Adam Sandler, The Hustle Team Collaborates With Producer LeBron James And Actors Of NBA Players

Basketball star Adam Sandler takes his love of the game to the next level with his appearance in the Netflix sports drama. bump Like a failed NBA scout who risks an unusual player who is playing street ball.

Not only did Sandler play a member of the Philadelphia 76ers franchise, but he was also surrounded by real NBA players, including star Juancho Hernangomes and LeBron James, who produced the film through his company SpringHill.

James’ company had a script, Sandler said. the hollywood reporter The film opened in Los Angeles on Wednesday and he gave it to the star because “everyone knew I liked Hoop. I heard the premise, read the script, and thought, “Yeah, man, that sounds like something I’d be happy to do.”

James, who in addition to being a basketball star, delves into television and film projects, “helped us a lot with the NBA where we needed it; “Any player we find, LeBron will make sure everything runs smoothly,” Sandler, who is also the project’s producer, said of their collaboration.

Queen Latifah, who plays Sandler as his athletic ex-wife, said she was immediately drawn to Sandler’s involvement in the project and instead sees a comic icon struggling with heavier material: “I like the fact that I can show his different sides. “And also getting flexibility in different muscles,” he said.

Aside from the two acting heavyweights, the rest of the roster is mostly made up of real NBA players and first-time actors, though Latifa said it wasn’t as difficult as it could have been. “They were used to being in front of the camera, so I think it’s just a shift from basketball thinking to being in front of the camera and pretending to do what they normally do,” he said.

Hernangomes, a professional player from Spain who currently plays for the Utah Jazz, was one of the new actors to portray the inner phenomenon that Sandler discovers and coaches in the NBA. The athlete never wanted to be an actor, but when the league closed in the middle of a pandemic, he recorded some audio tapes to have fun with the brothers. Two years later, it shrunk, Hernangomes said, and “I don’t know what they see in me, I don’t know how, but we finally made the movie.”

As much of the film is devoted to one of the scenes between Sandler and Hernangomes, a close relationship has developed between them, which the basketball player says is like family.

“I think he looks like my father and to him I am his eldest daughter. “It was a sensation from day one, we loved each other very much and spent a lot of time together,” said Hernangomes. “When I see his eyes and I have to say goodbye [in the movie]I say ‘I love you’ and it’s a real feeling, it’s not acting.”

After playing on the court against James, Hernangomes established a close collaboration with the film’s star.

“He came up to me to play and said, ‘Hey, congratulations, you made a great movie.’ I asked him three times if I could autograph his shirt, but he never sent it to me. “I’ll ask him again today.” He wasn’t the only one to admire the Lakers star, as hundreds of fans cheered him on at the Westwood event, while star Heidi Gardner tearfully waited to see James after missing the set.

“I’m going to die,” Gardner chuckled on the rug. “I promised my makeup artist that if he was here I wouldn’t cry, but if he was here I would cry.”

Inside the show, Sandler took the stage and said, “The fact that I was able to make a movie with all these guys that I’m so excited about was something important to me that I’ll never forget,” emphasizing the hard work. And it takes time for a professional athlete. He also said: “I got very close to Juancho and we did a lot of scenes; he’s a better actor than I am and it pisses me off”, before thanking James and saying, “Queen Latifa, it’s special to marry you”.

bump Streaming on Netflix will begin on June 8.