Where Amazing Happens

China’s increasing interest in basketball has led to one of the most unusual movie-sport collaborations in recent history. Though not the first film made in the country to feature basketball, Amazing is the Middle Kingdom movie industry’s first-ever official cooperation with the NBA. Deriving its title from the association's ad slogan, ‘Where amazing happens,’ its cast list boasts Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony and Scottie Pippen. Taking aim at both domestic and foreign markets, producers are hoping the combination of famous Chinese actors and beloved sport stars will score a transnational slam dunk.

Whether Amazing succeeds or fails, the result will mostly be laid at the door of director Sherwood Hu, known to Chinese audiences as Hu Xuehua. Living in the US for over two decades, the Shanghai-born filmmaker attained both his master’s and doctorate in directing while residing in America, giving him insight into both sides of the equation. Though the NBA originally wanted to employ two helmers, one from China and one from the US, Hu charmed Commissioner David Stern into giving his blessing with the words: “You’re more than capable to direct this film.”

Part of that endorsement is no doubt down to Hu’s own passion for shooting hoops. “Three things caused the biggest impact in my life: movies, MJ and basketball,” says Hu. “I feel like basketball shares a lot in common with movies; both are full of changes, because you never know when surprises might occur. There are tensions, tempos and different characters. Both are full of fun.”

Production has been a long road. Amazing started filming in 2010 and has taken three years to finally reach cinemas. Hu spent a lot of time tailoring the script to allow each of the NBA stars to show their individual characteristics.

“They’re like giant kids in my eyes,” says Hu. “Not so much experienced in acting, but very keen to learn. Humble and modest, I had their full trust and we had lots of fun.
“I remember one day when we were done with shooting, Anthony started to practice fixed-point jump shots. Practicing the identical movements for three hours and half, he only paused twice to have some water and didn’t leave the court till one in the morning.

“That’s why I like the NBA. They’re superstars but they never put on airs with others. You can tell from their eyes that they have both a healthy body and a great personality. And I think that’s how movies should affect people too, to fill audiences with positive energies and to give them an eye to view the world.”

Apart from these titans, Amazing also stars China’s number-one heartthrob Huang Xiaoming and Taiwanese actress Amber Kuo, who recently received a huge boost to her mainland fame after starring in smash hit Tiny Times.

Huang plays a stubborn, nerdy IT designer who’s been trying to solve fatal bugs in a soon-to-be-released game, but accidentally gets sucked into a thrilling adventure in the virtual world. In order to measure up to his NBA costars, Huang made sure to bulk up on muscle for the movie, according to Hu. “Huang is just like his role, insistent and never gives up, exactly the spirit that basketball gives us.”

Amazing is not Hu’s first film to go beyond the realm of concrete reality. At the invitation of Francis Ford Coppola, Sherwood had his English-language movie debut with the supernatural Lani-Loa in 1998, making him the first Chinese mainland director to take the reins on a Hollywood movie.

“Working with Francis was my lifetime honor,” recalls Hu. “He was super nice to work with and I learned a lot from him, including the use of music, the tempo of telling stories and video edits – in fact, that experience proved to be very useful in directing Amazing.”

Having been raised in an artistically sophisticated family, Sherwood is keen to tell local stories with international vision. His previous film, Prince of Himalayas, relocated Shakespeare’s Hamlet to Tibet, posing the immortal “to be, or not to be” question on the roof of the world.

Before agreeing to direct this project, Hu asked for three requirements to be satisfied: all actors had to be ethnically Tibetan; the film had to be shot in Tibet; and all actors had to speak Tibetan. The result was critical acclaim and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Film.

Unlike many Chinese films that put the focus on history, Hu wants his films to peer into the future, and of course, looking into the future also includes the adoption of new technology. During the three-year production of Amazing, a third of the time was spent adapting it for 3-D, as Hu thought that the vivid video game and sports scenes could be more fully realized in three dimensions. However, that doesn’t mean he believes that the medium is the future of film – quite the opposite.

“The 3-D technology is going to expire soon. It’s just a matter of these two years,” says Sherwood confidently. “I believe the future belongs to hologram and ball-screen cinema. Imagine a gun firing and bullets whizzing right in front of your eyes. This kind of sensational effect is the trend for sure.

“However, I’m lucky to see a more mature 3-D market today compared to three years ago, plus actors like Huang Xiaoming and Amber Kuo have gained more popularity today and people are getting more familiar with NBA. I assume movies have destinies too.”

Filmgoers aren’t the only ones who can’t wait for the premiere; Dwight Howard and Carmelo Anthony are also looking forward to their big-screen debuts. Luckily for them, a US release is planned for the near future. Having become good friends with the two players, Hu pays them visit every time he goes to the US, watching an NBA game when he can snatch the time.

“I’m a big fan of LA, NY and Houston, but I’m tendentious when watching different teams,” Sherwood says with a laugh. “After all, Anthony is a friend of mine now, but Kobe isn’t. Yet.”

// Amazing is scheduled to arrive in theaters on Sept 28.