-11%
In stock

High Flying Bird Dvd

A sports agent pitches a controversial business opportunity to a rookie basketball player during a lockout.

250.00

Categories: , ,

High Flying Bird is a 2019 American sports drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh, from a story suggested by André Holland, with the screenplay by Tarell Alvin McCraney. The film stars Holland, Zazie Beetz, Melvin Gregg, Sonja Sohn, Zachary Quinto, Glenn Fleshler, Jeryl Prescott, Justin Hurtt-Dunkley, Caleb McLaughlin, Bobbi Bordley, Kyle MacLachlan and Bill Duke, with additional appearances of basketball players Reggie Jackson, Karl-Anthony Towns and Donovan Mitchell. The film follows a sports agent who must pull off a plan in 72 hours, pitching a controversial opportunity to his client, a rookie basketball player during the company’s lockout. The film was shot entirely on the iPhone 8, becoming Soderbergh’s second film to be shot on an iPhone, after Unsane.

The film had its world premiere at the Slamdance Film Festival on January 27, 2019, and was released on February 8, 2019, by Netflix. The film received positive reviews from critics, which praised its performances, Soderbergh’s direction, themes, editing, shooting style and screenplay.

Plot

Throughout the film, NBA players Reggie Jackson, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Donovan Mitchell appear through different talking heads, where they are being interviewed individually about their experiences as rookies joining the big league.

Ray Burke is an agent working in a New York sports agency, which is in the middle of a lockout. After his credit card is declined while at an upscale restaurant, his boss David Starr tells him that the company is losing clients, the bank accounts and credit cards of the employees are frozen, and that he could be fired along with other employees. This forces Ray to look for a plan that could save the company from the lockout, as well as give his client, Erick Scott, a new opportunity. He recruits the help of his former assistant, Sam.

The following day, Ray visits newly drafted Jamero Umber’s mother, Emera, with an offer. She refuses and reaffirms that she is the only agent and lawyer that her son needs. Ray’s former wife, Myra, tells him that the company is in a lockout and they will need to renegotiate new terms; however, they will need to wait a month to settle, as the team owners are at a standstill with the TV networks over millions of dollars. Ray asks her to cancel the deal, convinced that the players won’t be paid well during the lockout, which could last six months. Meanwhile, future teammates Erick Scott and Jamero Umber have an argument on Twitter, heavily publicized by media outlets.

Ray heads to Back Court Day, an annual event at a community center which holds a basketball camp for local kids and features appearances by star athletes. While Erick is signing autographs and answering questions from the kids, Jamero shows up with his mother in tow. Erick and Jamero confront each other about their Twitter argument; tensions rise as they trade insults. They end up playing a one-on-one basketball game, which is recorded by the kids on their phones. A video is posted on social media and goes viral, garnering 24 million views. Ray gets the idea to stream games on streaming services and social media sites like Snapchat, YouTube, and Netflix, thus enabling the players to make money during the lockout. Erick is not convinced and feels he could put his place in the NBA at risk. Nevertheless, he accepts.

The next day Sam meets with Ray to discuss their careers going forward. Sam mentions to Ray that Erick might fire him, as he’s looking to “move laterally” within the company. Erick fires Ray for lying to him about the fact that everything was for money. However, Ray’s plan succeeds and the players who signed with the company remained signed, meaning that Erick was never in danger and will be able to play in the league once the lockout is over. Ray reveals to Starr that the entire plan to take players to pay-per-view/streaming platforms was all a ruse to force the end of the lockout. It is implied that through his actions, Ray has taken over Starr’s job. Sam goes to work for the Players’ Association as she and Erick begin a relationship. Sam opens the package Ray gave Erick earlier, which he called a “Bible”. The package contains Harry Edwards’ book The Revolt of the Black Athlete, and Sam begins to read it. Ray is shown entering a meeting with Edwards. After Erick asks about the book, Sam replies: “You need to read this”.

Cast

André Holland as Ray Burke
Zazie Beetz as Sam
Melvin Gregg as Erick Scott
Sonja Sohn as Myra
Zachary Quinto as David Starr
Kyle MacLachlan as David Seton
Bill Duke as Spencer
Jeryl Prescott as Emera Umber
Caleb McLaughlin as Darius
Glenn Fleshler as Intimidating Seton Colleague
Justin Hurtt-Dunkley as Jamero Umber
Bobbi Bordley as Freddy
Additionally, Skip Bayless, Shannon Sharpe, Joy Taylor, Evan Rosenblum, Van Lathan, and Kristina Pink, appear as themselves. Basketball players Reggie Jackson, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Donovan Mitchell make appearances as themselves in individual interview scenes.

Reviews

There are no reviews yet.

Be the first to review “High Flying Bird Dvd”

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *