hoop Dreams or Rudy and I enjoyed both films a lot.
I think the amazing thing is Lin doesn't really suck. Sure, I bag on him for not being a star, but really that's just the Rockets fan in me wanting everyone to overachieve. He's not bad and probably the best PG talent we've had in a long time.
For such a short streak, no i don't think so. I think Danny Green is more deserving of a documentary in that case. Danny green had his streak of amazingness in the playoffs and the finals, not against below average teams (with the exception of 2-3 teams). Not taking anything away from Lin, because he did have a good streak, but at the end of watching that movie i don't think many people can help when reality hits them and they wonder, what happened to him now? It was just pre-mature in my opinion, you can think im hating on lin all you want, i'm just saying if lin gets his own documentary, there are others that are just as much, if not more deserving.
What are you waiting for then? Better get started pitching the media execs about that Danny Green story. Or the others who are just as much, if not more deserving than Lin. Surely Hollywood and TV must be unaware that Green set the new record surpassing Ray Allen for 3's in the 2013 NBA finals.
I already saw Linsanity dude, and no it's nowhere close to hoop dreams. It's good, hoop dreams was better
But but but he's not obsessed with Green ::grin: He sure wrote a long critique on a movie he hasn't watched and totally barked up the wrong tree
how about you just quote me instead of speaking to someone else. Did you have to watch the movie to know which story is better? No. Because everyone already knows the story. i dont care how you put it into a story and make it seem what you want, danny greene was cut from multiple teams and was a bench rider like Lin was, but he played and perofrmed amazingly at a more important time, set NBA records and you don't think it's a better story? You closed minded lin fans are always taking everything as an insult to Lin, its not an insult. It's saying that there are other players deserving of this too, which LOFs probably don't agree on.
There's no scene as dramatic in Linsanty as Arthur Agee seeing his dad buy crack on the playground . The things I like about Linsanity is the personal moments with his family. Those were more interesting than basketball IMO
That was a very dramatic scene. Both of their stories extend past the basketball court and that's what I believe made their stories compelling although in very different ways. Do you know what happened to Arthur Agee and William Gates? I know they never made the NBA.
