NBA's "There Can Be Only One" split-screens revealed

(Click here to see the Kobe/Shaq split-screen commercial)

Permalink of this article

[From Stephen B. Snyde in the Un-bulletedHoop chronicles...]

Here's another one that BulletedHoop...er, TrueHoop, missed.

Brian Helfrich of the SportsBusiness Daily interviewed Goodby Silverstein & Partners’ Jamie Barrett, one of the creators of the split-screen spots.

I've been wondering how they pulled that off. Here's the secret:

The director team, [Jonathan] Dayton and [Valerie] Farris, used a nice little trick where we prerecorded each script and had the players listen to the recording in their ear while performing, so they didn’t have to use a TelePrompTer. When you see Kobe Bryant, for example, deliver the “Fear” script, he has a pea-sized earplug and he’s listening to the script and repeating it as he hears it. It actually happens to be my voice, because I read it with the pacing that we wanted so it would time out the right way and have the right pauses.

One thing I noticed is that they had to time the eyeblinks perfectly. I'll bet Barrett had to say, "Blink," as well in her scripts.

__________

Nike's J.Kidd still has commercial value

Despite his well-publicized domestic problems, Nike still thinks Jason Kidd has commercial value.

How do we know this? Well, we got another casting call this week (recall the Jerry Rice and LeBron James casting calls).

Poor Man's Commish was a little too under the weather to get this out in time, but the fact remains, we got this email from a reputable casting agency earlier in the week...

"...a Nike ad featuring J.Kidd in Oakland/SF area. We're looking for other players [men, age 20-30] to be in it with him. It pays $2000.00 if selected and we'd like to interview those interested ASAP."

First guy I would've called would have been Hook Mitchell, who called last month to check in after dropping off the map for about a year. Oh, but he's like 36 by now.

Anyways, I guess J.Kidd still has some staying power? Been awhile since his original Air Zooms.

__________

Jerry Rice likes dreamleaguer underdogs?

[No idea how we get these and what a football great might have anything to do with our dreamleague basketball world, but who knows, maybe there's a connection? This is probably more appropriate for Bay Area dreamleaguers...]

We just got this email from Banyan Productions, which is probably most famous for its Trading Spaces TV show (a show my wife loves)...

Jerry Rice is shooting an exciting new TV show and wants to film his first episode right here in his adopted hometown of San Francisco! Jerry is looking for dreamers...those who may be a bit down on their luck but who aim high. The "dreamers" can be people, families, teams, businesses or community organizations. With his dream team and inspirational wisdom, Jerry wants to help you turn the tables, overcome the obstacles and achieve the success you once thought impossible...Does one of your teams hold a large losing streak and could they benefit from some mentoring by one of sport's greatest legends?

I guess dreamleague itself might qualify. I'm sure A-Mac's 0-11 squad this past season, a team named "What Would Wat Do?", after Wat Misaka, would qualify. We'll inquire and update you on what happens, assuming something interesting does happen...

__________