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Larry Namer‘s Metan Development Group has secured distribution rights for theatrical, TV and online for the documentary Linsanity, which tells the life story of basketball star Jeremy Lin, for the territory of Mainland China.
The documentary follows the career of NBA point guard Lin, who was born in Los Angeles to Taiwanese parents and made history when he came off the bench as an unknown in February 2012 to lead the struggling New York Knicks to the NBA playoffs.
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The documentary has launched exclusively online on the advertiser-supported online television and movie portal iQiYi, via its sub-brand PPS Video, and has notched up more than four million views in two weeks.
An ethnic Chinese and a Harvard graduate, Lin has been a hugely popular in China.
“Of course, being the first American-born NBA player of either Chinese or Taiwan descent to achieve such incredible success in the NBA will be of interest to his fans in China, as well as the incredible journey he took to reach his goals. We’re delighted to bring Linsanity to audiences in Mainland China,” said Gordon Chu, Metan’s vp business development.
The documentary was produced by 408 Films, Defy Agency, Arowana Films and Endgame Entertainment. It debuted at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.
Producer Brian Yang said Lin wasn’t even in the NBA when production started.
“We didn’t know where we were going to wind up, and now for us to be debuting the film in time for Chinese New Year in a country where hundreds of millions of basketball fans love him — it’s all very exciting,” Yang said.
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