Turner Sports analyst and former NBA All-Star Chris Webber and Emmy Award winning director/producer Peter Gilbert announced today the formation of their new film production company, Webber Productions. The Webber-Gilbert pairing will produce a line of films and documentaries that will focus on the various complex issues surrounding the intersection of sports, culture and society. Webber Productions will create projects focused on celebrating history, preserving legacies, and challenging the viewer on social issues that are relevant in the U.S. and abroad. Webber Productions also aspires to create a diverse content portfolio, which includes live events, cultural exhibitions, music and film projects.
Says Webber, “I am happy to start a company with a man like Peter Gilbert, who has proven to be one of the best in documentary film work. I look forward to learning from him and telling great stories around my passions, my community and my world with him.”
Gilbert, who met Webber during the making of the Academy Award nominated film “Hoop Dreams,” of which he produced and was director of photography, says of his new partnership: “I am thrilled to be embarking on this creative journey with Chris Webber. I have followed his career throughout the years, and he has always impressed me with his honesty and willingness to search for the truth.” Gilbert continues: “Chris’ knowledge, access and fan base within the sports world will allow us to produce cross-platform media projects that will examine the complexity of how sports and society reflect one another. The sky is the limit, and I am excited to have been asked by Chris to participate.”
Pre-production has begun several projects, including an untitled documentary about the life of Chris Webber – as told by Webber; and “The Dickerson Project,” a documentary and multi platform media project that narrates one man’s remarkable journey through the 20th Century. Earl Dickerson, the first African American to graduate from the University of Chicago’s Law School, left huge marks in business, politics, civil rights, and law, and is a community pillar responsible for the development of one of America’s largest black middle-class communities, Hyde Park.
A five-time NBA All-Star, Chris Webber’s two seasons as part of the fabled “Fab Five” at the University of Michigan in the early 90’s, and his 15 years as a power forward in the NBA, laid the foundation for his current success as a broadcaster, businessman, philanthropist and steward of African American culture. The Detroit native played with the Washington Bullets/Wizards, Sacramento Kings, Philadelphia 76ers, Detroit Pistons and the Golden State Warriors. He has earned the distinction of being a “thinking fan’s player-analyst” for his work on NBA-TV’s “NBA Gametime Live” since its launch in October 2008, as well as his role on “Tuesday Fan Night.” Webber has served as guest analyst on TNT’s “Inside the NBA” and more recently, as a game analyst for Turner Sports. He also recently launched “The Chris Webber Show” (aka “Get Game”) in February 2012 on Sirius XM covering numerous topics from music and entertainment to politics to current events, interviewing celebrities from Joe Madison to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Ludacris to Nas.
Peter Gilbert is winner of the following: Emmy, DGA, Sundance Film Audience and Cinematography, PGA, Peabody, Independent Spirit and Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Awards. His films include the breakthrough documentary Hoop Dreams, which was nominated for an Academy Award. In addition to his work on Hoop Dreams, Gilbert has produced, directed and filmed documentaries, feature films, commercials and music videos. His recent work includes: At The Death House Door, Discovery Networks’ With All Deliberate Speed, NBC Networks’ Deadline, TCM’s There is No Place Like Home, PBS’ The Ballad of Eziquel Hernandez, The Gods Grew Tired of Us and Showtime’s A Time For Dancing, to name a few. Gilbert’s earlier work includes: All The Rage, Vietnam, Long Time Coming, Prefontaine, Stevie, Married in America and American Dream. Peter is currently a Professor of Practice at Wake Forest University in the Graduate Documentary Film Program.
