'Hoop Street': Go behind the scenes of new made-in-Memphis basketball movie

Now in production in Memphis, the feature film "Hoop Street" is about a hot-headed high-school basketball player working to take his game to the next level — to greater acclaim and to a larger audience.

The makers of "Hoop Street" are chasing a similar dream. The production team is determined to achieve success as career filmmakers and eager to reposition Memphis as a force in independent film.

“It’s about creating a scene again,” said Mark Williams of Gravity Productions, one of the companies behind “Hoop Street.

"The scene was here in 2005, but after ‘Hustle & Flow’ it kind of deflated,” he said, referring to writer-director Craig Brewer’s Oscar-winning feature, which brought a raft of soon-to-be-big stars — Terrence Howard , Taraji P. Henson — to Memphis while marking the crest of a years-long local wave that included intriguing indie projects and studio John Grisham adaptations.

"Our mandate is to create as many opportunities for filmmakers as we can in the coming year," said Williams, 46, noting that "Hoop Street" will be Gravity's second local movie this year, after "For the Love of Christopher," a Memphis-set drama about the impact of prescription-pill abuse on a middle-class Black family.

The team hopes to begin shooting a third feature in November.

“The goal is to have enough films in the production pipeline to keep an entertainment ecosystem going,” said veteran local cinematographer ("The First Class") and all-around filmmaker Jordan Danelz, 40, a partner in Gravity Productions. Even films that are "ultra-low-budget," as is the case with "Christopher" and "Hoop Street," provide jobs and experience for crew, and — perhaps as important — signal the presence of a nascent "scene" that might encourage other artists.

From Grizzlies to Kroger to 'Hoop Street'

The "ultra-low-budget" designation comes from Teresa Dickerson, the originator and primary financial backer of "Hoop Street." The movie is based on her original script, which draws in part from her longtime association with basketball, at all levels. Dickerson has squeaked her sneakers across gym floors, and also clicked her high heels through the executive suites at FedExForum.

A member of the Class of 1994, Dickerson was a center and power forward for Fayette-Ware High School in Somerville. She earned a basketball scholarship to Shelby State Community College (now Southwest Tennessee), where she played for two years before finishing her education at the University of Memphis, where she earned a journalism degree.

After college, Dickerson went pro, but not as a player. She was with the Grizzlies for the franchise's first 12 years in Memphis, working her way from intern to Director of Community Investment, meaning she coordinated the team's charity events, visits to hospitals, and other public appearances and interactions.

She next worked nine years in media and community relations with the Kroger Corp., then decided to devote herself to the goal of making purposeful movies in Memphis, with money saved from her jobs with two of Memphis most recognizable brands. "I left my career in corporate management to go after my dreams," she said.

Founded with her husband, Demone Dickerson, an author and motivational speaker, Dickerson's company is called Isaiah 54 Films, named for the Bible verse in which God tells the Israelis to "Fear not."

Dickerson, 47, said that when she read that chapter while pondering whether to trade the safety of a salary for the uncertainty of art, "I felt so inspired, and overwhelmed with joy, I said: 'I want other people to feel this way.' The stories I want to tell, I would love them to be motivational, and inspirational."

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What is 'Hoop Street' about?

“Hoop Street” is the story of Mason James, an economically disadvantaged kid with a “bad reputation and a bad attitude," according to Dickerson, who hopes to attend college on a basketball scholarship. He clashes with a “cocky nemesis” on a rival team, but finds guidance from his coach. Inevitably, multiple complications arise as Mason tries to mature while his team makes its way to a summer league championship game.

Mason and his rival are played, respectively, by Benjamin Holmes, 24, and Jeremiah Roberts, 22, both from Atlanta — the cast’s two out-of-town actors, recruited through auditions that were held at the Memphis Slim House near the Stax Museum of American Soul Music.

Said Holmes: "I look for projects I can be proud of." He said the script rang true for him because, "I had my own anger issues, and used the outlet of sports to deal with them."

Mason's coach is played by Kenneth Farmer, 61, a veteran Memphis actor whose credits include the recent “Alice,” with Keke Palmer, and the CW network’s Batman-adjacent series, “Gotham Knights.” The cast also includes Kathy Lofton as "Grams," Mason's grandmother; Robrecus Parker as Mason's best friend and sidekick, PJ; and members of the Whitehaven High School basketball team, who had perhaps their busiest days on set in early August, when they represented players in the championship game, shot inside the Memphis Athletic Ministries gymnasium at 2107 Ball Road.

The game sequences required a maximum of creativity: Because of budget limitations, the producers could not pack the stands with extras, so the small "crowd" was asked to reposition itself on the bleachers to appear in shots taken from different angles — a strategy that sometimes required people in the stands to change clothes, in hopes that audiences won't notice the subterfuge.

If movie magic often involves trickery, Dickerson said the story she wrote is authentic, in part because it's not just about basketball.

“I wrote Mason as a representation of Memphis, because I believe that Memphis can be seen as a little rough and angry, but deep down it’s a really great place," she said. "There are really great people here.”

"Teresa held up a mirror to our city, to show our troubles and, hopefully, a little bit about how we can overcome that trouble," said Princeton James, 37, the director of "Hoop Street" and a co-producer of the film through his Princeton James Productions.

A busy creator of stage as well as screen entertainment, James organizes "Soulful Murder Mystery" theatrical "experiences," which ask audiences to join cast members as crime solvers. His previous made-in-Memphis feature as a director was 2023's "Queen Rising," a thriller about a school teacher menaced by the "College Town" serial killer that is now available to stream, via Amazon Prime, Apple TV and other sources.

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'It's a community, baby'

With assistance from the Memphis & Shelby County Film and Television Commission , "Hoop Street" began shooting on July 5 and essentially wrapped Aug. 3, through a few additional shots will be filmed later this month. The production has utilized about 10 locations, Dickerson said, including Greenlaw Park and the Four Way, the classic soul food restaurant. She said about 25 crew members and about 20 actors worked on the project. Almost every participant was from Memphis or the Mid-South.

"It's a community, baby," James said. "Every day showing up on set is like a family reunion."

A particularly modern family, in fact. "I know it’s a buzzword, but this is one of the most diverse crews I’ve been around,” Danelz said. “And one of the youngest." (Cinematographer Jason Thibodeaux is 29.)

"Keeping the young professionals here, that’s a key," he added. However, financing films remains a challenge. “The talent is here, the content is here — the missing ingredient is the money.”

Meanwhile, Dickerson is happy to do her part to part in supplying that ingredient, at least for "Hoop Street."

She said it was energizing to be around so many young actors, camera operators, set decorators and others. "They are living their best lives now. It's gratifying to give them the opportunity to go after their dreams while I go after mine."

Audiences should be able to watch "Hoop Street" starting in early 2025. Producers said they plan to submit the movie to various film festivals, with streaming and perhaps even theatrical distribution to follow.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: 'Hoop Street': Go behind the scenes of new made-in-Memphis basketball movie