讲述扬尼斯的故事
去年10月, basketball fans around the world waited anxiously to see whether NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo would stay with the Milwaukee Bucks, 他打了十年球的地方, or sign with a bigger market team like so many before him. 克里斯汀·拉帕斯09年的, the decision had major consequences—she’d just wrapped production on a documentary film chronicling Antetokounmpo’s miraculous rise to stardom. If he switched teams, her crew would have more work to do.
这很有趣, 我的老板说:“哦，我的天哪, 如果他走了, we’re going to have to totally change the end of the film,’”她回忆道. “但我有一种很好的感觉. He’s a very loyal person, 和 I didn’t think he was going to go.“还, when Antetokounmpo agreed to a three-year contract extension worth $186 million, 拉帕斯松了一口气.
今年2月, 扬尼斯:神奇的旅程, directed 和 produced by Lappas, debuted around the world on Prime Video. It features extensive interviews with Antetokounmpo 和 his family—the first they’ve ever granted—和 tells the fascinating story of how an undocumented Black boy selling trinkets on the streets of Athens became a two-time MVP, 世界冠军, 全球图标.
Lappas, 在太阳城网赌平台主修传播学的人, has been surrounded by sports her entire life (her father coached collegiate basketball at Villanova University), 和 has worked as a director 和 producer in sports media for 15 years. Twelve of those years were spent at ESPN Films where she won Emmy Awards for two short documentaries: 黑脚拳:不是隐形的 和 要爬的山. 2022年，她担任导演 梦想在, an award-winning multi-part documentary chronicling the 1996 women’s Olympic basketball team, 是ESPN“30 for 30”系列节目的一部分.
Lappas first met Antetokounmpo in 2019 while overseeing a documentary on sneaker subculture (Antetokounmpo was the first international player to launch a signature sneaker with Nike) 和 knew him as a charismatic jokester who was also notoriously private about his personal life. 当她在文字图片公司的老板, 她现在工作的制作工作室, 告诉她字母哥准备好分享他的故事了, 她知道建立信任需要时间.
“他的个性非常独特，”拉帕斯说. “他的朋友圈并不大, 和 the only thing he cares about in his life is his family. 一开始很难, 试图突破，找到真实的他, 但是一旦你到了那里, 他是最聪明的人之一, 是我见过最内省的人.”
安特托昆博和拉帕斯出席电影首映式. 照片由克里斯汀·拉帕斯提供.
Antetokounmpo 和 his three brothers were born in Greece to Nigerian parents who fled Africa in search of a better future, 把第一个儿子交给亲戚照顾. The family was undocumented 和 they scraped together money for food 和 rent by selling watches, cd, 还有沙滩上的太阳镜. 通常是不够的, 一天晚上, the family arrived home to find an eviction notice taped to their door. 害怕被驱逐出境, 他们匆忙地收拾东西, wheeling their refrigerator down the street on a skateboard.
在21世纪初, immigrants were increasingly blamed for Greece’s financial collapse, 和 members of a far-right criminal organization called the Golden Dawn began attacking them in the streets. Antetokounmpo’s younger brother Alex remembers Giannis challenging him to daily races on the way home from school, fearful of what would happen if they were spotted near the Golden Dawn headquarters. 在拍摄过程中, Lappas wasn’t sure that Antetokounmpo would be willing to speak about the experience, 但他毫不犹豫地照做了, 在镜头前泪流满面.
我告诉他, 为了让你的故事最真实, 让观众和你产生共鸣, 你必须谈论困难的事情,拉帕斯说. “我不需要强迫. I think he feels a sense of responsibility now to share those stories.”
尽管他与希腊关系复杂, 安特托昆博仍然认为这里是自己的家, 他和他的兄弟们为国家队效力. 在两年的拍摄中, 拉帕斯四次飞往希腊, 采访多年前认识这家人的人, including a cafe owner who used to give the boys free food. Antetokounmpo 和 his fiancée Mariah live in Athens during the offseason, 和 the film includes touching footage of them at home with their two sons, 拿换尿布开玩笑.
回到密尔沃基, everyone Lappas contacted was willing to speak on camera about “the Greek Freak,” who has transformed the Bucks organization during his time there. 教练, 球员, 和 sports commentators—including big names like Jason Kidd, 贝壳, Khris米德尔顿, 肯尼·史密斯为这部电影提供了故事和评论. Even President Barack Obama was “an excited yes” to participate, Lappas说, 但是日程安排没有成功.
Bucks assistant coach Josh Oppenheimer shared memories of Antetokounmpo’s early years in the NBA, 当他还在适应美国的生活时.S. 当时, Bucks staff took 18-year-old Antetokounmpo under their wing, 带他去尝人生第一次奶昔, 教他开车, 和 explaining that he didn’t have to take home his dirty laundry. 字母哥经常给家里寄钱, 有一次, 比赛前30分钟, 他的自动取款机已经透支了，没钱打车了. 他冒着严寒开始向体育场跑去, 被一个开车去看比赛的家庭接走了. 当奥本海默问是谁送他来的时候, 字母哥回答说他不知道, 但他们都是“非常好的人”.”
“这就是他的善良，”奥本海默说. “他看到了最好的一面，他看到了每个人最好的一面.”
随着她越来越接近字母哥, Lappas was continually surprised by his ability to analyze his own experiences, including difficult events like the sudden death of his father in 2017. When she asked how he was able to elevate his game after such a tragic event (he won his first of two MVP rings the following season) Antetokounmpo delivered a perfect sound bite about what it means to feel no fear.
“我很震惊，”拉帕斯回忆道. “他的回答总是让我大吃一惊. It was never what I expected him to say based off my research, 它一直都是如此坦率, 思考问题的方法.”
拉帕斯和“扬尼斯:奇妙之旅”的船员们. '
Late last year, the Antetokounmpo family gathered at home to watch 扬尼斯:神奇的旅程 发行前. Lappas was nervous (“It’s literally the most nerve-wracking part of the entire process,” 她说) but the family’s reaction was everything she’d hoped for: emotional, 感激的, 和自豪. Giannis, who jokingly arrived at the screening with a notebook in h和, told Lappas he had no notes.
“作为一个讲故事的人和电影制作人, 你这样做是为了观众, 但对我来说, 我是为了这门学科,拉帕斯说. “The fact that the family feels like it’s done their story justice, 而且它是真实的, 而且不是捏造或夸大的, 真的对我很重要吗. To look over at his family sitting on the couch with tears streaming down their faces, 这对我来说是最有价值的部分.”
为了她的下一个项目, 拉帕斯将留在篮球界, directing a series for ESPN on women college athletes including Iowa star Caitlin Clark, 有望成为2024年WNBA选秀大会的状元秀. While she’s excited for a slower schedule (Lappas was editing Giannis up until the day she gave birth to her daughter in June) there’s always an adjustment period between assignments, 她说.
“这么长时间以来，你一直活在别人的故事里, 然后突然就停止了,她解释道. “这当然是苦乐参半.”