Back in November, it was reported that a feature film about Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo was in the works for Disney’s new streaming service, Disney+. According to Deadline, Disney+ has put the film, “which will look at Antetokounmpo’s early life and current career, into development from Disney’s live-action film division.” Yes, a stirring Giannis biopic will soon share digital space with Frozen, The Mandalorian, and The Shaggy D.A.
So what else do we know about the film? And what, really, can we know about anything in a universe that seems designed to resist and actively thwart ultimate knowledge? Is there a God? Is there life after death? Will Disney+ jack up its $6.99 monthly subscription fee by the time this movie arrives? Let’s discuss.
1. THE WORKING TITLE IS GREEK FREAK
Yep, that’s the working title of Disney’s Giannis movie, meaning it may (and probably will) change. And what is change but the experience of life itself? We’re nothing, we’re born, we live, we die, we’re nothing. That’s it. “Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes,” wrote Chinese philosopher Laozi. “Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” If the movie ends up being called Greek Freak, let it flow. If it ends up being called Giannis or whatever, don’t resist.
2. IT WILL BE A FICTIONALIZED BIOPIC, NOT A DOCUMENTARY
As mentioned above, Disney’s live-action film division is handling the Giannis movie. It will be a fictionalized biopic, not a documentary. “Fiction” and “nonfiction” both fuel the biopic and documentary genres, of course, meaning that objective “truth” is impossible to depict—if it exists at all. Also, have you ever thought about how the very idea of a moral God suggests that morality exists outside of God? Anyway, please post your casting choices in the comments below.
3. ARASH AMEL WILL WRITE
Arash Amel is the screenwriter behind such films as the 2012 Aaron Eckhart vehicle Erased, the controversial 2014 Grace Kelly biopic Grace Of Monaco, the 2018 Sam Worthington content The Titan, and 2018’s acclaimed A Private War. He’s set to write the remake of 1984’s Starman, which we always forget was originally directed by John Carpenter. Starman, of course, tells the story of an alien who arrives on Earth after discovering the Voyager 2 space probe. (He crashes in Wisconsin, by the way.) One of the folks involved with Voyager 2, the late Carl Sagan, wrote: “There is a wide, yawning black infinity. In every direction, the extension is endless; the sensation of depth is overwhelming. And the darkness is immortal. Where light exists, it is pure, blazing, fierce; but light exists almost nowhere, and the blackness itself is also pure and blazing and fierce.” Disney+ is available now on all smart devices.
4. BERNIE GOLDMANN WILL PRODUCE
Former Disney and Village Roadshow Pictures executive Bernie Goldmann has produced such films as Saving Silverman, Taking Lives, and 300. He also produced Looney Tunes: Back In Action, which we always forget was directed by Joe Dante.
THAT’S IT
Seriously, that’s it. That’s all we know. We’re nothing, we’re born, we live, we die, we’re nothing. Here’s an incredible scene from The Shaggy D.A.