Monday, April 27, 2009

Kobe Being Kobe


Page 6/NY Post reported that Kobe nearly killed the Spike Lee documentary at the very last minute to gain complete creative control. I expect the Lee documentary to play more like a Kobe Bryant commercial, than a serious look at one of the most famous athletes in the world.

But suddenly Bryant said he wouldn't cooperate unless he was granted creative control, sources said. Lee tried several times to call Bryant, who wouldn't accept his calls. So Lee, at the suggestion of ESPN broadcaster Stephen A. Smith, drove to Bryant's house in a gated community, where Bryant refused to see him, sources said.

"It went so far that Lee had a last-minute plan to substitute Spurs star Tim Duncan for Kobe and make the whole documentary about Duncan," said our source.

But Kobe and Spike somehow worked it out, and Lee is being a good soldier promoting the Kobe picture, which screened Saturday night at the Tribeca Film Festival.

"Spike Lee completely yielded," said one insider. "And at the start of the film, when Kobe arrives at the Staples Center and sees Spike with the camera, he gives him a big smile and thumbs up, showing he knows he won the battle."

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