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He got talent >> NBA star Ray Allen shoots and scores in Spike Lee's He Got Game by MATTHEW HAYS
"I was just overwhelmed," says Allen. "Even if I never act again, I felt like it was such an honour to simply be asked to audition for him. What an opportunity--his films are always something to look forward to." Allen ended up landing the role, starring opposite Oscar-winner Denzel Washington. The two play estranged father and son; Allen is Jesus Shuttlesworth, a basketball whiz and high school senior who will soon have to decide where he will take his basketball-playing talents--and he's in great demand. Washington is doing time in a state pen when the governor, apparently a basketball fan, strikes a deal with the convict: if he can convince Allen to stay in the state and use his talents locally, Washington may just get an early release from prison. Washington has but one week to make up with his son and convince him to go stateside. Allen says Lee has crafted an "extremely accurate" look at the recruitment process for basketball prodigies. And surprisingly, the young Allen wasn't the least bit intimidated by the prospect of working with the highly accomplished Washington. "He had his Afro and sneakers on, he was one of the guys. I saw him once at the Oscars, and he had his face shaved and he had a nice clean haircut and a nice suit on. Now that's the Denzel I'd be intimidated by. But he was just one of the guys when we were filming. "He didn't really teach me anything about the business. But I showed him some [basketball] moves." Allen likens the team spirit during a basketball match to making the movie with Lee and Washington. "We all wanted everything to be magical. We put everything into every scene, so that something that was meant to be funny would be funny and everything that was meant to be heartfelt would be serious and heartfelt. Because everybody has stock in the film and no one wants to be part of something that's a bust." He Got Game opens Friday, May 1
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For Ray Allen, fame as a basketball superstar came early. At the tender age of 22, Allen has already been cited as one of the most valuable NBA players by such varied news organizations as The Sporting News, United Press International, Associated Press and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. But what Allen wasn't expecting happened when he and his team, the Milwaukee Bucks, were visiting New York for a game: one of America's most famous filmmakers, Spike Lee, approached him to audition for his latest film, He Got Game.