In the animated/live-action epic adventure Space Jam: A New Legacy, LeBron James goes on a wild adventure alongside timeless Tune Bugs Bunny to save his son from rogue AI G. Rhythm. Malcolm D. Lee directs from a screenplay by Juel Taylor, Tony Rettenmaier, Keenan Coogler, Terence Nance, Jesse Gordon, and Celeste Ballard.
While the amount of animation and visual effects in the movie was new, as a veteran director the process was still the same for Malcolm. “I’ve never worked on a film that had animation or this level of visual effects before, so I learned a ton,” he recalls. “But I think it’s the twenty-year career and the ten movies I have under my belt that helped me know how to talk to people and use their talents in the right way that helped me achieve the vision [for Space Jam].”
And how did he execute his vision for the iconic remake? On the micro level, Malcolm is never short on “meditation, vitamins and time with the family.” On the macro level, it’s understanding that “Film is a collaborative effort. As long as we're all rowing in the same direction, we're going to be successful.”
“You can tell them [the creative team] what you want. Declaratively.” And if you don’t know what you want? Ask. “I’m confident enough to know what I don’t know,” Malcolm shares. “And when I don’t know something, I ask, ‘What do you think about it? And how can we achieve this together?’”
At the center of Malcolm’s vision for Space Jam was the father-son storyline, something very near and dear to him. “It was important to me that the story had that emotional backbone with all the spectacle surrounding it. I wanted to make that come through and shine.”
He continues, “It's always been my goal to make these so-called African-American movies mainstream because all the themes in my movies are universal. They have cultural specificity, but they're relatable. It started with The Best Man, then Girls Trip and Night School. And now, Space Jam.”
“Hopefully, people will see past that it's an all-American Black family because the issues that they have to deal with are all very relatable."
Upon contemplating his decades-long career, Malcolm reflects, “I never saw myself doing a movie like Space Jam, but it was for me. I didn't know I needed to make that movie, but I did need to make that movie. You don't always know what is for you, but things happen the way they're supposed to happen.”
Now with Space Jam under his belt, what’s next on the horizon for Malcolm? “I'd love to get more into producing for other filmmakers and get that next-generation going. Do a musical, more animation, and some documentaries. I'd also love to do nothing for a while and sit on my behind and hang out with my family. Figure out that work-life balance, so it becomes habit and not happenstance.”
And if he could go back in time and high-five himself, what would he say? "Keep going. But I'm glad I didn't meet my future me, because I might've rested on my laurels.” He laughs, “It's like when I start to lose weight and people say, ‘You look great!" I start eating again. Don't tell me nothing good. Keep it all bad.”
Any final words to writers? “The Universe may have a different plan [for what you want to write]. You gotta listen to that."
Space Jam: A New Legacy is currently in theaters.