'Linsanity' Set for Release in China; Jeremy Lin's Story to Reach Millions of Fans
"Linsanity," a film about NBA star Jeremy Lin, is set to reach the Chinese market after the documentary was acquired by Metan Development. Executives noted that the Christian athlete's story is relatable to many in the world's most populous country.
"Jeremy Lin's story is one that resonates and is relatable to everyone in China – old and young, male and female," said Gordon Chu, VP of business development at Metan, Variety.com reported.
"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," Chu added, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
The documentary tells the story of the current Houston Rockets player, who exploded onto the basketball scene in February 2012 with the New York Knicks, when he produced a very impressive series of performances. Released in October 2013, "Linsanity" follows Lin's rise as the first Asian-American to play in the NBA, but also highlights the importance of faith throughout his story.
Metan will now have the theatrical, television and online rights for the documentary in China, and has already begun screening it online.
When the DVD of the movie was released in the U.S. in January, director Evan Jackson Leong described Lin's story as universal and transcendental.
"There are a lot of different elements for a lot of different audiences, but at the end of the day, this is a universal story that transcends sports, race, and culture. This a story about chasing your dreams," Leong said.
Leong shared with The Christian Post in a previous interview that the documentary was started while Lin was still attending Harvard, before his NBA days.
"It's a huge component of who he is and how he lives, and so we had to make sure that that's part of it in this film," the director said about Lin's Christian faith. "We obviously wanted to explore other things of who he is – Asian-American, Ivy League, Bay Area, underdog. But if you didn't include all those, or you took one of those out, then you're not really exploring who he is as a person. His faith is really important to who he is."
Producer Brian Yang added: "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."
