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36-511: Uncle Drew is a 2018 American sports comedy film directed by Charles Stone III and written by Jay Longino. It stars Kyrie Irving as the title character from his Pepsi Max advertisements that began airing in 2012, along with former NBA players Shaquille O'Neal , Chris Webber , Reggie Miller , and Nate Robinson , as well as former WNBA player Lisa Leslie . Lil Rel Howery , Erica Ash , J. B. Smoove , Mike Epps , Tiffany Haddish , Nick Kroll , and Aaron Gordon also star. The film

72-491: A clerk at Foot Locker . During practice Mookie Bass, Dax's longtime rival, arrives and taunts him about the upcoming Rucker Classic . In a dream sequence, it is revealed that Dax was an orphan who planned on becoming a basketball player, but was humiliated by Mookie after he had a shot blocked by him in their youth. The next day at work Casper demands expensive new shoes from Dax, who effectively bankrupts himself purchasing them. Despite this, Mookie successfully recruits Casper and

108-490: A heart attack and is taken to the hospital. Betty Lou arrives but instead of chastising Preacher, she agrees to fill in as the team's fifth member. Dax and his team, now renamed the Harlem Buckets, play against Mookie's team in the finals who are an even match for them. Late in the game Lights and Casper collide and are both injured, forcing Dax and Mookie to fill in. Dax still lacks self-confidence, but his teammates give him

144-430: A more richly developed sport world, and may also be more player-oriented or thematically complex. Often, they feature a hero of adventure origins and a clear distinction between loss and victory set against each other in a play time struggle. Thematically, the story is often one of "our team" versus "their team"; their team will always try to win, and our team will show the world that they deserve recognition or redemption;

180-554: A specific moment in history like I, Tonya (2018). Examples of this overall genre/type include: Body and Soul (1947), The Hustler (1961), Rocky (1976), Hoosiers (1986), Remember the Titans (2000), Lagaan (2001), Moneyball (2011), Ford v Ferrari (2019), Ferrari (2023) and the Goal! trilogy. There have been numerous sports movies that have become award winning phenomenons. Several films have been nominated for and won

216-466: Is clear that this genre is loved by many. Sal Masekela Selema " Sal " Mabena Masekela (born August 28, 1971) is an American television host, sports commentator, actor and singer. Masekela was born in Los Angeles, the son of a Haitian mother and South African jazz musician Hugh Masekela . Masekela is also the older half-brother of Survivor: Cook Islands contestant Nathan Gonzalez. He

252-531: Is involved in several social initiatives, and is the co-founder of Stoked Mentoring, an organization dedicated to mentoring at risk youth through action sports. He also serves on the advisory boards of The Lunchbox Fund , a non-profit organization which provides a daily meal to students of township schools in Soweto of South Africa , and The Skatepark Project , an organization dedicated to financing and building high-quality, legal skateboarding parks for kids. Masekela

288-580: The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Masekela was a features reporter for NBC's nationally syndicated Olympic Zone . He joined the Emmy Award-winning investigative series VICE on HBO as a correspondent and executive producer in 2015. That year, he also appeared in the remake of the cult classic Point Break. From April 2016, Masekela appeared as the host and executive producer of VICELAND ’s docu-series, VICE World of Sports . The series took viewers all over

324-591: The Gatorade brand which can be seen in the shorts and feature films. Kyrie Irving is credited as writer and director in these productions but that is inaccurate. He did develop the character's personality, improvised dialog, and blocked out a lot of scenes. But in fact, Gilbar and the Davie Brown team created the Uncle Drew universe, makeup artist Ed French came up with the character's look, and Jonathan Klein directed. Klein

360-502: The "Green" episode of Yo Gabba Gabba singing the song "Hello World" which aired on Nick Jr. on April 22, 2009. In 2010, he was hired by ESPN to help as a correspondent in its coverage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. While working as a correspondent, Masekela was featured, with his father, Hugh, in a series of videos on ESPN. The series, called "Umlando - Through my Father's Eyes", aired in 10 parts during ESPN's coverage of

396-402: The 2003–2004 season. Masekela was co-host of The Daily 10 , a countdown of the day's "top 10" entertainment stories, on the E! network until it was cancelled on Sept 27, 2010 (last show Oct 1, 2010). He was also host of both the X Games and Winter X Games on ESPN for 13 years but left in 2012 to work for NBC and NBC Sports Network through a contract with Red Bull Media House. He appears in

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432-569: The FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The series focused on Hugh and Selema's travels through South Africa. Hugh brought his son to the places where he grew up. It was Selema's first trip to his father's homeland. A native of New York, Masekela travelled the world in his youth with his father, South African jazz musician Hugh Masekela . Masekela's own band, Alekesam, shares the name of his first film which chronicles his relationship with his father and their connection through music, which premiered at

468-624: The Tribeca Film Festival in 2012. Alekesam's music has been featured on Entourage and House of Lies , with their newest single, "All Is Forgiven", featured on the season four premiere of the Showtime hit. Masekela has hosted live events, including YouTube's Brandcast in New York and Paris, YouTube Live on Stage from the Kennedy Center and Google's Zeitgeist. As part of NBC's coverage of

504-896: The advice he needs and he manages to make the game-winning shot, beating Mookie and earning everyone's respect. Returning to the hospital the team reunite with Big Fella, Dax uses the prize money to pay his medical bills, and ESPN now hails Dax as a hero. During the credits Jess is shown trying to call Dax about getting back together, becoming increasingly distraught when he doesn't answer. Making cameo appearances as themselves are Sal Masekela , John Calipari , Justin Mathis, Bill Sizemore, Scoop Jackson , Pee Wee Kirkland , Earl Monroe , Chris Mullin , Bill Walton , George Gervin , Steve Nash , David Robinson , Jerry West , Dikembe Mutombo , NeNe Leakes , Rick Barry , Rick Ross , Scott Van Pelt and Ben Nethongkome. On February 16, 2017, PepsiCo announced that it would partner Temple Hill Entertainment for

540-457: The album, including Wiz Khalifa , 2 Chainz , French Montana , Khalid , 21 Savage , Yo Gotti , ASAP Rocky , H.E.R. , Kid Ink , Leikeli47 , G-Eazy , and LunchMoney Lewis . Track listing: Uncle Drew grossed $ 42.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $ 4.1 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $ 46.5 million. In the United States and Canada, Uncle Drew

576-400: The big game. He admits that he too loved her and the two make amends. Meanwhile, Dax learns that Mookie and Jess are dating, and begins falling for Maya. After learning about the tournament's prize money from Angelo, Drew angrily confronts Dax for misleading him. Dax confides in him about his past with Mookie, causing Drew to forgive him. While playing in the semi-finals, Big Fella suddenly has

612-529: The climactic streetball showdown pays off." Variety ' s Peter Debruge praised the performances of the NBA players and makeup, while saying the film is never that surprising or funny, writing, "While it won't increase your appetite for zero-calorie sugar water one bit (oddly enough, Nike gets far more prominent on-screen placement), this affectionate basketball-themed comedy from sports-savvy director Charles Stone III comes across as an effective feature-length ad for

648-484: The film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. David Ehrlich of IndieWire gave the film a "B−" and wrote: "At heart, Uncle Drew is a personality-driven film. The plot is spare, and the storytelling gets super janky whenever screenwriter Jay Longino is asked to manufacture a new obstacle. But as wince-inducing as it can be to watch the film stall for time, or use the Rucker prize money to muster up some hollow conflict,

684-535: The film has an approval rating of 60% based on 100 reviews, and an average rating of 5.8/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Kyrie Irving's crossover to comedy is amiable enough to score with basketball fans, but Uncle Drew is held back by formulaic direction and too much product placement." On Metacritic , which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score of 57 out of 100, based on reviews from 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave

720-530: The finals of the 1968 Rucker. After seeing a demonstration of Drew's prowess, Dax recruits him for the team, neglecting to inform him about the prize money. Drew agrees to join Dax under the condition that they recruit his original teammates. They set off in Drew's van and recruit Preacher, who has since become an actual preacher, but incur the wrath of his wife Betty Lou who pursues them as they leave town. They next reunite with

756-426: The game itself." In 2012, PepsiCo embarked on an internet-based advertising campaign for Pepsi Max with the character "Uncle Drew" played by Kyrie Irving. The first advertisement was conceived as being in the form of a short film rather than an explicit commercial. During the advertising campaign, some of the shorts were edited down to 30 second segments which appeared both online and on television. The original short

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792-490: The highest award of Best Picture at the Academy Awards , including Chariots of Fire (1981), Rocky (1976), and Million Dollar Baby (2004). Other movies that received awards of a high caliber are Jerry Maguire (Best Supporting Actor, 1996), Bull Durham (Best Original Screenplay, 1988), and The Karate Kid (Best Supporting Actor, 1984). Regardless of the awards that these sports films have been granted, it

828-480: The money to help Dax after learning the real motive for the game, and Maya begins to appreciate him for the way he treats the elders. Returning to Rucker Park , Drew gives each member of his team gear that restores their faith and abilities, but Big Fella still refuses to cooperate with Drew. During the first round, Big Fella and Drew tussle on the court, almost costing the team the win. Eventually, Drew acknowledges his mistake: sleeping with Big Fella's late wife before

864-469: The next few years two more chapters followed, including NBA and WNBA stars Maya Moore, Nate Robinson, Ray Allen, Baron Davis, and J.B. Smoove. Some of these players appeared in the 2018 feature-length movie. Each chapter ranged between 5 and 7 minutes in length. Collectively they received over 118 million views by mid 2020 on YouTube. The intention of these shorts was to form the backbone of an advertising campaign but Pepsi decided not to be heavy handed with

900-473: The partially blind Lights and wheelchair user Boots whose granddaughter, Maya, volunteers at the nursing home looking after them. They escape and make it to the karate dojo of Big Fella. Big Fella is reluctant to join the team, as he still holds a grudge against Drew, but Dax persuades him to join. After his credit card is declined at a gas station, Dax attempts to hustle the coach of a girls basketball team to earn money for fuel. Dax's team loses, but Drew offers up

936-411: The product. Marc Gilbar, then a creative director at Davie Brown, described how product placement was sufficient for their goals "[We] put a couple of barrel coolers of Pepsi MAX on the outside of the court. It was a warm night, and they were free, so people naturally started drinking it. In some places it may have felt like it was placed there, and it was, but the people weren't acting." PepsiCo also owns

972-613: The production of the film, featuring the character Uncle Drew from the Pepsi Max advertisements. On September 5, 2017, ESPN 's SportsCenter revealed the cast. Lil Rel Howery said that Irving heard about his trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Boston Celtics while filming. The film's soundtrack, Uncle Drew: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack , was released by RCA Records on June 18, 2018. Many artists were featured on

1008-453: The rest of Dax's team away from him, leading to a confrontation involving Dax forcibly trying to remove Casper's shoes that is filmed and shown on ESPN . Due to this humiliation, Jess dumps him and kicks him out of her apartment. Dejected, Dax has little luck finding players for a new team until the cantankerous Angelo encourages him to seek out Uncle Drew, a well-remembered streetball legend who, along with his team, disappeared after missing

1044-485: The sport they are playing and trying to get back into it. Examples and staples of the genre include The Waterboy , The Longest Yard , Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby , and Blades of Glory . Sports drama combines the sports film genre with drama film elements. These films rely on conflict, usually revolving around an athlete or a team. These dramas can further be broken up into categories, some movies focusing on race such as 42 (2013), or focusing on

1080-434: The story does not always have to involve a team. The story could also be about an individual athlete or the story could focus on an individual playing on a team. Sports comedy combines the sports film genre with comedy film elements. Traditionally, these films heavily rely on slapstick humor and very physical comedy, such as someone getting hurt in a comical way. A typical storyline may revolve around someone losing sight of

1116-568: The world to explore each location's people, politics and culture through sports. The series premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 22. Masekela is also involved in the production company UX Entertainment. Based in Los Angeles, UXE specializes in film, commercials, music videos, and animation work. In December 2022, Masekela announced his relationship with Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong'o . They broke up in October 2023. Masekela

Uncle Drew - Misplaced Pages Continue

1152-623: Was raised in Staten Island , New York in the same class with rapper Method Man and Carlsbad, California , where he attended Carlsbad High School . Masekela is the co-founder of Berkela Motion Pictures with Jason Bergh. When he was a teenager, Masekela's upbringing brought him to Southern California, where he was first exposed to surfing, snowboarding and skateboarding. His career began as an intern at Transworld Publications in 1992, home of TW Snow , TW Skateboarding , and TW Surf magazines. He served as an NBA sideline reporter for ESPN during

1188-574: Was released alongside Sicario: Day of the Soldado , and was projected to gross $ 11–15 million from 2,742 theaters in its opening weekend. It made $ 6.1 million on its first day, including $ 1.1 million from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $ 15.5 million, finishing fourth at the box office, behind Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom , Incredibles 2 , and Sicario: Day of the Soldado . It fell 56% in its second weekend, to $ 6.7 million, finishing sixth. On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes ,

1224-469: Was released in the United States by Lionsgate on June 29, 2018, and received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the performances of the cast, but called the direction and screenplay "formulaic". In Harlem , Dax Winslow is the underappreciated basketball coach of the Harlem Money and their star player, Casper Jones. Dax spends lavishly to keep both his girlfriend, Jess, and Casper happy, despite being

1260-686: Was reported to give up credit to Irving to make the shorts seem more intriguing. Gilbar went on to be involved with the production of the 2018 feature-length movie. Sports film The first sports film was released 1915, this was during the era of silent films. Several sub-categories of sports films can be identified, although the delineations between these subgenres, much as in live action, are somewhat fluid. The most common sports subgenres depicted in movies are sports drama and sports comedy. Both categories typically employ playground settings, match, game creatures and other elements commonly associated with biological stories. Sports films tend to feature

1296-501: Was wildly popular; it was reported to be the second most watched "advertisement" on YouTube that year and among the 50 most-viewed viral videos worldwide, garnering more than 22 million views. PepsiCo and its advertising agency Davie Brown Entertainment quickly rolled out another commercial, Uncle Drew: Chapter 2 , this time co-starring future NBA teammate Kevin Love and opening with an extended cameo by basketball legend Bill Russell . Over

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