When it opened in 1995 in Times Square, the All Star Café was supposed to be the sports world’s answer to Planet Hollywood. Not only was it developed by the same restaurant chain, but it borrowed from its playbook, attracting legends such as Joe Montana, Shaquille O’Neal, Ken Griffey Jr. and Andre Agassi to serve as ambassadors to the brand. But what began as a red carpet extravaganza slowly deteriorated, a victim of changing tastes and rocky finances.
Now, Sports Illustrated Studios and 101 Studios, the company behind “Yellowstone,” are partnering with Stephen Curry, the nine-time NBA All-Star, four-time NBA champion and two-time NBA MVP — and his Unanimous Media multimedia company — to produce a feature film and documentary about the All Star Café’s rise and fall. It is based on a 2020 article by Jon Wertheim.
Erick Peyton (“Stephen Curry: Underrated”) will produce for Unanimous Media, while Brian Tetsuro Ivie will also co-executive produce and oversee the project on behalf of Unanimous.
“We are thrilled to partner with Stephen Curry and the team at Unanimous Media on this incredible project,” said David Glasser, CEO 101 Studios. “The All Star Café story leapt off the page and we are excited to bring it to life.”
The two projects have a lot of material to dig into when it comes to the restaurant’s saga. By the time The All Star Café’s last location closed on Sept. 23, 2007, it was bankrupt, and had already endured the largest sports memorabilia heist in history by a group of knuckle-headed kitchen staffers in what the filmmakers describe as “a Coen Brothers-esque criminal event.”
“We’re excited to be working with 101 Studios to bring the thrilling story behind the All Star Café to life through these two projects,” said Curry and Erick Peyton, co-founders of Unanimous Media. “A story with a shocking twist at every turn, we’re looking forward to elevating Jon Wertheim’s words to bring these exciting and compelling projects to audiences.”
The movie is being made under the new 101 Sports banner. That arm of the company is also backing an HBO Documentary on a sexual abuse scandal at Ohio State University, which will be produced by George Clooney and Grant Heslov. Upcoming projects for Unanimous include the animated revival of Norman Lear’s “Good Times” for Netflix and “Black Pop,” a multi-part archive-rich series for E!.
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