LeBron James: Old School Figure or New Media Failure?

We're living an age of unprecedented access to celebrities. With the advent of Twitter, we are exposed to their thoughts, unfiltered and without a PR representative in the middle. The NBA has arguably been the community to embrace Twitter the most rapidly, with much of the league getting involved by following Shaq's example and interacting with fans and journalists alike. We've seen Kevin Love break news of his coach's firing, Shaquille O'Neal give away tickets online, a race to 50,000 between Chris Bosh and Charlie Villanueva (a really really irritating race if you follow Bosh), and folks like Dwight Howard build up a following by providing unfettered access to their stream of consciousness.

LeBron James, however, has not followed the path of his peers like D. Wade and has yet to really utilize the kind of proximity that social media can provide him to his fans. This really should not surprise us though, since he has entered the league he has obsessively controlled his image and thus his marketability to sponsors. The difference between LeBron James and most NBA players, even those taken from high school, is that his NBA status has been extremely obvious since early high school at the latest. He was King James by the time he came into the league and his junior year he graced the Sports Illustrated cover in an article where GM's insisted they'd trade anything for him at that point. The dude has had plenty of time to prepare his image and you better believe he's been thoughtful about how he's perceived from the get-go.

James has surrounded himself with high school friends who have ultimately ended up being yes men. He has a great relationship with Jay-Z, who is one of the more secretive rappers about his personal life. Where Kobe and MJ had one singular goal in their lives: to win, LBJ's main goal is to be a billionaire. Even winning is secondary for him. In terms of media presence, I feel he's more Machiavellian and less trustworthy than Kobe. His appearances are more obviously calculated and low risk. The most I've ever read about his personal interactions has been with sponsors. Even Kobe's teammates, like Smush Parker and Derek Fisher, have been in the press with things to say about the Black Mamba, good or bad. I've never heard anyone say anything either way about LeBron as a teammate or a human being. But we sure know a lot about LeBron James the marketing gimmick.

It's interesting to watch this strategy backfire because LeBron James has a very good on-court persona, but we don't know enough about him personally to put his off-court mistakes in context. Clearly he's very competitive, but it's hard to place where he lies on that continuum. After Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, LeBron stomped out of the arena without shaking hands. Later, he justified his behavior because he didn't want to shake hands after a loss. LeBron the sore loser, eh? Not only did he spark a media firestorm, he also started a whole new round of LeBron to NYC in 2010 rumors by wearing a Yankees hat in his interviews where he defended himself. Very subtle, LeBron.

More recently, LeBron confiscated videotape of him being "posterized" at his camp by Jordan Crawford, a sophomore at Xavier. After the dunk, he whispered in the ear of the Nike representatives, who literally stole the videotapes from the cameras to protect their investment. Of course, the story got out and people hated on LeBron for it. Why wouldn't we? Getting posterized, to an intelligent basketball fan, is usually not a shame. It means you're rotating and covering a man at the last second and get caught. It means you're putting your body in the line of duty to draw a charge. It means you're trying on defense. Anyways, the longer we waited to see even a Zapruder version of this tape, the more our imaginations went wild. Blogs posted pictures of VC over Frederic Weis in anticipation when TMZ declared it would release the video yesterday.



Guess what happened when the video leaked? See for yourself, it wasn't even the slightest bit embarrassing. LeBron didn't even get dunked on really. He was a little late to contest the shot. I get it, you're supposed to be the best basketball player in the world, but the cover-up was the only shameful job by LeBron. The video was going to get out, either by cell phone camera or by some device you didn't know was there. It turns out there were TWO additional sets of footage, not just one. And now LeBron not only looks like a narcissistic brat, but the PR backlash and subsequent imaginary posterizations in our head were way worse than what might have happened if he'd just shrugged it off. Even MJ shrugged it off when he lost in one on one to a mutual fund CEO, what else could he do?

I guess I'm looking for the moral of the story for our fair hero LeBron. I think what all this shows is a permanent paradigm shift in the media/celebrity relationship. Think about the Erin Andrews video that horribly surfaced this week, the Stephon Marbury Q&A on Ustream, the Kobe Bryant cell phone video ("Trade Bynum y'all"), and the Kevin Love tweet. There's no privacy anymore in public. Anytime you are in the view of other people, they could be recording you, they will blog about it, and you can't escape the consequences. The Worldwide Leader has had a huge part in the shift from coverage of sports to coverage of athletes as TMZ-style celebrities (unless you're Ben Roethlisberger apparently), but it's not all ESPN. Technology has fundamentally shifted interactions and humanized athletes in a way few of us dreamed was possible. In the new media, you can't hide, you just can't. Instead, you have to embrace it and control your image the best you can. Brand yourself on Twitter.

James would love it to be old-school. Think about the amazing image that MJ enjoyed, despite his personal shortcomings (that's another post all-together). Michael Jordan is truly the Beatles of the NBA, the right star at the right time who's image has since blown up out of proportion and has made him untouchable. He made the league and was its star in ways that no one else ever could be because he transformed the NBA. It's too established as a league now, it doesn't need another Jordan. Similarly, there will never be a collection of sneakers as influential as the Air Jordans. He's just an impossible standard to live up to. LeBron will never win 6 championships in a league with such parity (and such a crappy team), which he has to come to terms with. He also needs to understand the new media and what that means about controlling his image.

I have to think you're a likable dude Lebron, but please do us all a favor and show us that humanity. Embrace technology and the media, use it to your advantage. We've seen how it works out when you try to fight it. We'll all be witnesses, like it or not.

A Plea for Lamar Odom

I don't write about sports nearly enough on here, even with my Lakers winning a championship! I figure that I read more sports writing than any human being should (you don't even want to see my Google Reader) and if it's a pretty big passion of mine, I should start writing about it more. That and I'm still debating if I can plausibly write a Lakers season review with grades without it being too late. I have plenty of time for that though, seeing as we're surviving in sports purgatory with only the MLB and Tour De France these days, and I'll think of something when I watch that glorious season recap DVD I haven't gotten around to buying yet...

Anyways, I've been talking a lot about Lamar Odom with anyone who will listen. Perhaps ranting is a better word. Obsessing. I've never wanted a free agent to re-sign like this before. Look, I'm a big Dodgers fan and freaked out about Manny last year, but Manny didn't just help us win a championship. He's still a rental anyway. Come to think of it, there's no one who's come even close.

As a Lakers fan, I'm used to winning that free agent battle. LA is a destination, you're a star baby. Sure, we've lost some battles, but we win the big ones. We got Shaq from Orlando. Kobe was never going to leave in 2004. In my entire life, I can't remember being devastated the way I imagine T'wolves fans were when KG got traded (well, maybe McHale waited long enough that that wasn't true) or the way those Magic fans felt when the Big Buckeye abandoned ship with what seemed like several championships waiting in the wings.


It's not just about that though. I could handle losing Gasol better than this, really I could. Lamar isn't just a Laker, he's probably my favorite Laker. I remember the first time I ever really watched LO, on the 2004 Olympic team, ironically not too long before he was traded to LA. I knew who he was but I didn't know him outside of his Clipper-hood and drug busts. I remember being so impressed with LO doing everything for that team, one of those who never quit, playing impromptu center and blocking shot after shot as his teammates allowed one fast break after another. LO was the goalie and kept going until he was literally wagging his tongue, exhausted. That image of Lamar Odom, the versatile talent shamelessly doing whatever needed to be done for a flawed team, endured until this year's title.

It's easy to speak in superlatives about Lamar Odom, on the court and off the court. You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone in the L who's had a tougher childhood or has a better attitude about it now. He smiles like Magic Johnson and has a lot of joy in his life. You can see it on the court and you can only laugh along with him when he does things like eat candy for breakfast. Of course Lamar Odom is the candyman!

On the court, he's been whatever the Lakers have needed him for. He learned to be a great PF and defended bigs like Tim Duncan and Garnett when no one else stepped up. He can do EVERYTHING imaginable at 6'10". He can run the court, pass, shoot (apparently, 3's now too), rebound, block shots, toss in a baby hook, you name it. Now that we have bigs and have relegated him to 6th man, he's simply turned into a premier help defender and is a policeman for that childish second unit and turning the Lakers bench into the league's finest. How'd they look when Lamar was starting and Josh Powell was out there?

In retrospect, he's an obvious choice for my favorite Laker. You have to love Kobe aesthetically and because of his skill, but he's a stone cold assassin and a jerk sometimes, even though I believe he's grown up a lot. He's too Machiavellian a figure for you to ever buy his sincerity that much. I like Pau, don't get me wrong, but he's too goofy and hasn't been around long enough. Bynum is super-frustrating. I understand why people on OTHER teams hate Sasha sometimes. D-Fish is the man, but his 15 foot pull-up jumpers automatically remove him from contention. Who doesn't love Mbenga but come on...

Lamar is the most human and relatable player on the roster. He's an emotional open book and I've shared the ride, the ups and downs, on his expressions over the years. When the Shaq trade wasn't really working out, I always blamed Caron and never LO. I've stuck with him since he came to the Lakers and my attachment to him has grown over the years as I've watched him mature and learn to control his dazzling array of talents. He's been as frustrating as he's been electric the last few years. I can't tell you how many times I've been dripping sweat as he takes an ill-advised shot or free throws at the end of a game. He's been inconsistent as a second banana, there's no other way to say it.

I defended his performance in the 2008 Finals, he put up 20/11/4 and 19/10/4 in games 4 and 5 people, and have defended his tenure as a Laker ("All-Star numbers until he got hurt") in ways I've never defended Kobe. I'm obliged to defend Kobe, but for the most part any defense of Kobe starts with a some serious concessions and caveats anyway.

There were a lot of redemption stories on that championship team. Phil got his 10th, Kupchak did it, Kobe did it without Shaq, Euros like Gasol are winners, Derek Fisher wasn't done yet, etc. But the one that meant the most to me was Lamar Odom's redemption. He went from a flawed sidekick that was never quite going to be Kobe's Pippen to a human Swiss army knife who sublimated his role to win. When held up to the standard of his talent, he was always a failure, but winning a championship as a vital and clutch player of critical importance, that's the stuff of legend. He's a star here forever.

I understand why he'd leave if he was making more money. At this point, the sentiments of the Heat still may win him over, but he shouldn't leave for less and a worse basketball situation. I get that he doesn't feel appreciated; the NBA is a business, but it's an intensely personal one. The number one priority is respect and the Lakers aren't exactly oozing it. He's still the only Laker not getting paid, but no one else can pay more, so he has little leverage unfortunately. It's not just about the front office. The fans love Lamar and he has a real home here in the community. The Lakers are still his best chance of winning. Winning a lot and paying more. The Heat are still probably a 48-49 win team at best if they do some fancy maneuvering with Jermaine O'Neal's expiring contract, but the Lakers could be a dynasty. That's not happening in South Beach. Wade's probably out in 2010 anyway.

But Lamar, this isn't just about winning and the title you have to defend. This is about where you belong, in the offense where your basketball skills are divine. This is your team and your place in the universe. Yeah, Kobe is no doubt the leader of this team, but you are its heart, its compass. Kobe is always fantastic, but the Lakers live and die by Lamar Odom. The kids look up to him and the veterans respect him. We'll work on a star in Hollywood for you Lamar, but please get to work on another Larry O'Brien trophy marching down Figueroa. It wouldn't be the same without you.

"500 Days of Summer" and "Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father"

Wow. Coincidentally, I have been treated to two absolute tour de forces in two days and both have managed to knock me out with their raw emotional power. These films, "500 Days of Summer" and "Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father," speak to the power of human emotion and the way that life doesn't always work out the way we want it to.

"500 Days of Summer"

"500 Days of Summer" was a fantastic film. It's a wonderfully shot story of a relationship, 500 days of Tom (Joseph Gordon Levitt) and Summer (Zoey Deschanel). Another film that is hard to do justice to, "Summer" would technically be classified as a romantic comedy, but it's really a movie about the little things and the emotional intimacies of a relationship. Tom and Summer don't make it, I'm afraid, and it's something we know from the very beginning, which makes the story have a certain gravitas as it unfolds, with us looking for little details and hints of how it ends along the way.

"Summer" is the story of Tom, a greeting card writer, who meets Summer when she starts as an assistant at his work. They connect over The Smiths on the elevator and have a brief courtship highlighted by an amazing work function at a karaoke bar. The music has been carefully chosen and is a defining element of the film, helping set the tone and convey its meaning. The film is non-linear and jumps back and forth between the different stages of the relationship, from the courtship to the inevitable end.

This is director Mark Webb's first feature film, having come from a background in music videos, and he has an incredible eye for beauty in his cinematography. He has slick transitions between moments, split screens, and creative innovations in story-telling combined with a real understanding of the human heart. "Summer" manages to weave an engaging and gorgeous around this failed relationship. Summer was never going to marry Tom and sometimes life doesn't work out like the way we want it to. This is a hard lesson for Tom and we really feel his pain, but we also feel the joy along the ride and really come to understand why he loves her. Levitt and Deschanel are both incredible in their roles, which serves to elevate the film even further. This one will require multiple viewings to catch all of the intricacies. I can't wait.

Grade: A-

"Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father"

Simply put, this movie destroyed me and left me emotionally raw in a way that only a few movies ever have. It is on the short-list for most devastating picture I've ever experienced and that's saying a lot, trust me. When I reflect, I've only been affected to the point of tears a few times in my life: "I Am Sam", "Requiem for a Dream", "American History X", "United 93", and now "Dear Zachary." Of the bunch, "Zachary" and "United 93" had the biggest visceral impact, perhaps because of the power that the truth of the story provides their narrative. I know that "Requiem for a Dream" didn't happen, as attached as I am to the characters, and there's something to be said for the credibility that a true story or a documentary attaches to the emotional impact.

"Zachary" is the story of Andrew Bagby, who was murdered by his pregnant girlfriend, as told by the director Kurt Kuenne, who is a child-hood friend that made many an amateur film with Andrew growing up. Zachary is Andrew's son and Kurt wants him to know his father. He has some incredible footage and photographs to work with here, but that's not where he shines. Kurt tirelessly travels the country to interview those that knew and loved Andrew. He interviews extended family, classmates, co-workers, and, most extensively, his parents.

Andrew seems like he was an incredible kid, a best friend to many and a great son, who found his niche as a doctor. After a rough break-up with his fiance, he started dating a much older woman who didn't seem quite right to his friends, who ignored it because they wanted to see him happy. He eventually broke up with her and sent her home on a plane, thinking it was over. She drove across the country and murdered him.

The film is a testament to those that loved Andrew with its immeasurable warmth and personal touch, but during filming Andrew's murderer is released and receives custody of their child. It changes the direction of the film dramatically and provides it with additional urgency, not that it really needed it. The movie packs emotional punch after emotional bunch, but it's better not to release anymore of the plot points and you should know as little as possible heading into the film.

Trust me, bring tissues. This film is truly overwhelming. It's almost impossible to compare it to anything else or assign it any kind of relative value. However, I always say that the point of art is to convey the emotion and experience of the human condition. By that measure, few films, if any, will stack up to this one.

Grade: A

"The Hurt Locker" Review: A+ - Go go see it now

I can already tell "The Hurt Locker" is going to be difficult to give its proper due. Part of me thinks it's going to be dismissed as another Iraq movie rather than a serious contender for best picture or, frankly, among the best war films ever made. At the very least, it's the defining film on the Iraq war. "The Hurt Locker" uses the vehicle of a war to make a film about human nature, living on the edge, and the things that motivate us. As a result, it looks for insight into the human experience during war rather than a cheap politically dig.

I'll be upfront about it, I'm getting tired of the brash nature of political commentary in films today-all most accomplish is an excessively negative and basic criticism that rarely, if ever, borders on something nearly as constructive as most of the love and diversity messages in children's television. Don't get me wrong, it can be well executed like "Wall-E", but documentaries are the most successful medium here. Most of Hollywood's attempts seem self-serving or so shallow you wish they'd never tried in the first place.

For my money, movies that have genuine insight into human relationships are the ones I'm bound to find profound. Last year's "Rachel Get Married" blew me away on that front and films like "Requiem for a Dream" and "American Beauty" get multiple viewings a year in my house. If the end of art is to communicate experience, I think that films that really put you into someone else's shoes are so much more incredible than these cheap-thrills-huge-special-effects-so-dumb-you-don't-even-have-to-think blockbusters. Besides, I'll take the thrills in "The Hurt Locker" against pretty much anything else anyway. I was borderline exhausted entering the theatre, but my adrenaline pumped for 2 hours and 13 minutes and the classic Craig falling asleep in a movie he really wants to see trap never had a chance.

"The Hurt Locker" follows Jeremy Renner (the marine from "28 Weeks Later") who deserves Oscar consideration for his portrayal of Staff Sergeant William James, a bomb specialist working with Anthony Mackie (Papa Doc from "8 Mile"), also masterful as his by-the-book Sergeant Sanborn, to diffuse the IED's, car bombs, and suicide bombings that happen all too frequently in Iraq.

It is the grittiest, most realistic portayal of a soldier's life in Iraq I've seen and goes much further than "Three Kings" did years ago. It's 2004 and Renner replaces Guy Pearce, who played it safe and still gets dusted in the first five minutes. Renner is reckless-he refuses to use the bomb robot and while diffusing a huge car bomb he takes off his protective suit saying, "If I'm going to die, I'm going to die comfortably." He's a badass because, despite his bravado, he's incredible at his job; he can think like the bomb maker and stays in the line of danger until the very last second.

The movie opens with the line "War is a drug" and the adrenaline is something that keeps Renner hooked on war. He's disabled 873 bombs, which is an absolutely staggering amount and makes it tough to balance his need to be with his family. This isn't unique to bomb techs-those who publish newspapers or become investment bankers get hooked on the constant rush and often can't settle into less exciting environments; however, the adjustment is so extreme for those coming home from war, from fighting for life and death on a daily basis to the mundane of the American routine. We feel for Renner, who, despite his swagger, is a good guy who's just a little nuts. You have to be a little crazy for that job, right?

The movie itself is excellent-it's taut and provides the kind of details that bring the soldier's experience to life. Pinned down by snipers, the soldiers must remain alert for hours and hours after they're pretty sure they've finished them off. They can't take chances. Running out of water packets, they are fighting fatigue and dehydration as they bake in the heat. You feel how brutal that must be. One of the squad members constantly struggles with his fear of the front-line ("Does be all you can be mean dead on the streets of Baghdad") against the party line of the military psychiatrist ("War doesn't have to be a bad time in your life.") and the tension is palpable.

The cinematography and direction are perfect here, really illuminating the story without making it feel too Hollywood or dramatic. The attention to detail, from the details on the bombs to the realism of the scenarios, lets this incredible reality speak for itself rather than dramatize the situation. I recently watched "Pearl Harbor" at the behest of a friend and I feel grateful for a war movie that doesn't feel the least bit exploitative. The characters in "Pearl Harbor" feel shallow and unlikable and you come to understand and admire the ones here.

I could really talk about this movie all-day and I suspect I've already spoken about it too much. Do yourself a favor and go see it, I'm going to go see it again soon.

Grade: A+