Big buzz ‘accidentally’ builds on documentary Finding Big Country
The irony isn’t lost on Kat Jayme.
A picture of a prop for her film, a documentary about a player a city has mostly forgotten, was one of the most viral social media trends in the local Twittersphere this summer.
And the best thing is, the prop — a bunch of fake missing person photos plastered to a wall in Mount Pleasant — weren’t even a clever marketing ploy.
“That was an accident — a complete accident,” said Jayme, who’s spent the past three years working on Finding Big Country, a documentary about Vancouver Grizzlies’ centre Bryant Reeves, whose NBA career lasted as long as the team’s tenure in the city — a mere six years.
“We were creating a poster for the film, which was me, my jersey, just looking at a wall of photos. We were about to take them down when we were done the photo shoot …. and my producer Michael (Tanko Grand) was like, ‘Hey, these look pretty cool. Why don’t we just leave them up?’
“Literally the next day, everybody was tweeting about it. … I didn’t think that leaving six posters would create such a frenzy.”
The buzz around the movie has quickly grown to a roar. The film by the UBC film school grad debuts at the Vancouver International Film Festival this weekend, with the first two showings on Sunday and Monday all but sold out. There are limited number remaining for a Wednesday screening at the Vancouver Playhouse.
“I’ve always wanted to make a documentary about the Vancouver Grizzlies and, specifically, Bryant Reeves. It was one of the projects I knew I wanted to make in my career, and one of the stories I wanted to tell,” said Jayme.
“I always knew there would be an appetite for this film, this type of story, especially about Bryant. But it’s been so overwhelming the reception and excitement and buzz around this film, and I couldn’t have imagined it playing out this way, ever.”
Jayme was seven years of age when she first became a fan of the Grizz. A basketball neophyte at the time, she gravitated toward Reeves because “he was the biggest dude on the court and had the coolest nickname.”
The seven-foot, 275-pound Oklahoma native was the team’s first draft pick — sixth overall in 1995 — and had a modest home debut at then- GM Place, with six points and 12 rebounds. He was named to the NBA all-rookie team, and by his third season was averaging around 16 points and eight rebounds a game, a big reason he was rewarded with a six-year, US$66million contract extension in 1997.
But weight gain and back injuries — two symptoms that often feed each other — ended his playing career the same year the team painfully pulled up stakes and moved to Memphis. He played two preseason games for the Tennessee version of the team, but retired before the regular season, returning home to Gans, Okla.
Notoriously media-shy and always one to skirt the spotlight, Reeves remained out of public view for years.
The only way to get in touch with him, it was reported, was to call the public phone at the general store in Gans — population 200 — and leave a message with whomever happened by. He hasn’t reached a sasquatch-level of elusiveness, as he has been spotted at the University of Oklahoma a few times. His son Trey plays for the Sooners, and Reeves was also recently inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame.
Jayme’s film — and she hasn’t said if she managed to track him down in the forested hills surrounding Gans — is really a journey to rediscover a player who was tainted by the same bitterness the city felt when the Grizzlies’ franchise was uprooted by Michael Heisley.
He did much behind the scenes in the community, away from the cameras, and when he was in front of them on the court, he was a force.
“He was super underrated as a player,” Jayme said of a player who finished his career with averages of 12.5 ppg and 6.8 rpg.
“He was an easy scapegoat, and (was) given that reputation. But if you check his stats, they’ll speak for themselves. He had such a nice touch, and for a big guy, he could shoot.
“Shaquille O’Neal’s been quoted as saying the guy that gave him the toughest time was Bryant Reeves. So if you don’t take my word, take Shaq’s. (He’s) the legendary centre.
“Back then, it was the era of the big man. That’s when all the legendary centres were playing. And I do believe he’s in that league, that conversation, and we did have a legendary player here in Vancouver.”
BASELINES: NBA action returns to Rogers Arena this afternoon as the Toronto Raptors play the Portland Trail Blazers as part of the pre-season NBA Canada Series. The game, which tips off at 4 p.m., is expected to be sold out. This is the Raptors’ third visit to Vancouver in the past four years.