UNIVERSAL PICTURES AND PEACOCK REVEAL EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK AT THE NEW FEATURE FILM

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Mar 27, 2023, 09:00 ET

THE INSPIRING ORIGIN STORY OF
FOUR-TIME NBA CHAMPION LEBRON JAMES
AND HIS CHILDHOOD FRIENDS
WILL BE RELEASED EXCLUSIVELY ON PEACOCK JUNE 2

THE 30-SECOND FIRST-LOOK SPOT WILL PREMIERE DURING
THE 46^th ANNUAL McDONALD'S ALL AMERICAN GAMES
ON MARCH 28

THE FILM STARS FIVE-STAR HIGH SCHOOL SMALL FORWARD
MARQUIS "MOOKIE" COOK, IN HIS FILM DEBUT, AS LEBRON JAMES

MOOKIE COOK AND LEBRON JAMES' SON, BRONNY JAMES, WILL BE PLAYING
TOGETHER ON THE "WEST" TEAM IN THE BOYS' ALL-AMERICAN GAME, WHICH
AIRS AT 9 P.M. EST ON ESPN ON MARCH 28

EACH YEAR, THE McDONALD'S ALL AMERICAN GAMES SELECTS
THE 48 BEST MALE AND FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PLAYERS
IN THE COUNTRY FOR TWO EAST V. WEST EXHIBITION GAMES

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., March 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Universal Pictures and Peacock today announced that the exclusive first look 30-second spot of the new feature film, Shooting Stars, will premiere during the 9 p.m. EST game of the 46^th Annual McDonald's All American Games on March 28, 2023.

Shooting Stars will be released exclusively on Peacock on June 2, 2023.

Shooting Stars, based on the book by LeBron James and the Pulitzer Prize winning author of Friday Night Lights, Buzz Bissinger, is the inspiring origin story of a basketball superhero, revealing how LeBron James and his childhood friends become the #1 high school team in the country, launching James's breathtaking career as a four-time NBA Champion, two-time Olympic Gold Medalist and the NBA's all-time leading scorer.

The film, directed by Emmy nominee Chris Robinson (Beats, Grown-ish), stars five-star high school small forward Marquis "Mookie" Cook, in his film debut, as a young LeBron James.

Cook and LeBron James's son, top-ranked combo guard Bronny James, will play together on the West team in the boys' All American game at 9 p.m. EST on March 28. The McDonald's All American Games, benefitting Ronald McDonald House Charities^® and its network of local chapters, will be held at Toyota Center, home of the Houston Rockets, in Houston, Texas. The boys' game will air on ESPN. LeBron James himself played in the same game exactly 20 years ago, when he was in high school.

Shooting Stars is set in the 1990s, where a young LeBron James (Cook) and his three best friends — Lil Dru (Caleb McLaughlin, Stranger Things), Willie McGee (Avery S. Wills, Jr., Swagger) and Sian Cotton (Khalil Everage, Cobra Kai)—declare themselves the "Fab Four," after the famed Michigan Wolverines' "Fab Five" of that era. From the moment we meet them, we realize this group of friends, under the guidance of coach Dru Joyce (Wood Harris; Creed franchise), is connected by more than basketball. In their quest to become national champs, these young men will rediscover that what matters most about the game is the people playing beside you.

Also staring newcomer Sterling "Scoot" Henderson and Dermot Mulroney (August: Osage County), Shooting Stars is a film about humanity and connection, and how the deepest human relationships can be established and elevated through sport.

The film's screenplay is by Frank E. Flowers (Metro Manila) and Tony Rettenmaier (Space Jam: A New Legacy) & Juel Taylor (Creed II), based on the book by LeBron James and Buzz Bissinger.

The film is produced by Academy Award^® nominee Rachel Winter p.g.a. (Dallas Buyers Club), Spencer Beighley p.g.a. (executive producer Hustle), LeBron James, Maverick Carter (Space Jam: A New Legacy), Jamal Henderson (Executive Producer, The Shop) and Academy Award^® nominee and Emmy winner Terence Winter (Boardwalk Empire). The film is executive produced by Gretel Twombly.

About Peacock
Peacock is NBCUniversal's streaming service. Peacock delivers a world-class slate of exclusive originals, on-demand libraries of hit TV shows, plus critically acclaimed films from the vaults of Universal Pictures, Focus Features, DreamWorks Animation, Illumination, and Hollywood's biggest studios. In addition, Peacock taps into NBCUniversal's unmatched ability to deliver a broad range of compelling topical content across news, sports, late-night, Spanish-language, and reality. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.

About Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures is a division of Universal Studios (www.universalstudios.com). Universal Studios is part of NBCUniversal. NBCUniversal is one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production and marketing of entertainment, news and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group and world-renowned theme parks. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.

SOURCE Universal Pictures