''Kobe Doin' Work'' is a 2009 documentary film directed by
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...
. It focuses on then professional
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
player
Kobe Bryant before, during, and immediately after one game of the
2007–08 Los Angeles Lakers season
The 2007–08 NBA season, 2007–08 Los Angeles Lakers season was the 60th season of the franchise, 59th in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and 48th in Los Angeles. During the offseason, the Lakers re-signed point guard Derek Fisher. Th ...
against the
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...
. Bryant granted filmmaker Spike Lee and 30 cameras total access to his life for one day. Bryant agreed to wear a microphone throughout the day capturing in-game, bench, and locker room conversations. Lee's cameras were also given unprecedented access to the Laker locker room. ''Kobe: Doin' Work'' premiered on ESPN on May 16, 2009.
Plot
''Kobe Doin’ Work'' is an 84-minute exploration of Kobe Bryant's work ethic, his in game mentality, and the bluntness that made Bryant a great competitor.
Lee uses multiple cameras, sound from the in-game broadcast, the
Staples Center, a microphone worn by Kobe himself, and a follow-up narration while he watched the footage to illustrate every detail of Kobe's performance, strategy, and inner thoughts.
Bryant shot 6 of 14 from the field, scored 20 points, and played 32 minutes. The game was a crucial game in the end of the regular season, as the Los Angeles Lakers hoped to keep first place in the Western Conference with a record of 55-25. In an NBA.com 2009 Q&A (now archived) Spike Lee explained in an interview why he chose Kobe Bryant as the subject for this documentary: "I'm a big basketball fan. It was obvious. He was having an MVP-type year, in which he did win the MVP. Also the Lakers looked like they were going to take it to the Finals. And I wanted them to beat the
Celtics
The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...
. I hate the Celtics. But the Celtics won. But I don't think I was taking a gamble by choosing Kobe." Also, according to Spike Lee, "He (Kobe) said several times how much fun it was just doing it."
The 84-minute documentary ran on ESPN commercial free.
The documentary also focuses on Bryant and the team in huddles and during time-outs. The cameras also get full access of coach
Phil Jackson
Philip Douglas Jackson (born September 17, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive. A power forward, Jackson played 12 seasons in the NBA, winning NBA championships with the New York Knicks in 1970 and ...
in the locker room with the team during half-time. Bryant provided the voice-over for the documentary on February 2, 2009, hours after he scored 61 points against the
New York Knicks at
Madison Square Garden, (then a single-game record at the arena, which has been broken since). Spike Lee said that he was excited for Bryant to do the commentary following a game at Madison Square Garden, but no one expected a 61-point performance from Bryant. "I know that if he had a terrible game the commentary would not have been the same. Guaranteed. But Kobe said he made a point to make sure not to lose the game or he would hear it from me."
Bryant indeed said in an after game interview that he was going to give the game his all in order to show Spike Lee a thing or two about Bryant's skills on the court against the Knicks. "On a lighter note, I'm going to review this documentary I'm doing with Spike Lee tonight after the game and I didn't feel like sitting next to him and hearing him talking trash about the Knicks, so that was added incentive as well. Seriously. He's going to get an earful tonight."
Reception
Ryan Cracknell writing for movieviews.ca appreciated the insight into Kobe's game but criticized the "angle switches, speed changes and repetition" as "distracting".
Similar sports documentaries
''Kobe Doin' Work'' is in the same genre as the 2006 sports documentary ''
Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait'',
as well as the film ''Football As Never Before'' (german: Fußball wie noch nie), a documentary made in 1970 by German filmmaker
Hellmuth Costard about
Manchester United footballer
George Best
George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United. A highly skilful dribbler, Best is regarded as one of the greatest p ...
.
See also
*
List of basketball films
This is a list of films about basketball, featuring notable films where basketball plays a central role in the development of the plot.
List
See also
* List of sports films
* List of highest-grossing sports films
References
{{Sports film ...
References
External links
*
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{{Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant
2009 television films
2009 films
American sports documentary films
Documentary films about sportspeople
Films directed by Spike Lee
ESPN Films films
2009 documentary films
Documentary films about basketball
2007–08 NBA season
2000s American films