Rezball
The second season of the Emmy-nominated Netflix series “Basketball or Nothing” was full of trials and tribulations. This season, now titled Rezball, is looking for a new home after the partnership with Netflix was severed due to a lengthy COVID-induced delay in production. Alongside director and creator, Matt Howley, and Philadelphia-based content studio, The Workshop, Derek hopes to turn the series into a feature film in the mold of the legendary "Hoop Dreams", spanning each character's transition from teenage kids to adulthood.
Openness, Enlightenment, and Resilience
Chinle, Arizona is a remote town. The Holiday Inn in Chinle, Arizona is even more remote. Derek spent almost two months there alongside director Matt Howley and a skeleton crew. Among the red rocks of Canyon de Chile, they documented multiple community members while routinely chopping it up late into the night discussing narrative beats, character arcs, and visual motifs. They gained unprecedented access, often being invited over for dinner by families in the community and visiting secret Navajo landmarks hidden from tourists. However, it all wouldn’t have been possible without one thing: trust.
That trust was earned. It was earned through time. It was earned by observing and not intruding. It was earned by asking questions. And that’s what made it so hard for Matt and Derek. They talk regularly about strategies for selling Season Two. However, Netflix won’t sell Season One for any reasonable price, scaring away potential buyers.
The tough part is that Season Two would be even better. The toughest part is that the community's trust has been abandoned without any control of the filmmakers. You be the judge, samples of what could be are below.
