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NBA Legend Kobe Bryant Hopes To Make Slam Dunk At Oscars With ‘Dear Basketball’

NBA Legend Kobe Bryant Hopes To Make Slam Dunk At Oscars With ‘Dear Basketball’

 

There is power in understanding the journey of others — that’s the message behind Kobe Bryant’s Oscar-nominated animated short film, “Dear Basketball.”

The film was inspired by a letter that five-time NBA champion Bryant wrote announcing his retirement.

Bryant is already firmly entrenched in the next chapter of his life, Moguldom reported. With an estimated fortune of $350 million according to Forbes, he has proven that he has an investor’s mind and won’t be taken advantage of by seedy businesses managers with conflicts of interests. He is now becoming a venture capitalist.

Bryant has partnered with Jeff Stibel, a longtime entrepreneur and investor, according to the WSJ:

The two have been invested in 15 companies since 2013, but only after Mr. Bryant’s retirement from basketball have they decided to formalize their relationship and fund. The two men are contributing the $100 million—which they expect to invest over the next few years—and aren’t seeking outside investors yet. Current investments include sports media website The Players Tribune, video game designer Scopely, legal-services company LegalZoom, a telemarketing-software firm called RingDNA and a home-juicing company called Juicero.”

You can see “Dear Basketball” here. Watch The Oscars at 8 p.m. on Sunday, March 4.

From ABC7. Story by George Pennacchio.

Kobe Bryant is a five-time NBA champion, and now he’s also an Oscar nominee thanks to a film he made with animator Glen Keane.

Bryant is hoping to make a slam dunk at the Oscars with his new teammate. The All-Star spent two decades in professional basketball, while Keane’s been in animation for more than four decades.

Together they made the animated short “Dear Basketball.”

It’s based on the letter Bryant wrote announcing his retirement from the game that changed his life.

“That’s kind of the core of the film itself. It started with a dream, working to get to that dream, accomplishing that dream. Now, what do you do? You have to be able to let go and move on,” Bryant said.

He wanted the project hand-drawn, so he turned to Keane, a former Disney animator whose credits include “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Aladdin.”

For Dear Basketball’s music, Bryant called his friend, 51-time Oscar nominee and five-time winner, composer John Williams.

Williams just made one request before he signed on – which was to use the same orchestra he used for “Star Wars.” Bryant said yes.

Read more at  ABC7.

(Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)