USA TODAY International Edition
Kyrie taps into his ‘old soul’ in ‘Drew’
NBA star Kyrie Irving and screenwriter Jay Longino had the reaction most everyone else did when approached with the idea of creating a movie based on commercials and internet shorts selling a soft drink.
“When it came to me, I was like ‘Wow. You guys aren’t serious,’ ” says Irving, the star of “Uncle Drew,” in theaters now.
“My initial answer was no,” Longino says. “But (movie producer) Marty Bowen said, ‘You’re an idiot. You’re wrong, and you’ll realize that in 24 hours and you’ll call me back and say you want to do it.’ He was right. I called him back the next day and said, ‘I actually think I can crack this.’
“We just honed on the theme of, ‘You don’t stop playing basketball because you get old, you get old because you stop playing basketball.’ The narrative fell into place after that.”
Uncle Drew, played by Irving, started as a commercial for Pepsi products, and the premise is Uncle Drew goes back to the basketball court and schools the youngsters with his skills and wisdom.
The movie focuses on Dax (Lil Rel Howery) and his desire to win the pickup tournament at famed Rucker Park in Harlem, New York. After falling short in an earlier tournament, he seeks out Uncle Drew and Drew’s older friends.
Chris Webber, Shaquille O’Neal, Reggie Miller, Nate Robinson, Lisa Leslie, Tiffany Haddish, Nick Kroll, Mike Epps and J.B. Smoove also are in the movie.
“It’s just a unique opportunity that I’ve taken full advantage of to add ‘actor’ to my resume and with the hope that it has great reception,” Irving says. “It’s an incredible family movie with an incredible story ... I’ve always believed in paying homage to the older generations.”
Irving took his first foray into acting in the movies seriously.
“I was trying to come in every single day remembering lines to where I didn’t have to be, ‘Line, please,’ ” Irving says. “I did not want to be that person.”
Irving says he enjoyed the experience. “Uncle Drew has given me inspiration in terms of me being able to convey my old soul through who he is and what he embodies as a character.”
But it will be a while before he takes on another acting role. The movie was shot in the summer of 2017, and Irving was on set when he learned Cleveland had traded him to the Boston Celtics.
“I have a pretty good understanding of things I want to get better at in the summertime. That all went out the window with this movie,” Irving says. “I had to figure out how to be a basketball player and actor and figure out how to balance the two.”
“My strength and conditioning coach said, ‘Next movie you’re doing, you’re going be retired.’ ”
Longino played Division III basketball at Colorado College from 1992-96 and once scored 39 points in a game. He had brief stints playing professionally in Mexico and in the United States Basketball League. He went to Los Angeles as a screenwriter admiring Ron Shelton, who wrote “White Men Can’t Jump,” “Bull Durham” and “Tin Cup.”
“When I first moved to L.A., I wanted to be Ron Shelton,” Longino says.
He says people will be surprised by the acting and the story.
“It’s a movie the whole family will enjoy and the message for kids: You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take,” Longino says. “That’s what the movie is really all about, and that message will resonate with kids and athletes.”