New Justin Baldoni Controversy Erupts With NBA Star Post ‘It Ends With Us’ Drama: Report | Hollywood

Much like the 40-year-old Hollywood star’s Wayfarer Studios, which he co-founded with billionaire Steve Sarowitz, currently owns the rights to Colleen Hoover’s controversial novel and its sequel, the independent studio also reportedly has a deal with former NBA star Craig Hodges completed. Chasing the wave of success of the successful ESPN series The Last Dance With his former teammate Michael Jordan, Baldoni’s production house attempted to bring to life the words in the pages of Hodges’ book, Long Shot: The Triumphs and Struggles of an NBA Freedom Fighter.

Although the rumor mill has spread all sorts of narratives surrounding the topic It ends with us Drama whose undeniable commercial success on the screen has already set a precedent, and all thanks to the source material provided by Colleen Hoover’s book. On the contrary, as Deadline reports, the former Chicago Bulls’ documentary project hit a seemingly irreparable halt last year after Wayfarer put it on hold. Since then, Hodges has been embroiled in a dispute with Baldoni’s company over documentary rights.

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Origins of NBA Star Crag Hodges vs. Justin Baldoni’s Wayfarer Studios

The issue goes beyond Hollywood money and involves race and basketball. History seems to be repeating itself sickeningly, as the three-point expert’s contract dispute with Wayfarer has prevented him from bringing his vision to life in the pages of his 2017 book. The project (working titles: “The Lost Dance” and “Whiteballed”) initially led to a partnership between Hodges and the British-Indian producer Jivi Singh. Baldoni’s production company ultimately decided to provide financing.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, creative differences grew between the former NBA player and Wayfarer. Hodges admitted to Deadline that while Jivi Singh was determined to do his book justice “with an accurate depiction of the time frame the material covered,” Wayfarer sparked debate about “portraying Craig Hodges in a palatable way, that the NBA would accept.” In his book, the sports star claims he was expelled from the men’s basketball league in the early 1990s because he used his platform for justice. He also criticized his fellow black athletes who “failed to use their considerable wealth and influence to help the poor and disenfranchised.” Therefore, his experiences and the “essence” of his book differed from what Wayfarer supposedly wanted to pursue.

Justin Baldoni’s company is reportedly not interested in preserving the originality of Craig Hodges’ story

Hodges then directly mentions Justin Baldoni, explaining that he was more focused on following the hype created by the mini-documentaries about the rise of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. “Wayfarer never seemed interested in this version of the story. Justin Baldoni was definitely interested in virtue signaling and supporting the hype The last dance but much less interested in the true burden of responsibility that comes with accurately portraying the reality of being a black man in America.”

Further conversations driven by racial credibility targeted Singh’s position in the venture, as Baldoni and Wayfarer CEO Jamey Heath, also a black man, were eyeing Kirk Fraser, a black director, to lead the project.

The media outlet reviewed a Zoom call in which Wayfarer executives tried their best to persuade Singh to quit. “I promise you that as much as you feel, no one knows [Hodges’ life] Better, no one knows it better than me. I’m his age, I’ve experienced it and been through it. “You may be a wonderful filmmaker, but the story is something that may have some blind spots for you,” Heath told Singh during the call.

Singh followed up with a valid response: “We’re all going to have our own subjective perspective, Jamie, but I asked you to articulate those nuances to me and you said to me, and I found that a little disingenuous rather than articulate.” You did given to me and allowed me to grow and understand. You said to me, “Jivi, if you had experienced that, you wouldn’t have had to ask that question.” To me, that felt more like a cover-up than you were trying to inform and enlighten me about what I was missing was. I don’t understand why you don’t want to do that.”

Justin Baldoni also spoke out. An It Ends With Us insider previously criticized him in a Daily Mail interview for his performative “woke feminism” on the set of the Sony film. Baldoni shared Heath’s belief that someone who is not a black American cannot accurately represent the black experience in America, adding, “Racism in America…is so unique to America that most people don’t fully understand it.” So if Jamie tells you, as a black person, as a non-black person, if you experienced it, you wouldn’t have to ask that question. It comes from 50 years of pain and racism when he was thrown out of a swimming pool at age seven and the whites had to drain the pool because a black man touched it. It comes from a place you don’t know.”

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He continued: “We as people who are not Black can never put the emphasis on Black people telling us and teaching us… That’s a very important reason why it’s so unique to America, why the director “Must be black,” I think, and from America.”

Money problems came into the chat

Kirk Fraser, who was high on Wayfarer’s wish list to direct the project, subsequently dropped out because he didn’t want to get involved in a dispute. Ultimately the rule fell into the hands of Singh. He was believed to have completed filming a rough cut of the documentary. However, its content has now been dismissed as a cog in the machine as the raging battle over the film’s rights has become the focus of controversy.

The ordeal has only gotten worse as Baldoni’s company reportedly invested around $1.1 million in the film while also covering other expenses for Hodges and the production. Wayfarer asked for $50,000 upfront and $125,000 for final rights release, considering the NBA alum and Singh somehow sold the project to another buyer. However, the duo is against this, saying that they do not have to pay the company under the existing contract as they have the creative control in their hands. Singh’s IFF Content banner, which Hodges had originally hoped would direct and produce the film, has terminated Baldoni’s agency, but that’s another uphill battle.

“When Wayfarer offered to sell the rights back to us for $50,000 plus $125,000 in surcharges, we believe they were contractually asking us to pay for something we already owned. I think they knew that the ongoing dispute would make it virtually impossible to engage a third party to help finance and complete the project,” Singh told the outlet.

NBA star and British-Indian producer are still on the same page

On the other hand, Craig Hodges’ ultimate end goal is for the project to see the light of day, as he vehemently hopes that Baldoni’s company will “step aside and give up any claims to the film.” From day one, his ideas and intentions seemed to align with those of Jivi Singh. He admits that Singh’s film is “an honest and fair account of the events and what happened to me.”