00:00All right, it's 105.1 The Bounce.
00:02I am Leisha B. from The Morning Rollout,
00:03and today we are getting into a lot of things.
00:07Not only are we talking about a basketball legend,
00:09we're getting into filmmaking,
00:10but also seeing a different side of someone we've grown up with
00:15that you might not have expected.
00:17But we're getting it from Emmy-nominated executive producer,
00:21director, filmmaker, and artist, 1-9.
00:23Thank you so much for having the time for me.
00:26Hey, thank you for having me.
00:27Appreciate it. Looking forward to this.
00:30Yeah, so I've been watching, now that it's been released,
00:33we're talking about Allen Iverson,
00:35the new docu-series that is exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.
00:40I watched about 10 minutes of it so far.
00:43And dare I say, can I just say,
00:45the filmmaking, your eye, the editing team,
00:48y'all are doing real great.
00:50Because just the first 10 minutes alone, I am locked in.
00:54So I want to know, first and foremost,
00:57you've covered people like Nas,
00:59as you're about to cover Nipsey.
01:01So what about Allen's story really stuck to you
01:05that you wanted to be a part of telling it?
01:08Well, you know, Allen's story is so multi-layered.
01:13I think we all love what he did to the game,
01:16you know, changed the game itself,
01:19king of the crossover, you know, MVP.
01:21But also, ultimately, a culture shift, you know,
01:25changed the culture.
01:27And for me, you know, what resonates is,
01:29I look for stories of identity,
01:32how people change, how they endure,
01:35how they disrupt.
01:36And when I first spoke to Allen about this,
01:40I said, listen, you know,
01:41if you are able to give the film
01:44what you gave the game,
01:46meaning a raw, unrelentless look,
01:51uncompromising look and approach,
01:55we're going to make something epic.
01:57And he says, man,
01:58I want to make this in a way
02:01that feels so truthful,
02:02so authentic and so raw.
02:04I want people to hear my voice
02:08for the first time,
02:09telling stories that they've never knew.
02:12And I think, you know,
02:13in order to do that,
02:14it had to be exactly what I just said,
02:16and it had to be truthful.
02:18So the two key components to this
02:21is you're hearing from Allen
02:22in his own words
02:24in a way that you've never heard before,
02:26and you're hearing from his family
02:27for the first time on camera.
02:30A lot of them,
02:31his mother, Ann Iverson,
02:32his father,
02:33his sister, Brandy,
02:35the community that was there from day one,
02:38his day ones that basically
02:40are the ones that helped shape him.
02:42And then in turn,
02:43he's the one that sacrificed for all of them.
02:46And that's really what this film is about.
02:48It's about sacrifice,
02:49resilience, and loyalty.
02:52I love that you said that he's a game maker
02:53and a culture shifter,
02:55because that is essentially
02:56how I was taught about Allen Iverson.
02:59I didn't just learn about him
03:00as the basketball legend that he is.
03:02I learned about how he walked,
03:04how he dressed,
03:06how he carried himself.
03:07So I also knew that the media wasn't,
03:10you know,
03:11the best for him.
03:13They didn't show him in the best light.
03:14So I wanted to know,
03:16did he have any apprehensions
03:17about telling his story,
03:19especially with having to deal with media in the past?
03:22No,
03:24well,
03:25not with me,
03:26because he knows I'm not media.
03:28He knows that,
03:29I mean,
03:30that was part of our bond is,
03:32you know,
03:32we talked a lot before cameras rolled.
03:35I mean,
03:35we spoke,
03:36not only did we speak,
03:37I flew down,
03:38I'm in Brooklyn,
03:38I flew down to where he's at
03:40in North Carolina
03:43to have lunch with him.
03:44Like,
03:45I literally just jumped on the plane.
03:46I was like,
03:46I'll meet you for lunch.
03:47And we,
03:48that became a two,
03:49three hour lunch.
03:50And we just spoke about life.
03:51So he,
03:52he didn't have any apprehension with me,
03:54I think.
03:56Cause he knew,
03:57he knew that he could,
03:58there's a bond in the trust
03:59that comes with film directing
04:01and more particular,
04:03the ones that,
04:04that really mean something.
04:07And I told him that,
04:08look,
04:08film isn't a job.
04:10It's a calling for me.
04:11And it's really a higher purpose
04:13that we have in mind.
04:15And that,
04:15and that's to uplift
04:16and really tell important stories
04:18that represent the culture.
04:20And he knows that's what I make.
04:22Right.
04:22So for us,
04:24it's just like,
04:24we're just talking like friends.
04:26You know,
04:26I,
04:27you know,
04:27I never knew him before.
04:28I felt like we bonded in a way that
04:30we understood each other.
04:33In a way,
04:34sometimes it was just a look,
04:35you know,
04:36and he,
04:36he knew,
04:37I mean,
04:37he did so much
04:39in terms of opening up
04:42that I don't think he even
04:44knew how deep we were about to go.
04:46You know,
04:46and it's like,
04:47I think this is a real reflection.
04:48And I'll just tell you a quick,
04:50you know,
04:51approach.
04:52And you talked about the first 10 minutes
04:53and I love that
04:54because even in the way that
04:55the film opens up,
04:57but you see Alan and his father
04:59and his sister
04:59and his mother
05:00all in one room.
05:02That was all on script.
05:04We didn't plan any of that.
05:05So I basically rented a space
05:06in Newport News,
05:08a cultural center
05:09where I can interview Alan
05:10and his family.
05:10And I sit down,
05:11you can hang out all day,
05:13do whatever you need to do.
05:14I'm going to interview you one at a time,
05:16all your family,
05:17but he never left.
05:18And then it was like an eight hour day.
05:20He just came and listened.
05:21He went,
05:22he sat next to his father.
05:23He's like,
05:23I want to hear him speak
05:24because he never speaks.
05:26And that became
05:27what this film became
05:28is just a really
05:29raw look at life
05:31from the family perspective.
05:32And I think that's what
05:33makes this story different
05:35is they're speaking
05:36for the first time
05:37to each other,
05:38laughing,
05:39crying,
05:40going down memory lanes
05:42on not just family life,
05:44but how they had to deal
05:45with all these things
05:46over the course of Alan's life.
05:48Right.
05:49I think,
05:49especially like you said,
05:50in those first 10 minutes,
05:51I realized that
05:52they were having
05:53a lot of realizations
05:54in that moment.
05:56Like you said,
05:56they hadn't talked
05:57about certain things.
05:58So they were also learning
06:00how each other felt
06:01about certain aspects.
06:03So as you are
06:04watching this happen
06:05and then later creating
06:06and editing
06:06and getting the entire
06:08film together,
06:09what has been something
06:10that's like you've learned
06:12as he's peeled back
06:13the layers that you've like
06:14didn't know
06:15or didn't expect
06:16from Alan?
06:19Yeah,
06:19I learned a lot
06:20about his upbringing
06:21that I didn't know.
06:23Things that were happening
06:25in his life
06:26that,
06:27I mean,
06:28no one would know
06:28unless they really
06:30got to know him.
06:30And so within this film,
06:32I'll just give you
06:32an example.
06:33So a lot of episode one
06:36where we're focused
06:37on his childhood
06:38and his early life
06:39and there was a,
06:40you know,
06:40in his high school,
06:41he was the number one
06:41player in the country
06:42in both sports,
06:43football and basketball,
06:45highly recruited
06:46by every college
06:46and university
06:48in the country.
06:50And at the same time,
06:51you know,
06:52his family's struggling.
06:53His mother's
06:54in the halfway house.
06:55He's wearing
06:56his sister's pants
06:57a few days a week.
06:58He goes to the prom
07:00in shoes too small
07:03for him
07:03that he couldn't
07:04even dance
07:05because he had
07:05to borrow some shoes.
07:06So,
07:06you know,
07:07it's crazy
07:08how much
07:09he opens up
07:12about things
07:12that people
07:13just had no idea.
07:14And it wasn't
07:15just those things.
07:16It's like,
07:17how do you survive
07:17in that time period
07:19where your number one
07:20player in the country
07:21in this bowling alley
07:22incident takes place
07:23and he's unjustly
07:26sentenced to prison,
07:28you know,
07:29and it's all
07:30taken away from him.
07:31So,
07:31we learn about
07:32how that affects
07:33you emotionally,
07:34how that scars you,
07:35how you look at
07:36authority,
07:37how you look at
07:37trauma,
07:38really the rest
07:39of your life,
07:40you know,
07:40because there
07:41becomes moments
07:42where,
07:42well,
07:42who do you trust?
07:44Who can rely
07:45on this day and age?
07:46So,
07:47we learn about
07:48these backstories
07:49and that's just
07:50his early life.
07:51As he gets older,
07:52we learn about
07:52all these tragic events
07:53and things that
07:54happen to him
07:55as he's changing
07:56the game,
07:56as he's getting
07:57all these accolades,
07:59as he's becoming
07:59a culture shifter.
08:01You know,
08:01the NBA comes down
08:02with a dress code,
08:03but he's just
08:04remaining truthful
08:04to who he is,
08:05right?
08:06And he came of age
08:07into the NBA
08:08when hip-hop
08:09was breaking
08:09into the mainstream
08:10and neither Allen
08:13nor hip-hop
08:14was changing
08:15for anybody,
08:16right?
08:16So,
08:16like,
08:17that's the world
08:18that we're entering
08:19and we start
08:19to see how
08:20this impact
08:22changes people
08:24but didn't change him.
08:25Right.
08:26And it would be
08:26wrong of me
08:27to not ask
08:27this final question
08:28since I am
08:29in Detroit.
08:30Does he talk
08:31about his time
08:32with the Pistons
08:33in this documentary?
08:36I'll be honest,
08:37not much.
08:40It was a very
08:41strange period
08:42for him
08:43being traded
08:44team to team
08:45because that
08:46was the beginning
08:47of the end
08:48more or less
08:48for his NBA
08:49career.
08:52It's mentioned,
08:53yes,
08:53we talked about
08:54Detroit,
08:54but it was hard
08:55for him,
08:56you know.
08:57It was hard
08:57for him
08:58knowing that
08:59in his words
09:00he was a journeyman.
09:01and I think
09:02that's part of
09:03that very reflective
09:04look on his life
09:05because you're
09:05hearing that
09:06not just Alan
09:07but you're hearing
09:08about an athlete
09:08who's at their peak
09:09and all of a sudden
09:11it's in front of you
09:12that, hey,
09:13you know what?
09:13You're not getting
09:14starter minutes anymore.
09:15You're not
09:16the man anymore.
09:17You're not who you were
09:18a few years ago
09:20and how does that
09:21make you feel,
09:22right?
09:22And I think
09:22that's the important
09:23part of what
09:24we're learning
09:24is the game
09:26that's just changed
09:26but now he's dealing
09:27with life off the court
09:29as a family man.
09:30Like,
09:31what happens next
09:32when the lights
09:33are on as bright,
09:34when the calls
09:34don't come as much,
09:35when you're not
09:36on the court,
09:36when people don't
09:37look at you the same?
09:38And I think
09:39that's very real
09:39and that's the part
09:40of the story
09:41that he really reflects on.
09:44Well,
09:44I'm excited to learn
09:45a different side
09:47of Allen Iverson
09:47and I hope that people
09:48really understand
09:49what he was going through,
09:51especially with
09:51all the other headlines.
09:53So,
09:53it is out right now
09:54on Amazon Prime
09:56exclusively.
09:57Thank you so much
09:57for your time
09:58and I'm excited
09:59to continue to watch.
10:01Yes,
10:01thank you.
10:02Thank you for having me.
10:03I'm looking forward
10:03to everybody watching today.
10:05Like I said,
10:05all three episodes
10:06are out.
10:07You can binge them all
10:08and today is launch day
10:10so I appreciate you having me
10:11in this very impactful
10:12moment for me.
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