Exclusive: Kobe Bryant Movie in the Works from WB, 'King Richard' Producers, and Tom Brady’s Company

Happy Friday, folks!

I owe you guys a newsletter weighing in on all the various stories that have dropped elsewhere over the past few days, but tonight, I’ve got a story that deserves its own newsletter out of respect for its subject.

I’ve been holding this one for the past month, as I understand the sensitivity around it, just as I understood the sensitivity surrounding Tom McCarthy writing and directing Spotlight a decade ago.

I held that story for a full year while I was at Variety because McCarthy needed time to do research without the Catholic Church breathing down his neck. The producers of Spotlight promised to protect me and give me the scoop when the time came, just as I protected their project, and they kept their word, just as McCarthy did to the many survivors who came forward as part of the Church scandal.

Spotlight went on to win Best Picture.

I’m a man of my word, and I kept my word today, since that’s all I’ve got in this town. But I can’t hold stories indefinitely, especially when they’re of this magnitude…

Without further ado, paid subscribers can read on for my story about the Kobe Bryant movie that’s in the works at Warner Bros. — and not what you might expect, either.

Subscribe to Premium to read the rest.