Adam Yauch of the Beasties has his own production company to make movies. What people tend to forget is that Adam himself is a Director. He was kinda obsessed with photography as a little kid so he created a dark room in his home and by high school, he was messing with super 8 film. Then came his rap career --- Remember the early videos -- So Watcha Want? The trippy wilderness in slo mo with psychedelic outlines? Think Paul's Boutique. Hearing the Dust Brothers' Shadrach Meshach Abednego track set to the visual landscape of pencil sketches to a live show. These visions were tucked under Yauch's Director cap. You gotta admit, these videos contributed to the act of bottling up these songs in our collective minds.
Flash forward to today. Adam finally finishes his first real doc (note: Awesome, I Fuckin' Shot That was also directed by Adam but that one felt more like a compilation of other peoples live footage). This new one, Gunnin' for That #1 Spot, feels like his first foray into exploring real characters - namely America's top high school basketball players. The game is set in Rucker Park, on the corner of 155th and Frederick Douglas Boulevard in Harlem. It's like a Spellbound meets Hoop Dreams. I'm not even a basketball nut and I got seduced into the footage, music, characters.
Adam described the process of narrowing down his characters -- "I wanted to pick eight players to do profiles of and from those, pick the most interesting five and use five in the documentary, but I actually liked all eight and used all eight in the documentary. The way they were chosen they where actually recommended by the guys that were putting the game together. I wanted diverse bunch, from different kinds of backgrounds, different geographical areas, guys with interesting personalities, guys who were pretty decent backgrounds and I really liked all of them. They chose well for me."
Imagine the score Adam dug up too... some old-school meets new-school -- Staple Singers "Let's Do It Again", House of Pains "Jump Around", Jimmy Smiths "Root Down", Nas' "Made Me Look". It's a swell compilation of music to own after seeing the film.
The New York City streets shots are lovely and reminded me why I love this city with it's gritty landscapes. Homeboy characters like Bobbito (Journalist, DJ, Sneaker Ambassador) giving smart-alec commentary on the courts while spitting out earned nicknames to each newbie. Adam visits each players hometown to interview their families. We meet their mothers, siblings, and buds from the 'hood who keep their budding superstars on the "straight and narrow" -- that means staying out of trouble, keeping them humble, and evading girls as "distractions"... the odds of making it pro is like passing through the eye of a needle.... I believe the doc claimed it was 01%. Nevertheless, its the American Dream come to life.
All this knowledge culminates into the infamous game -- the same court Wilt Chamberlain and Dr. J showed their chops. This film will age nicely and be a fitting time-capsule for some NBA stars. The movie poster image says it all -- 24 top high-schoolers in the US. The pressure is majestically on. Watch the film... and props to Yauch. We hope to see more projects from his banner.
by lajauretsi saizarbitoria
TRAILER: http://www.gunninmovie.com/
DVD released October 21, 2008.
