Shooting STAR
Irving makes some new moves for comedy ‘Uncle Drew’
Sure, Disney had spectacular luck transforming an amusement park ride into a ka-ching! film franchise with “Pirates of the Caribbean.” But can Pepsi do the same, fashioning a big-screen comedy from online shorts starring the NBA's Kyrie Irving as white-haired codger “Uncle Drew”?
At 26, Irving has had a distinguished pro career, leading the Boston Celtics last season although he missed the playoffs due to injury.
He and Pepsi came up with the notion of a geriatric veteran teaching kids what real basketball is like. As the Pepsi spots have posted 51 million-plus hits on the soft drink's website, a movie seemed the next step.
“It started off as an ad campaign back in 2012. I took it and ran with the personality that Uncle Drew took on,” Irving explained during a promotional stop in Boston.
As to why his videos connected on so massive a scale, “It was just refreshing,” Irving said.
“It really had a certain connectability to the audience. They were able to be passed along as something to see, an older generational player making sure the fundamental attitudes aren't lost in this new day and age and just paying attention to the guys who came before me.”
Irving found filmmaking a challenge. “It was easy to fulfill that role in the shorts,” he reflected, “but taking on the movie was a whole different thing, really making sure that emotionally I was connected with every specific scene and making sure the character was authentic.”
The basketball scenes were anything but easy, he added. “We had to really find what perspective works as well as do our lines and get the emotional connection.
“There was a lot going on while we were on the court. They had to figure out a way to choreograph that in order to capture what we needed.”
As far as an acting career, “I looked at this as an opportunity, to really relish it and learn as much as possible from being in front of the camera as well as behind it.
“I'm so used to being an NBA basketball player and committed to that lifestyle. But when you have to film, it comes with a lot of sacrifice and commitment to making sure that how you express yourself on camera is going to be great for the overall movie being great. You have to demand that.”