SEMI PRO, starts Friday

[spurscenter]

Hey Guys

Just a reminder...

Check out the new movie SEMI PRO this weekend!

Daaaaa Spurs are in the film.

http://media.bonnint.net/wtopmovies/NowShowing/62615/62615_bh.jpg

word!!!!!

Mr. Gilmore and other cameos throughout as well.

http://sportsmed.starwave.com/i/magazine/new/artis_gilmore.jpg

gtceyCndack

tNGqlzoHrrI

[ChumpDumper]

"Please"? WTF?

Thanks for the heads up though. I never would have known this movie existed otherwise.

[DazedAndConfused]

"Please"? WTF?

Thanks for the heads up though. I never would have known this movie existed otherwise.

DOH!

[FromWayDowntown]

What rock did you crawl out of? This movie has been advertised non-stop during NBA game commercials and Will Ferell himself has been on ESPN numerous times to promote it.

I think he was being sarcastic. That's just a guess, though.

I'm off to wrestle a bear now.

[ChumpDumper]

:lmao

lakerfans.....

[Flight3107]

LOL @ Jeff

[phyzik]

my favorite quote so far...

"If you have a small child, use it as a shield!!"

:lol

[DynastyBuilder]

spurs35.com (http://spurs35.com) has a pretty funny interview with Silas talkin about Ice's baby 'fro.. interviews with Ice and Silas, some of the cast and some movie clips.

[Dingle Barry]

This movie looks like it sucks shit through a straw, and the obnoxious marketing compaign only adds to further convince me of that.

Ferrell needs to disappear.

[phyzik]

Gervin said in that interview that they might not be in the theatrical release, but will probably be in the DVD release.... I think I might wait for the DVD release.

[Mister Sinister]

One: New sig test!

Two: Damn it to fuckballs, I'm working Friday!

[Russ]

Jeez, the ABA :fro (and the Spurs) didn't even rate box scores in the LA Times at the time.

Now the ABA :fro has its own movie in tinseltown. What a turnaround.

But a better statement would just be to beat LA's beloved Lakers :flypig in the playoffs. :fro

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

"Have you ever been to an orgy?!?"
"I just got back from an orgy!"

[duncan228]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA022808.01C.BKO_SemiProStory.en.3c6e6c6.html

Basketball: 'Semi-Pro' director uses Spurs memories to give movie some authenticity

Clint Hale
San Antonio Express-News

Kent Alterman spent a sizable portion of his childhood at HemisFair Arena — center court, third row — heckling the living hell out of anyone who had the misfortune of being a Spurs opponent on that particular night.
"I was an obnoxious, smart-mouthed kid," Alterman recalls, "screaming and yelling."

Alterman does more these days than reflect on his memories of rooting for the Spurs during the waning years of the American Basketball Association. Rather, he turned those memories into a feature-length film.

A native San Antonian, Alterman directed "Semi-Pro," a comical — and fictional — take on the 1976 ABA season. The R-rated flick, which stars Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson and Andre Benjamin, hits theaters nationwide on Friday. "Semi-Pro" tells the story of the fictional Flint Tropics and owner/coach/player Jackie Moon (Ferrell), who attempt to finish in the top four of the 1976 ABA standings, thus allowing them to join the NBA the following season. Aside from the Tropics, each team referenced in "Semi-Pro" actually played in the ABA.

"This couldn't be more personal," Alterman said of "Semi-Pro," which marks the first feature-length directorial effort for the 1975 Lee High School graduate. "I have deep roots with it. I was a kid when the Spurs came from Dallas in the old ABA days."

Red McCombs and Angelo Drossos were among the Spurs' principal investors when the team relocated from Dallas in 1973, though the group encouraged investment from others in the community. That enabled Alterman's father Bill and uncle Richard, along with some friends, to combine their efforts and purchase a single share of the team.

That lone share helped Kent Alterman land a premier seat at HemisFair Arena, and enabled him to watch Spurs legends such as George Gervin and James Silas. Both of those iconic figures, plus former Spurs center Artis Gilmore, served as consultants during the filming of "Semi-Pro" and shot a cameo that will be shown on the film's extended DVD version.

Gervin recalls plenty of the ABA's wacky promotional tactics, one of which involved Spurs opponents holding him to less than 30 points, thus granting everyone in attendance free food from a local eatery.

He contends, however, that the ABA was more than a carnival-like sideshow to the more prominent NBA.

"There were a lot of great ballplayers that played in that league, and we proved once we merged in 1976 that we did have a lot of talent," Gervin said. "There was a lot of young talent in the ABA, and in my eyes, the ABA helped the NBA become what it is today."

Silas, meanwhile, was pleased to see an ABA diehard like Alterman take the reins of "Semi-Pro."

"I felt like he was somebody that knew, not somebody who read a book or went out and got the info," Silas said. "He was there, and it makes a difference when you were there and saw it individually. It happened to you."

Alterman, 50, hasn't let his childhood adoration of the Spurs fade with age.

Though he now resides in Los Angeles — where he has been the executive producer of award-winning films like "A History of Violence" and "Little Children" — Alterman still ventures out to Staples Center when the Spurs are in town. He doesn't get quite as animated as in the past, though Alterman admits his fondness for the team sometimes leads to public displays of passion.

He was at Madison Square Garden when the Spurs won their first NBA championship, trekked to Detroit for Game 5 of the 2005 NBA Finals and sat in the stands of the AT&T Center for Game 1 of last season's Western Conference finals. In the climactic scene of "Semi-Pro," the Tropics play — who else — but the first-place Spurs ... even though the Spurs actually finished third during the ABA's final season.

"I took that liberty," Alterman said, "and made them the powerful team in the league."

As for the Spurs' current roster, Alterman lists Tim Duncan as the team's best overall player, though an affinity for Manu Ginobili is rather obvious.

Had Alterman and his wife had a son recently — the couple had a daughter instead — his name would have been Emanuel.

"It was my father's middle name, but we would have called him Manu," Alterman said. "I love the way he plays."

His daughter, Evelyn Maye Alterman, turned 1 in January.

Alterman's love of the Spurs and their old ABA exploits were not lost on the cast of "Semi-Pro," and in particular, the film's leading man.

"Oh yeah," Ferrell said in a sarcastic tone, "we've heard all of those stories, ad nauseam."

The Spurs, with four NBA titles since 1999, aren't exactly keeping Alterman at a loss for on-set conversation with future Hollywood co-workers.

"To have the Spurs transformed into the pre-eminent franchise in terms of how it's run and the results they get ... everyone is doing an amazing job," he said. "It's a thrill to be able to take that kind of pride in your hometown team."

[samikeyp]

Gilmore didn't play with the Spurs in the ABA.

(I know, im a buzzkill) :lol


Would have been nice though! :)

[monosylab1k]

Will Ferrell has become incredibly annoying.

[T Park]

Haha a spurs fan directed it?

Makes it all the more worth going and seeing sunday.

[shelshor]

"Please"? WTF?

Thanks for the heads up though. I never would have known this movie existed otherwise.
This movie sounds perfect for an Alamo Draft House open mike night

[nkdlunch]

Will Ferrel is the motherfuckin man.

all his movies kick ass

[drunkendan]

Preeeecioooooussss.......

[whottt]

I can't wait to see this move and have been psyched about it since I first saw the previews :tu


I don't particularly find Will Ferrel funny, but he looks like he knows what he's doing here.

[JBIIRockets]

This movie looks like it sucks shit through a straw, and the obnoxious marketing compaign only adds to further convince me of that.

Ferrell needs to disappear.

Speaking as one who has seen it already, I can say you are WRONG! :spin

[E20]

I semi fucking care about this movie, but not enough to actually and go watch it.

[ancestron]

Will Ferrell is hilarious. His movies? ehh...
I'll wait for the DVD.