Pete Newell: Doug Harris’ film “Basketball Guru”
My friend, west coast documentary filmmaker, Doug Harris, has geared up for a very special day.
Today, the many fruits of his tireless work these past many years to craft his new documentary film will be shared in the screening of a significant, 13-minute portion of his major (soon-to-be-completed) film, “Basketball Guru: The Pete Newell Story.” Guru will be screened at the Landmark Theater in downtown Berkeley.
Oakland Tribune columnist Carl Steward has just written a wonderful piece on Doug and the film’s reach.
Doug, in his humble way, brushes me off when I introduced him to my friends as “one of the elite documentary filmmakers in the country - any genre.” He is. It’s unquestionble now, with the advent of the whole Pete Newell film.
On the road these past two months compiling his final takes and interviews, he’s met up with Bill Walton, Pat Riley, Oscar Robertson, Adrian Smith, Wayne Embrey, and a plethora of others. Pete Newell influenced each of these celebrated players and coaches in major ways.
I had a blast tooling around with Doug when he came to stay six weeks ago with me in Cincinnati, while knocking out prestigious interviews with Wayne Embrey (in Milwaukee), the Big O. and “Odie” Smith. He made a big splash out here and he’ll be back. He and I know that.
Pete Newell’s impact on people, players, and coaches is immeasurable. Check out the youtube sequence Doug has put up. It spans three generations. Newell is still talked about as if he’s going to show up any minute and share some wisdom. Doug’s film will catapult Newell’s legacy like no other work on him to date. The excerpt screened today in Berkeley should be a barometer of a forthcoming milestone.
Tags: , athletes united for peace, basketball guru, basketball history, carl steward, documentary films, doug harris, national basketball association, oakland tribune, pete newell