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On the wonderful and ridiculous ride of feature film pre-production, the initial cast table read can often be a white-knuckle experience, waiting to see if the script sings with the actors cast — do they have chemistry together and do the Magic 8 Ball signs point to “Yes” or “Try again later”? For us, the core team on Shooting Stars, our first table read was no different.

In 2009, I read an article in Vanity Fair titled, “LeBron James’ Band of Brothers” and I became somewhat obsessed with the story of him and his best friends growing up in Akron, Ohio. And thanks to amazing partners along the way, a ton of luck and my shitty ability to reconcile art and commerce (a.k.a. stubbornness), 13 years later, we were making the movie.

I remember sitting in the conference room in our production offices, which were halfway between Cleveland and Akron. Chris Robinson,...

Shooting Stars captures LeBron James' inspirational journey from high school to NBA stardom through his Fab Five teammates. Dru Joyce III pursued a professional basketball career in Europe after playing alongside LeBron at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. Romeo Travis excelled overseas with over 19 teams in Europe and Asia, winning various accolades in league play.

The LeBron James biopic Shooting Stars depicts the life of the basketball phenom before his rise to NBA stardom and also features Dru Joyce III, Sian Cotton, Romeo Travis, and Willie McGee's basketball aspirations. The new movie documents LeBron's experience as a young adult with his high school basketball team at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio, based on a 2009 autobiography of the same name written by James and Buzz Bissinger, author of Friday Night Lights.

The film portrays the real-life story of how LeBron and his four greatest teammates, called "the Fab Five,...

Honestly, I was not too enthusiastic about this assignment. There has been a surge of basketball-centric movies these days (not counting Ben Affleck’s masterful Air), and after covering two of those over the span of three weeks, I was sort of worn out. If you are wondering, I am talking about the Sweetwater biopic and the latest White Men Can’t Jump remake here, both of which I found underwhelming. Naturally, a LeBron James movie didn’t seem like a good bet under the circumstances. But after watching Shooting Stars, I have to say that I got third time lucky with this sub-genre.

Even if you are completely oblivious to anything regarding the sport of basketball, unless you are living under a rock, the name LeBron James should sound familiar. Regarded as one of the modern-day basketball legends, James is not just a sportsman; he is a hugely popular brand.

Chicago – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on Wbgr-fm on June 1st, reviewing “Shooting Stars,” telling the phenomenal origins of LeBron James and his childhood high school team. Streaming on Peacock beginning June 2nd.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

It was group of four lower middle class boys from Akron, Ohio, who came together in a Salvation Army basketball league, coached by Dru Joyce (Wood Harris) and later as teenagers coached in part by Keith Dambrot (Dermot Mulroney) at the local Catholic School. The team consisted of the core Little Dru Joyce (Caleb McLaughlin), Willie McGee (Avery S. Wills Jr.), Sian Cotton (Khalil Everage) and LeBron James, and became the Fab Five with the addition of Romeo Travis (Sterling Henderson). As a unit, there were one of the greatest high school basketball teams in history, with state championships, national championships, a number one nationwide rating and a future NBA Superstar.

The real-life characters profiled in the much-anticipated cinematic tribute to basketball legend LeBron James, Shooting Stars, are portrayed by a talented cast of actors. The film takes audiences on an exhilarating journey through the formative years of the iconic athlete's career. Set against the backdrop of Akron, Ohio, this movie delves deep into James' time at St. Vincent-St. Mary's High School, where he showcased his talent and led his team to several championships. With a talented cast and an inspiring storyline, Shooting Stars offers fans a chance to experience the moments that shaped LeBron James' journey from a talented high school player to the number one draft pick in the 2003 NBA Draft.

At the heart of this cinematic spectacle are the vivid portrayals of LeBron James and his close-knit group of teammates: Lil Dru Joyce, Willie McGee, Romeo Travis, and Sian Cotton. Each character represents a unique blend of talent,...

Practically since his career began, LeBron James has been not merely a great basketball player but a media industry generating a seemingly endless array of products.

The latest example is this new Peacock original film based on his 2009 memoir co-written with Buzz Bissinger (Friday Night Lights), recounting the story of his early years and friendship with his high school teammates known as the “Fab Four,” later expanded to become the “Fab Five.” The story was already told in the 2008 documentary More Than a Game, but that won’t stop the Goat’s fans from wanting to see this lovingly rendered adaptation that covers all the early career highlights, albeit sometimes in sanitized form.

The story begins with James (Marquis “Mookie” Cook, a top-ranked amateur basketball player making an impressive screen debut) playing in a youth league in Akron, Ohio, along with his three best friends: Lil Dru (Caleb McLaughlin, Stranger...

Chicago – On Friday, June 2nd, the new film “Shooting Stars” will begin streaming on the Peacock Network. It is the story of the launch of “King” LeBron James through the “Fab Five” high school crew of the Akron, Ohio, St. Vincent-St. Mary’s team, one of the greatest in Ohio basketball history.

This is the story of LeBron’s team, a group of four lower middle class boys from Akron, Ohio, who came together as a team in Salvation Army league basketball, coached by Dru Joyce (Wood Harris) who grew to also be coached by Keith Dambrot (Dermot Mulroney) at the local Catholic School. The team consisted of the core Little Dru Joyce (Caleb McLaughlin), Willie McGee (Avery S. Wills Jr.), Sian Cotton (Khalil Average) and LeBron James, and became the Fab Five with the addition of Romeo Travis (Sterling Henderson). As a unit, there were one of the greatest...

NBA legend LeBron James’ coming-of-age story was so instrumental to his success, he co-wrote a book about it. Director Chris Robinson now spins the tale into a biopic, Shooting Stars, exploring how James went from a soft-spoken kid with big dreams to a high-school basketball phenom on Sports Illustrated’s cover (headline: “The Chosen One”). (Credit: Oluwaseye Olusa/Universal Pictures) Through the whirlwind, four Akron, Ohio, friends and teammates stand by James. They dub themselves the Fab Five, and while the African American teens feel like fish out of water at a mostly white Catholic school, the unified, determined team of dunkers clutches three state titles. Cast as LeBron, five-star prospect Marquis “Mookie” Cook, 18, had no acting chops but had played on a travel team with James’ son Bronny and glimpsed the pro player in unguarded moments. “We’re all humans,” Cook says. “He talks like us, laughs like us.

It’s not how you start the game. It’s how you finish. Peacock is taking it to the hoop today with the Shooting Stars trailer, depicting LeBron James‘s meteoric rise from the high school basketball court to becoming one of the greatest players ever to play the game. Shooting Stars is based on the book by LeBron James and the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Friday Night Lights, Buzz Bissinger. According to today’s official press release, Shooting Stars “is the inspiring origin story of a basketball superhero, revealing how LeBron James and his childhood friends become the #1 high school team in the country, launching James’s breathtaking career as a four-time NBA Champion, two-time Olympic Gold Medalist and the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.”

Here’s the official synopsis:

In the 1990s, a young LeBron James and his three best friends — Lil Dru, Willie McGee, and Sian Cotton—called themselves the “Fab Four,...

Peacock and Universal Pictures have dropped the trailer for Shooting Stars, a new film telling the origin story of LeBron James. Taking inspiration from the book by James and Friday Night Lights author Buzz Bissinger, the film tells the true-life story of James and his childhood friends becoming the top high school basketball team in the United States, the start of a journey that would end up with multiple NBA championships and even Olympic gold medals. The film will release on June 2, and you can get a sneak peek by checking out the trailer below.

Emmy nominee Chris Robinson directs the film using a screenplay by Frank E. Flowers (Metro Manila) and Tony Rettenmaier (Space Jam: A New Legacy) & Juel Taylor (Creed III). It is produced by James, Oscar nominee Rachel Winter (Dallas Buyers Club), Spencer Beighley (Hustle), Maverick Carter (Space Jam: A New Legacy), Jamal Henderson (The Shop), and...

Peacock’s first teaser trailer for Shooting Stars features NBA superstar LeBron James looking back with fondness on his formative years in high school. Based on the book by James and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Buzz Bissinger (Friday Night Lights), the film explores LeBron’s friendship with four talented high school players and how they rose from obscurity to become national champs.

Marquis “Mookie” Cook stars as a young LeBron, Caleb McLaughlin is Lil Dru Joyce III, Avery S. Wills, Jr. is Willie McGee, and Khalil Everage plays Sian Cotton. Wood Harris plays Coach Dru Joyce II, Sterling “Scoot” Henderson is Romeo Travis, and Dermot Mulroney stars as Keith Dambrot.

Chris Robinson directed and Frank E. Flowers (Metro Manila), Tony Rettenmaier (Space Jam: A New Legacy), and Juel Taylor (Creed II) adapted James and Bissinger’s book. LeBron James, Maverick Carter, Rachel Winter, Spencer Beighley, Jamal Henderson, and Terence Winter served as producers,...

[[tmz:video id="0_sb4pyp0o"]] LeBron James(briefly) stole the show at a youth basketball tournament this weekend ... throwing down a 2-handed slam to remind everyone in attendance why he's called the King. It all went down at the Dru Joyce Shooting Stars Classic in Akron ... where hundreds of the most talented kids in the country -- including Lbj's own boys -- compete in a huge tournament. Bron showed the youngins how to really rock the rim ... and quickly left...

Universal is close to a deal on a movie pitch dramatizing the 2009 documentary More Than A Game – the story of the early days of NBA superstar, LeBron James – with the player and his manager, Maverick Carter, on board as producers.

The documentary was written and directed by Kristopher Belman, with Brad Hogan as co-writer, and was well-received at the time of its release. It centres on LeBron James and four of his teammates – Dru Joyce III, Romeo Travis, Sian Cotton and Willie McGee – progressing though Ohio High School basketball, under Coach Dru Joyce II. Tracking those early careers, the film then depicts the eventual rise of James to international stardom.

Hollywood loves a good ‘work-hard-and-succeed’ inspirational tale, and they don’t come more inspirational than LeBron James. Born to a hard-working, teenage, single mother, but supported by leading figures in the local sports scene, he bonded with his teammates and...

In his defining NBA season, the Miami Heat superstar keeps missing game-winning shots and failing to step up as a team leader. A lifetime of being idolized has made LeBron James psychologically soft, writes Buzz Bissinger.

The biggest problem facing LeBron James isn't whether or not he cried in the Miami Heat's loss Sunday to the Chicago Bulls after missing a game-winning layup. It isn't that the supposedly seamless mesh between James and Dwyane Wade has become a confusing mush in which the only solution may be to let the Heat play offense with two balls so both can shoot whenever they want. It isn't the fact that the Heat are shooting 1-for-18 in the final 10 seconds to win or tie a game.

Related story on The Daily Beast: LeBron James Is the Emperor Without Clothes

James' problem is far more overreaching than all of that.

For the first time...

Everyone has heard of Hoop Dreams, the film that more or less set the standard for sports documentaries. Like that film and countless other documentaries have proven, the key to a good doc is a healthy dose of realism and theatricality, making the mundane take on greater stakes, even for a brief moment. Thus, the director with a cinematic eye has become a valuable tool in the documentary world, capable of making handsome products that only sometimes err on the side of fiction.

More Than A Game must have truly been a passion project for Kristopher Belman, who pulls quadruple duty as director, producer, co-writer, and cinematographer. He certainly does set out to tell a true story but charts it as a series of recurring motifs, flashbacks if you will, intercut with talking head interviews. Despite covering a tired subject, Belman attempts and sometimes succeeds in uncovering new insight and...

"More Than a Game" is currently available on DVD.

The basketball documentary was released on February 2 through Lions Gate Entertainment. The story of one of the most phenomenal hoops sensations to recently hit the court comes complete with special features in its home format for additional audience enjoyment.

The film focuses on Cleveland Cavaliers prodigy LeBron James and his early journey toward fame with the rest of his high school b-ball team, nicknamed in their entirety as the Akron Fab Five. During his childhood, James grew up on the court, teamed with friends Sian Cotton, Dru Joyce III and Willie McGee. The foursome were joined by Romeo Travis in high school, and with coaching duties performed by Dru Joyce II, the team grew to be one of the most noteworthy in the history of Ohio sports.

The film was a critical success, garnering praise from sources such as Vibe.com,...

Chicago – Some documentaries tell stories that are so suspenseful and crowd-pleasing that one would swear they were written by Hollywood screenwriters. The extraordinary series of events chronicled in “More Than a Game” has a trajectory and formula straight out of a classic “rags to riches” sports picture. Let’s hope Sandra Bullock doesn’t star in the remake.

Director Kristopher Belman sensed cinematic potential in the story of his hometown basketball team, the Fighting Irish of St. Vincent-St. Mary high school in Akron, Ohio, and began filming them in 2002. Four of the players (aka “The Fab Four”) had been friends since childhood: small yet swift Dru Joyce III, imposingly large Sian Cotton, remarkably skilled Willie McGee, and future NBA superstar LeBron James. Belman’s instinct and luck were impeccable, and the footage he captured was arrestingly candid. His resulting film, however, is a touch too slick for its own good.

Chicago – “More Than a Game” has to be one of the luckiest documentaries ever made. Director Kristopher Belman began taping a some freshman high school basketball players in 1998. One of those players was future NBA superstar LeBron James.

Belman picked this particular group of b-ballers for a three reasons: One, they were from his hometown of Akron, Ohio. Two, he needed a college documentary project. And finally, the core group of players (which included Lebron James) had been together as teammates since the sixth grade. Belman took notice of them as high schoolers, right after they had lost the national Aau championship as eighth graders.

So began a journey that documents these “fab five” hoopsters from children to men in a scant four years. During that time the team’s nucleus – Willie McGee, Romeo Travis, Dru Joyce III, Sian Cotton, LeBron James and Coach Dru Joyce II – would accumulate a mind-blowing 103 wins,...

It’s that time of year. The lists come out, people check to see if their favorite films are on the list, then complain when they’re left off. Moaning also comes when one film is placed too low or too high, and the writer is told he knows nothing of cinema. As should be the preface when reading any review, this is just an opinion and should be treated as such. Unless you didn’t like Avatar. Then you need to have your cinema-going privileges revoked. Kidding…or not?

But back to 2009, which here ranked as one of the better years in film for the decade. From my own personal standpoint, I consider this list to be a nice mix of mainstream and independent film, but that’s up to you, the reader to decide. You can tell me how wrong and stupid I am after I present the...

Quickcard Review

More than a Game

Directed by: Kristopher Belman

Cast: Lebron James, Dru Joyce II, Dru Joyce III

Running Time: 1 hr 45 min

Rating: PG

Release Date: October 2, 2009

Plot: A documentary about five young men, including Lebron James, who play ball together from junior high through high school, in the process becoming National Champions.

Who’S It For? You don’t have to be a fan of basketball, you just have to have a heart.

Overall

Billed as a story about Lebron James high school basketball career, More than a Game is really the story of James and four other young men who grew up together in Akron, Ohio and become basketball stars as teenagers. Led by Dru Joyce II, the father of one of their teammates, the boys start playing basketball in about 5th grade and proceed to grow with one another, as both players and human beings. When they’re in 8th grade,...

More Than A Game hit me a on a personal level. No, I didn’t spew hate all over it because it involves a Cleveland team nor did I walk out of the theater cursing Kristopher Belman for being a Clowns fan or supporting LeBron James. No, his film impacted me in the sense that I have been there and seen what basketball players go through thanks to the adventures of my father’s days as a basketball coach (he still coaches, so the adventure is far from over.)

It likely won’t have the same impact on other movie-goers, but the themes of brotherhood, family, and pursing your dreams should touch anyone. Belman’s crafted a film that uses basketball as a means to show all of these themes, and doesn’t require knowledge of the game to enjoy it. He also wisely chooses not to keep the focus...

Incredible high school game footage of LeBron James may lead one to believe that the Cleveland Cavaliers star and current NBA Most Valuable Player is the marquee hero of director Kristopher Belman's rousing documentary “More Than A Game.” The realization that someone in the film actually towers above LeBron is a welcome surprise. “More Than A Game,” as much a film about teenage friendship and the need for role models as a high school championship season tale, finds a hero worth celebrating in Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary Varsity Basketball Coach Dru Joyce II. Coach Dru heads the bare-bones club team Northeast Ohio Shooting Star in order to help his speedy but short son Dru "Little Dru" Joyce III play basketball. He overcomes limited resources, its worn linoleum- floored Salvation Army gym, racial tensions and the fact that many of his key players have stressful home lives and makes them on-court champions.

Chicago – In our latest edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 15 prize packs up for grabs to the new documentary “More Than a Game” with LeBron James!

Each prize pack includes a T-shirt, poster for the film, CD soundtrack and sweatband. Along with LeBron James, “More Than a Game” also features Dru Joyce, Romeo Travis, Sian Cotton and Willie McGee from writer and director Kristopher Belman.

To win your free “More Than a Game” prize pack courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, all you need to do is tell us about your most important mentor in this Web-based submission form. That’s it! “More Than a Game” opens in Chicago on Oct. 16, 2009. Directions to enter this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup and immediately win can be found beneath the graphic below.

The movie poster for “More Than a Game” with LeBron James.

Image credit: Lionsgate

Here is the plot description for “More Than a Game...

They call him King James these days, and he's one of the NBA's biggest and brightest stars, but once upon a time LeBron James was an uncommonly talented kid from Akron, Ohio, whose rise to royalty started with the support of a bunch of friends/teammates and a life-changing coach. More than a Game, a new documentary now open in limited release, follows their story over the course of nine years and reveals how James never left behind his friends, coach -- or the hard lessons he learned about friendship, family and teamwork -- on the way to the top. PopStar was on hand when James, Coach Dru Joyce, teammates Sian Cotton, Dru Joyce III, Willie McGee, and Romeo Travis, as well as director Kristopher Belman, met the media during a press conference at a New York City hotel. Following are excerpts from James' part of the conversation. LeBron, Kris...

Dru Joyce III. Romeo Travis. Sian Cotton. Willie McGee. LeBron James. Which one of these does not sound like the others? Well, only one of them is a household name, as the star forward of the Cleveland Cavaliers, who made history by leaping from high school notoriety straight into NBA stardom. But all five young men were stars on what some call the greatest high school basketball team of all time. Three out of the four years this quintet was together, their Catholic school (St Vincent-St. Mary High School) won the Ohio state championship (capped off in their senior year with a national championship title). More Than a Game, the new documentary from first-time director Kristopher Belman, tells the story of this band of brothers, known in Akron as the Fab Five. Each of their stories is intimately told, woven together from the perspective of someone who has come to...

See new TV spots from Lionsgate's documentary "More Than a Game," directed by Krisopher Belman. The film includes LeBron James, Sian Cotton, Dru Joyce III, Willie McGee, Romeo Travis and Coach Dru Joyce II. In theatres on October 2nd. Five talented young basketball players from Akron, Ohio star in this remarkable true-life coming of age story about uncommon friendship in the face all too common adversities. Coached by a charismatic but inexperienced player’s father, and led by future NBA superstar LeBron James...

Event doubled as an album-release party for documentary's soundtrack, which features Drake, Lil Wayne, Eminem and Kanye West collabo.

By Jayson Rodriguez, with additional reporting by Kyle Anderson

LeBron James attends the "Music Inspired By The Film More Than A Game" album-release party

Photo: Jim Spellman/ WireImage

New York — Whether it's basketball arenas or movie theaters, LeBron James knows how to pack a house.

The reigning NBA Mvp and Nike pitchman hosted a Manhattan screening on Tuesday night at the School of Visual Arts for his upcoming documentary "More Than a Game," directed by newcomer Kristopher Belman. James, former Roc-a-Fella rapper Neef Buck and Espn writer Chris Broussard were among the many in attendance that were buzzing to watch the film, which is set to be released October 2 in theaters. The doc features the story of James and his childhood friends — through first-person accounts and vintage video — as they transform...

'He not only helped us in basketball but helped is in life in general,' James says of his high school coach, Dru Joyce.

By Kyle Anderson

LeBron James

Photo: Julien Hekimian/ Getty Images

LeBron James is used to having cameras in his face. It sort of comes with the territory when you're the face of the National Basketball Association, a spokesman for Nike and now the star of "More Than a Game," the documentary about James' high school hoops team — but he wasn't always comfortable with the bright lights and the film rolling. So when director Kristopher Belman first showed up in James' high school gymnasium, he did not embrace him right away.

"When he first came in, we were kind of skeptical because we had already seen so much media coverage and so much had gone on that we were like, 'Not another camera,' " James told MTV...

Here is the trailer for Lionsgate and Harvey Mason Media film More Than A Game opening in theaters October 2. The documentary is directed by Kristopher Belman. The film features LeBron James, Sian Cotton, Dru Joyce III, Willie McGee, Romeo Travis and Coach Dru Joyce II. Five talented young basketball players from Akron, Ohio star in this remarkable true-life coming of age story about uncommon friendship in the face all too common adversities. Coached by a charismatic but inexperienced player’s father, and led by future NBA superstar LeBron James, the “Fab Five’s” improbable seven-year journey leads them from [...]...

Another soundtrack from LeBron James' documentary "More Than a Game" has got a music video. Titled "Drop It Low", the song is sung by Ester Dean and has Chris Brown's vocal on the hook. As for its supporting video, it sees the likes of Nelly, Keri Hilson and Soulja Boy making cameos in addition to Chris.

"More Than a Game" does not have only one Chris Brown-featuring song but two. In addition to collaborating with Ester Dean, he also teams up with Mary J. Blige on a track titled "Stronger". Another theme song for this film comes from a heavy collaboration called "Forever" among Drake, Lil Wayne, Eminem and Kanye West.

"More Than a Game" is expected to come out in selected U.S. theaters on October 2. It follows NBA superstar LeBron James and four of his talented teammates through the trials and tribulations of high school basketball in Ohio.

Another version of music video promoting "Stronger", Mary J. Blige's single which serves as a theme song for documentary movie "More Than a Game", has been debuted. While the previous one only features footage from the film and excludes Mary's performance, this new video has her appearance intercepted in between the flick's clips.

Beside being featured in "More Than a Game", "Stronger" will also be included in Mary J. Blige's forthcoming studio effort of the same name "Stronger" which will arrive in U.S. stores on November 24. This track has Mary joining forces with Chris Brown on the hook.

As for "More Than a Game", the movie is expected to come out in selected U.S. theaters on October 2. It follows NBA superstar LeBron James and four of his talented teammates through the trials and tribulations of high school basketball in Ohio. It is also supported by Dru Joyce,...

AFI-Discovery Channel Silvercos Festival will open with Kristopher Belman's "More Than a Game" on June 15 at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in the Washington, D.C., area. It closes June 20 with Dana Flor and Toby Oppenheimer's "The Nine Lives of Marion Barry."

"Game" follows the incredible rise of five talented young basketball players from Akron, Ohio, led by future NBA superstar LeBron James and coached one of the player's father, Dru Joyce III. Belman and players Willie McGee and Romeo Travis will be in attendance, and schedule permitting, James may attend.

"Barry," an HBO Documentary film, looks at the former mayor of Washington who is scheduled to attend along with the filmmakers.

The trailer for the upcoming LeBron James documentary "More Than a Game" has appeared online. The film, which premiered at last year's Toronto Film Festival is set to appear in theaters on October 2nd, in limited release. Plot: "More Than A Game" follows NBA phenom LeBron James and his four starting teammates (Dru Joyce, Romeo Travis, Sian Cotton and Willie McGee) back when they were part of the up-and-coming St. Vincent-St. Mary High School varsity basketball team -- and how each overcame his own adversaries in order to win ball games and remain on top. A feel-good story about friendship, loyalty and what it takes to become a true champion, More Than A Game also gives us a closer-than-ever look inside the historic rise of future NBA legend LeBron James. Click here to read more about "More Than a Game."...

Let’s face it, if you don’t know that the NBA playoffs are about to begin tomorrow, then you just aren’t a sports fan. In which case, you probably won’t be lining up to see Kristopher Belman’s “More Than a Game”, his documentary on Cleveland Cavaliers manking LeBron James. The doc chronicles the king of the court from his days as a high school basketball star to his current reign as the NBA’s biggest superstar. But it’s not all about James, it’s also about the four guys (Dru Joyce, Romeo Travis , Sian Cotton, and Willie McGee) who came up the high school ranks with him, but have since faded into the shadows as James’ spotlight grew. Five talented young basketball players from Akron, Ohio star in this remarkable true-life coming of age story about friendship and loyalty in the face of great adversity.

You could tell early on that LeBron James was going to be a freak. I mean, I don't ever remember seeing another nationally televised regular season high school basketball game before he was a senior. But filmmaker Kristopher Belman was lucky enough to be a witness even earlier than that. He began chronicling a team of Ohio grade school students who all played under coach Dru Joyce all the way through high school, and one of those kids is a few weeks away from winning Mvp in the NBA.

The documentary, More Than a Game, is interesting on several levels; there's the LeBron connection, there's the fact that Belman had the dedication to make the same movie for nearly ten years, and there's the story of Joyce, a coach who left corporate America to answer a more substantial calling in his life. Check out the first poster for More Than...

Thanks to Cinematical, we now have the official poster for "More Than a Game," which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last year. It is directed by Krisopher Belman and is now scheduled to hit theaters on October 2nd, in limited release. Check out the poster below. Plot: "More Than A Game" follows NBA phenom LeBron James and his four starting teammates (Dru Joyce, Romeo Travis, Sian Cotton and Willie McGee) back when they were part of the up-and-coming St. Vincent-St. Mary High School varsity basketball team -- and how each overcame his own adversaries in order to win ball games and remain on top. A feel-good story about friendship, loyalty and what it takes to become a true champion, More Than A Game also gives us a closer-than-ever look inside the historic rise of future NBA legend LeBron James. Poster: (click to enlarge)...

Cinematical has just received this exclusive poster for More Than A Game (click image below to enlarge), which instantly became a fan favorite when it premiered back at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall. Directed by Kristopher Belman, More Than A Game follows NBA phenom LeBron James and his four starting teammates (Dru Joyce, Romeo Travis, Sian Cotton and Willie McGee) back when they were part of the up-and-coming St. Vincent-St. Mary High School varsity basketball team -- and how each overcame his own adversaries in order to win ball games and remain on top. A feel-good story about friendship, loyalty and what it takes to become a true champion, More Than A Game also gives us a closer-than-ever look inside the historic rise of future NBA legend LeBron James. Basketball fans, this one is definitely for you.

More Than A Game will hit theaters on October 2. Check out...