Tag: Adam McKay

See the debut, amazing trailer for HBO’s new Lakers series ‘Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty’

Whatever it is you were doing, it can wait. There is a trailer for the new Lakers project on HBO Max and it deserves your immediate attention.

Whatever it is you’re doing, it can wait. There is a trailer for the new Lakers project on HBO Max and it deserves your immediate attention.

The show, which was previously just referred to as the Untitled Lakers Project, has a name: Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty. It also has a premiere date: March 2022.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a basketball fan because this is one that you’re going to want to check out the moment the series begins. Once you watch the trailer, even after just a few seconds, it won’t take long for you to figure out why.

They leaned all the way into the 1980s vibe and it looks like just the right amount of camp for easy watching every week. Plus, it looks like they are including a scene of when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar acted in Airplane! (1980):

Winning Time is produced by Academy Award-winner Adam McKay, who has directed comedies like Anchorman (2004) and dramas including The Big Short (2015). He has also produced HBO shows Succession and Eastbound & Down.

It is based on sportswriter Jeff Pearlman’s book Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s. 

If you were paying close attention to the trailer, you will notice some big-name actors like John C. Reilly (portraying Jerry Buss), Jason Segal (as coach Paul Westphal) and Adrien Brody (as coach Pat Riley).

While it sucks that Reilly’s casting decision hurt McKay’s relationship with Will Ferrell and it also sucks that Bo Burnham is no longer playing Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird, the rest of the cast still looks incredible and Reilly is capturing the essence of the eccentric late Lakers owner.

I’m excited to see how the newbies do in their big roles because based on what we’ve seen so far, it seems like we’ll have some new stars to fall in love with as well.

Courtesy of HBO
Courtesy of HBO
Courtesy of HBO

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The 8 best films coming to movie theaters (December 2021)

New movies from Paul Thomas Anderson, Adam McKay, Joel Coen, Steven Spielberg, Aaron Sorkin, Guillermo del Toro and more!

You have a big month in front of you. Maybe you have travel plans or gifts to buy. But you also have movies you need to catch in theaters.

If you’re trying to plan out which movies should be at the top of your list for theater outings in December, we’ve got you covered, because there’s a ton of great stuff on the way.

Note that all of the movies mentioned below are hitting the theaters for the first time during the month of December 2021. Movies that are already in theaters (e.g. King Richard, House of Gucci or tick, tick…BOOM!) were not included in this list.

Apologies in advance to fans of mega-franchises like Spider-Man and The Matrix. Much like Sing 2 starring Matthew McConaughey, I’m confident that tons of people are planning to watch those movies and don’t need any sort of recommendation from me beforehand.

Speaking of which, make sure to check out some other lists of ours to see other recommendations we have for shows and movies to watch and some video games to play:

INTERVIEW: Adam McKay’s new podcast examines the tragic deaths of forgotten NBA stars

“Death at the Wing” is the latest podcast from Acadamy Award-winner Adam McKay.

You don’t need to be a basketball fan, even in the lightest, to become infatuated with the new podcast “Death at the Wing” from Adam McKay.

McKay, a former head writer of Saturday Night Live who won an Academy Award for The Big Short (2015), is best known as the director of Anchorman (2004), Talledega Nights (2006) and Step Brothers (2008). McKay has also had his hand in notable shows including HBO’s Succession and Eastbound & Down.

Following his podcast “Broken: Seeking Justice,” about Jeffrey Epstein and from McKay’s Hyperobject Industries and Three Uncanny Four productions, “Death at the Wing” uses basketball as its muse to describe the ways politics, economics, racial relations and so much more changed in the United States during the 1980s.

The series is currently on Episode 5, with new releases coming out on Wednesdays, and you can listen via Apple Podcasts. While the subject matter is dark, as it explores various star basketball players in the 1980s who all tragically passed away, it is also presented in a way that is both tasteful and informative.

Imagine if your AP U.S. History teacher taught you about the Reagan Revolution through the lens of the NBA and that said teacher also founded comedy website Funny or Die and famed improv group Upright Citizens Brigade. That should give you a decent idea of what to expect in these episodes.

If you are someone who loves sports, you will be hooked by some of the fascinating details that McKay unearths about some of the game’s biggest legends, including an incredibly candid interview with Jerry West. Or you may find yourself shaken to the core learning more about would-be stars like Len Bias or Benji Wilson.

But even if you have no interest in sports whatsoever, these stories are deeply human and help contextualize an important moment in our American history. This podcast has captivating storytelling, well worth exploring with a curious mind.

McKay spoke to For The Win so that we could learn a little bit more about this project. Please note that this interview was conducted before the tragic death of NBA prospect Terrence Clarke on April 22, 2021.