Tommy Davidson to host Basketball Man premiere

Comedy superstar Tommy Davidson will host the world premiere of Frozen Pictures' feature documentary, Basketball Man, September 27th at the House of Blues in Las Vegas.

The world-famous comedian, singer and actor has been in high demand since he first won prominence in the original cast of TV’s In Living Color, alongside Jim Carrey, Jamie Foxx, and Keenen Ivory & Damon Wayans.

For Davidson, the show launched a spectacular career that includes TV specials, the hit series The Proud Family, concert tours and movies like Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, Booty Call, and Spike Lee’s Bamboozled.

Davidson also has more than one major basketball connection, having starred in the outrageous basketball comedy motion picture, Juwanna Mann (“…the Cloud 9 of hoops movies!” says Tabloid Baby) and delivering comedy magic with Magic Johnson in his late night talk show.

Twenty minutes of the full-length Basketball Man feature(the documentary about the life and legacy of basketball’s inventor, Dr. James Naismith), will be shown at the charity event at the nightclub inside the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. The night will also include a sports auction and VIP party in the House of Blues' exclusive Foundation Room.

The premiere promises to be high-rolling and star-studded.

Event sponsors and Basketball Man executive producers, Louis Pack and Keith Zimmerman of Double Dog Sports & Entertainment, have invited high-profile guests from the sports and entertainment worlds, including NBA legends Oscar Robertson, Julius Erving, Rick Barry, Steve Nash and Nate Archibald.

“Getting Tommy Davidson to host puts this fundraiser over the top,” Zimmerman said. “He's a tremendous talent, a great entertainer, and has a real connection to the game. He's an all-star player who'll make the night even more special as folks get the opportunity to preview a powerful documentary and hang with some superstars.”

The House of Blues event is only part of a gala two-day charity event that begins Tuesday, September 26 with the very first Dr. James Naismith Golf Classic at the Rio Secco Golf Club.

Players will have the opportunity to golf 18 holes with a celebrity or pro, on a course designed by Rees Jones, and try to beat Tiger Woods’ course record of 64.

Proceeds will go to the Naismith International Basketball Foundation and other charities.

Renee DiGiulio and Ian Naismith of the Naismith International Basketball Foundation, outside the House of Blues at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, site of the September 27th Basketball Man premiere.

Emmy-winning editor joins Basketball Man team

Award-winning editor Barry Zetlin has joined the production team of Basketball Man, as the Frozen Pictures documentary feature heads into the post-production stage.

Fresh off an Emmy win for his work on the long-running hit NBC series, “Starting Over,” Zetlin has long been one of the most influential and sought-after film and television editors in Hollywood. Basketball Man is only his latest high-profile project.

His credits reflect the work of a true Renaissance man, including ABC’s One Ocean View, The Bachelor and The Mole, dozens of other television classics, and scores of independent films including The Soft Kill starring Carrie Ann Moss; Disney’s Tower of Terror with Kirsten Dunst; Into The Sun; Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo; Friday the 13th: Part 7; the first films by acclaimed director Jonathan Mostow (including Flight of Black Angel); and James Cameron’s first directorial material in Galaxy of Terror.

"It’s hard to pick up a DVD at Blockbuster that doesn’t have Barry’s name in the credits,” says Brett Hudson of Frozen Pictures. “Now he's taking the raw material of Basketball Man and spinning it into gold. We only wish that we had his deft touch on Cloud 9.”

Zetlin also has a distinguished career as a writer, actor and director of such memorable films as The Dogfighters with Ben Gazzara and Man of the Year starring John Ritter.

And he's truly a man of letters, with a BA, MA and an MFA. His wife, Prof. Andrea Zetlin (pictured above with the Emmy winner) has a BA, an MA and an Ed.D, while son Josh holds a BA and MA!

Ian Naismith shows Barry Zetlin the original 13 rules of basketball.

“Basketball Man is a terrific project,” Zetlin says. "It’s an inspirational story with great visuals and real heroes in Doc Naismith-- and his grandson Ian. I have to say that meeting Ian, and actually getting to see the original 13 rules was a highlight of my career.”

Zetlin got another thrill while scanning the interview tapes and discovering that he attended the same high school as his boyhood hero, Bob Cousy. “I graduated from Jericho High School on Long Island, but I started out at Andrew Jackson in Queens. My parents Ted and Zelda will be proud to know that the Cooze and I played on the same court."

Basketball Man trailer among Top 50 of All Time!

The early trailer for Frozen Pictures' Basketball Man documentary film is a bigger hit on the YouTube site than we thought.

In the past week, it's remained among the 50 Top Rated Sports Videos-- of all time!

Let's get it into the Top 10!

See the video at YouTube, add your comments, and vote!


Thanks to JB Blunck, who produced the trailer with us-- and congrats to our executive producers, Dee Pack and Keith Zimmerman of Double Dog Sports & Entertainment!

Basketball Man team drafts NBA commissioner!

The Frozen Pictures documentary film Basketball Man got a major endorsement Thursday when NBA commissioner David Stern joined the team!

Sitting for an interview at the NBA’s headquarters in Manhattan, Stern spoke eloquently about the work and legacy of the game’s inventor, Dr. James Naismith, as well as his own efforts to bring sportsmanship and Naismith values back to the big league game. Stern also praised the work of Naismith’s grandson, Ian (pictured above with Stern), who was in New York for the interview, carrying the game’s original rules in a gold attache case.

From New York, Naismith and the Basketball Man production team moved on to capture more of Doc Naismith’s life in Lawrence, Kansas, on their way to the film’s September premiere in Las Vegas.

(See the Basketball Man movie trailer here)