SHORT TAKES : Kareem Takes on Film Project
Less than a year after retiring from basketball, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has bounced back into the public eye with an executive producer berth on the motion picture “Recruiting Violations.”
Abdul-Jabbar was tapped for the project on the basis of his basketball expertise. The movie centers on the relationship between a white college basketball coach and a top black recruit who fails to show up on campus.
Abdul-Jabbar will be involved in development of the screenplay and packaging of the film, said Rob Fried, whose Fried Films is making the movie for Columbia Pictures.
The former Los Angeles Lakers star won’t be appearing in the film.
“I don’t foresee that. I just want to do this on the production end and get my feet wet that way,” Abdul-Jabbar said.
Abdul-Jabbar is currently touring with his book “Kareem,” and he expresses mixed feelings on the possibility of a motion picture version of the book.
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