At the height of Linsanity, there was a lot of talk about how the Jeremy Lin story had the makings of a really great movie. Who would play him? What would it look like? I have no idea, but in the meantime, there is an actual Jeremy Lin documentary in the works -- and it's actually been in the works for a while: Linsanity The Movie? Jeremy Lin gets documentary treatment.
According to the Los Angeles Times, a Jeremy Lin documentary is currently being pitched to distributors in Hollywood by CAA. Details have been under wraps until things solidify, but the film will be about Jeremy's background, his burgeoning basketball career, and of course, that crazy unlikely run that we all excitedly experienced together -- Linsanity:
According to a person familiar with the pitch who was not authorized to talk about it publicly, the movie (no firm title yet, so let your pun-riddled imagination run wild) looks both at Lin's unlikely run in the NBA as well at his humble background. Los Angeles-born and Palo-Alto raised, Lin shone at Harvard after being passed over by recruiters at college powerhouses, then bounced around pro basketball as an undrafted free agent before landing with the Knicks. The movie will also include elements of his Christian faith.I know this has been in the works for a while. I think I first heard about this project back when Jeremy was playing with the Golden State Warriors, though I wasn't sure how far they'd gotten with it. But I imagine this means they've had some pretty good access to Jeremy and have been in a really great place to chronicle his crazy recent rise to fame with Knicks. I do love that Linsanity, and I'm looking forward to seeing this.
The Lin doc is being directed by Evan Jackson Leong, Lin’s friend and a filmmaker in his own right. A former assistant to “Fast and Furious” franchise director Justin Lin (no relation), Leong previously directed a documentary about Christianity in Asia titled "1040" and also has been shooting Lin for years. (A message left at Leong's production company was not returned Wednesday afternoon.) The film will be produced by 408 Films and Endgame Entertainment, which previously produced the Oscar favorite "An Education" and the documentary "Every Little Step;" it's currently working on a documentary series about American sports for HBO.
