In a recent interview with Collider tied to his new monster movie Godzilla vs. Kong, screenwriter Max Borenstein dished on the Showtime-era Lakers series that he's currently working on for HBO, comparing it to Netflix's The Crown in a structural sense.
"It's a series, but obviously, its limitations are that it's inspired and based on a true story, but in a sense, structurally, it has [a] resemblance to The Crown. It's a dynasty story. It's the story of an American dynasty. In this case, because it's an American dynasty, it's not a monarchy, it's a story about celebrity and culture and entertainment as [seen] through the prism of the NBA and the prism of the Showtime Lakers. So our ambition is to tell that story in the time that it takes to tell it well," Borenstein explained in an effort to clarify that the as-yet-untitled project is designed to be an ongoing show rather than a limited series.
Borenstein was coy regarding specific details because it's still early days, but don't necessarily expect each season of the show to follow an NBA season.
"There's not a hard and fast rule on that. We're trying to tell what we see as being a story of this dynasty that really is transformational in the culture at a really important moment that, I think, is an important story to tell, and a really fun story to tell. We're going to give it its due in terms of how long it takes to tell it," said Borenstein, who declined to give a specific episode count.
One thing is clear -- HBO isn't rushing this project to air, and Borenstein believes the series has benefitted from the extra time he's had to write during the pandemic, as the better the scripts are, the better chances are of attracting high-caliber cast.
"We've been so fortunate, [because] it's a project we've been working on [for a while]. We made a pilot before the pandemic that Adam McKay directed that was a highlight of my life, creatively, to be able to work with him and this incredible team. It came out really well and everyone at HBO has been so supportive, based on people's responses to the pilot. This last pandemic year has really been all about writing these scripts, and people have been responding to that. We're really fortunate with the cast. It's a dream. It's insane."
He elaborated on the idea that Hollywood is on the precipice of a creative renaissance, as more shows make it to air that had extra time in the lab, so to speak, since the pandemic has allowed the industry to slow down a bit and focus on honing the quality of scripts.
"Look, time is one of the great resources that we don't give enough credence to. We think about money and we think about things like that, but time... especially the bigger things get and the more pressure there is to [meet] a release date in television, [where] there's always a ticking clock. So I believe it. I've said that from the beginning of the pandemic. The silver lining, and the thing that kept a lot of creative people going during it, was having stuff to work on, and for me, that time has been a kind of godsend. That show will be so much better than it ever would've been if I had had to rush it. And instead, we were able to really invest in it, and I'm so proud and excited about what we've got now," said Borenstein. "I think everything we see coming out over the next year, the quality is gonna be just crazy, It's exciting," he added.
Borenstein's new show is based on Jeff Pearlman's book Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s, but the scribe acknowledged that the series won't be called Showtime, which makes sense, since that's the name of HBO's longtime competitor on cable TV.
"We will come up with a great title, but nothing has been announced," said Borenstein, who said he has finished writing all the scripts for Season 1. "[That's] unheard of in my experience. It's such a rare, rare blessing because it allows us to embark on this season the way you'd embark on [a film]... and not even every film! A lot of films don't have their scripts done when you start shooting and you're still tinkering, so it's extremely unique, the time that the shutdown has afforded. That and the support of the network being like, 'don't just shut down, invest the time wisely and get it ready so we're ready to go as soon as it's safe.'"
Oscar winner McKay is a member of the creative team behind the Lakers series, and while Borenstein grew up a Laker fan himself, he has come to rely on McKay's basketball expertise from time to time, in addition to his artistic contributions to the show.
"Without getting into all the logistics of it, Adam is super, super involved. We'll see if he directs any other [episodes], but he's really involved as a producer and always gives notes. He's [like] the godfather of our executive producer brain trust. He's also an enormous basketball fiend, like encyclopedic level, so he's our guru... There's a reason why he's got the credibility he has, because not only is he talented, but he invests in quality, so it's an honor to be part of that camp now."
Borenstein also knows that anytime you're purporting to tell a true story, the possibility of lawsuits can hang like a dark cloud over a production, though both HBO and McKay are well-versed in such tricky situations.
"I shouldn't get into the legality stuff because it's all complicated, but in general, the rule with true stories tends to be that as long as you're authentic about what you're doing, and if you're talking about real people you're substantiating it with sources... Adam has done a lot of that in his films and HBO has done a lot of that in their films over the years, so I leave the legal aspects to the experts, but we're doing it in that way."
The Lakers series boasts a great cast, from Jason Clarke as Jerry West and John C. Reilly as Jerry Buss to Rob Morgan (Earvin Johnson Sr.), Michael Chiklis (Red Auerbach) and Oscar winners Adrien Brody (Pat Riley) and Sally Field (Jessie Buss), plus a team full of up-and-coming young -- and very tall -- actors.
And don't worry, the biggest Lakers fan of the Showtime era will make an appearance at some point. I'm referring, of course, to courtside king Jack Nicholson. "We'll see. I have an idea, said Borenstein. "We've gotta have Jack!"
I can't wait to see who Borenstein has in mind, as I thought his casting of Brody as Lakers coach Pat Riley was downright inspired, but whether he gets an A-list actor of Nicholson's stature or a complete unknown, the fact is that at the end of the day, Borenstein views the Lakers series as a passion project, albeit one on a massive scale.
"It's my love letter to that era, it's my love letter to basketball, and it's my love later to L.A. I grew up in L.A., so it's my town and I'm a Laker fan. [This show] is not just for Laker fans but it very much is about that moment, and I think we're doing something really special, and I can't wait for everyone to see it."