Not many people can say that they were kicked out of a dressing room at the Olympic Games or NBA superster Kevin Durant Cry, but director Jake Rogal has received a fully accessible pass to the Olympic Games of Paris for Netflix’s basketball documentary “Court of Gold. “
Rogal, who produced the Michael Jordan documentary ‘The Last Dance’, returned to the basketball court, but took a much more international lens for the Olympic action. He exchanged Jordan for current basketball -s super stars such as LeBron James, Steph Curry and Durant, Plus foreign talents, including Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama. During six episodes, “Court of Gold” Basketball Teams from the US, France, Serbia and Canada follows, chasing Olympic glory in Paris last summer.
“What Jake has done a masterful task is the diplomacy and management of so many moving parts, with not only the entities on our side of the fence and the production companies involved and the IOC, but also dealing with the four teams, all theirs personalities and the four crews that had to follow them, “said Jason Hehir, who directed” the last dance “and produced” Court of Gold “.” In many respects this was one More difficult, complicated project than ‘The Last Dance’, with much less time to put everything together as a real director, with a capital D, is amazing.
Although viewers know that the USA team has won its fifth straight gold medal, the commitment and excitement are high in the ‘Court of Gold’. The US is no longer a guaranteed Olympic leader, because basketball has become such an international sport and every foreign team is ready to steal its crown.
Of VarietyRogal breaks down his emotional interview with Durant, is kicked out of the dressing room of Serbia and needs a boost to interview the seven-foot-three Wembanyama.
How did you decide which countries to follow and how did you get access to their practices and changing rooms?
Although they are all in a similar tournament, every country is so different in the way they work. Most countries were receptive because we framed it as “We make a time capsule of a historic moment for your basketball organization and for your country.” Team USA was an obvious choice because they have all the superstars and the story is really focused around them, win or lose. France was another obvious choice because they are the home country and Victor Wembanyama is this great star. Canada was another team that was pretty clear because they were a dark horse. People told us that they could win the whole thing, and they have a lot of NBA players in the Roster. However, that fourth team thought for a long time. Greece, Germany and South Sudan were in the mix. Eventually we came to Serbia for a number of reasons. They had a really good team and you add Nikola Jokic, the best player in the world, they could really make noise. We knew that we wanted to tell the background stories of countries, and the story of Serbia is so rich that the human element was there.
Did you have a backup plan if one of those teams had lost and left the tournament early?
We spoke about a lot of turns and we had daily conversations about what teams did and interesting storylines to follow. At one point France had a hard time and Germany was doing great, so we started to Wionen Germany in the four teams to have four and a half teams. So we went to a German practice, we interviewed the head coach, started reaching some players to see if they were comfortable, and three days later they lost and they were beaten out of the tournament. That story went away and France went to the gold medal play.
There is a pretty emotional moment when you interview Kevin Durant and he starts crying when he talks about what basketball means to him. How did you give him open to open?
If he is emotional, the first thing you want is respectful. The show is the second thought in my head at that time. There is someone for me who is really vulnerable now, and it takes courage to be so vulnerable publicly, especially for someone he doesn’t know. The second thought was: “This is great for the show.” If someone is authentic and real, it makes people look at that. If you really see an athlete, you are ‘finally’. I know that is in it, and they just don’t show me. It is nice to see that someone is authentic. The question I asked him was about Twitter. After the first Serbia game, he was on Twitter and responded to people who didn’t have many followers. I had something like: ‘Guy, why do you spend your time on that? Like, you are a global superstar in Paris. Don’t have better things to do? “His thing was:“ When I respond to them, I have 28 million followers, so that people can see that I make a point based on what this person says. It is because I love basketball so much, and it means so much to me And it made me who I am. ” It was not an emotional question, but it touched him in a way that was emotional.
At one point you interview President Obama and he is joking with Team USA for the tournament. Were there other scenes with him that had been omitted?
Every moment we had that was entertaining was in the cut. There was nothing we had left on the floor. Especially with President Obama, those boys are of course on their best behavior, but what these NBA super stars make they are, that they are almost unapologicals at all times, regardless of who’s in the room. That moment with Anthony Edwards and President Obama was real. That’s how they talk if the cameras are not there. The fact that our cameras were there and they were willing to be themselves, was cool for us to catch. When those cameras are eliminated, the conversation is out. Anthony is completely himself, regardless of who you are, and President Obama knows how to disarm and people feel comfortable.
There was a heated moment when the Serbian coach Svetislav Pešić kicks you out of the dressing room during a tough game. How was that moment?
The Olympic Games brought us the references we needed, but the coaches eventually had control of the final access. We went to every team and said: “We want to be in these sensitive places. However, you have the ultimate authority. Kick us out whenever you want. If we are annoying, tell us. This is your tournament and team, and we just try to be an additive for that, not to stand in the way. “Of course, some coaches took us. Coach Pešić ran a dressing room in a certain way and would be heated at certain times, so he kicked us a couple, which is completely good and in his right. The region made us offset. Kicked the authenticity. In those changing rooms.
Are you going to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games to film another season?
I think “Court of Gold” should be done on every Olympic sport in every sport. Seeing how different countries approach sport is a microcosm of how some of those countries work. It is difficult to get a real feeling of how other cultures are, and I think sports are a good way to do that. “Court of Gold” should go to Milan, they have to go to LA for basketball, as a franchise it has to go through the Olympic Games and do every year.
Thanks to Netflix
After making this show, is there a player whose career would like to follow you closely?
Is it cliché to say Victor Wembanyama? It is impossible to take your eyes. At his age, to be just as attentive and cerebral and aware as he is – I could see him stop before he spoke to every time we asked a question because he wanted to think about what he was going to say. That is so rare. In combination with his basketball skills, he of course has that thing. That guy has it. He is handsome, friendly, attentive, smart. He is so young and he was so busy on him at the Olympic Games. There were billboards everywhere and people who wanted to reach him. We will see him explode in a way that we have not really done before.
How do you interview a player like Wemby, who is 7’3 ”?
I am 5’11 ”. I try to choose the same chair so that your eye line is the same. With Wemby he sat in a normal chair and I was sitting on a bar stool. Then we were the same eye line, which was humiliating for me. The photos that the crew received, for which they still laugh at me, are in my phone. That was a challenge because he is like that, so long. For the other boys you can usually position yourself in a way they match near you. Kevin looked down on me a bit. Victor was so big that I had to sit on the bar stool and he sat on a normal chair and I was still shorter than he was.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.