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Jon Weinbach

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Jon Weinbach (born August 13, 1976) is an American film and television writer and producer. He is currently President of Skydance Sports and was previously the executive producer and executive vice president for Mandalay Sports Media, a media and production company that focuses on sports entertainment programming.[1]

Jon Weinbach
Born
Jon Weinbach

August 13, 1976
NationalityAmerican
EducationYale University (B.A.)
OccupationPresident of Skydance Sports
Notable workThe Last Dance (TV series)
Air
The Redeem Team
The Other Dream Team
30 for 30, Sole Man
Straight Outta L.A.

Weinbach has produced and/or directed movies and television shows such as The Last Dance, The Other Dream Team, Straight Outta L.A. (30 for 30), Sole Man (30 for 30), L.A. Clippers Dance Squad, The Nagano Tapes: Rewound, Replayed & Reviewed. Weinbach wrote Straight Outta L.A. and co-wrote The People's Fighters: Teofilo Stevenson and the Legend of Cuban Boxing and The Other Dream Team.

Early life and education

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Weinbach grew up in Los Angeles and attended Beverly Hills High School.[2] Growing up in Los Angeles, Weinbach closely followed Los Angeles sports.[3] Weinbach was influenced by the sports culture in Los Angeles during the 1980s and 1990s. He lived in Los Angeles during the Showtime Era of the Los Angeles Lakers, the 1988 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Wayne Gretzky's tenure with the Los Angeles Kings, and during the era of the Los Angeles Raiders.[3] After high school, Weinbach attended Yale University, and graduated in 1998.

Career

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Wall Street Journal

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After graduating from college, Weinbach worked as a reporter at The Wall Street Journal.[4] During this time, he covered the sports business and entertainment. In 2007, he wrote an article for a special report on The Business of Football, which covered Ohio State Buckeyes football's record-breaking budget.[5] In 2008, he wrote a feature on a secret fantasy football league that included some of the financial world's wealthiest executives.[6]

Television and film production

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30 for 30s

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In 2010, Weinbach produced a documentary for ESPN’s 30 for 30 series called Straight Outta L.A. The film chronicles the move of the Oakland Raiders to Los Angeles and the impact the team had on Southern California in the 1980s.[4] The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.[7]

In 2015, he co-directed and produced Sole Man for ESPN's 30 for 30. The film is a profile of Sonny Vaccaro, who rose from steel town roots in Pennsylvania to become an influential force in both basketball and the athletic shoe industry.[8]

The Other Dream Team

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In 2012, he co-produced The Other Dream Team, a documentary film, that covers the story of the 1992 Lithuania national basketball team and their journey to the bronze medal at the Summer Olympics in Barcelona.[9] The movie was an official selection for the Sundance Film Festival and entered in the U.S. Documentary Competition in 2012.[10]

The Nagano Tapes

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In 2018, he wrote and produced The Nagano Tapes: Rewound, Replayed & Reviewed. This documentary film covers how the Czech Republic won the gold medal in the ice hockey tournament of the 1998 Winter Olympic.[11] The film won the "Best Film Out of Cinema" at the Czech Film Critics' Awards in 2018.[12]

The People's Fighter

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In 2018, Weinbach executive produced The People's Fighters: Teofilo Stevenson and the Legend of Cuban Boxing. The documentary film examines Teófilo Stevenson's career and the phenomenon of boxing in Cuba. Weinbach said: “This film has all the elements that make the Olympics so fascinating – the intersection of politics, culture, huge personalities and incredible athletic achievement."[13]

The Last Dance

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Weinbach co-produced The Last Dance, a 2020 documentary miniseries about the career of Michael Jordan, with particular focus on the 1997–98 Chicago Bulls season. He said of the series: “It's one thing to have Michael Jordan and it's another to have this incredible candor with him.”[3][14][15]

Metacritic assigned the series a score of 91 out of 100 based on 12 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[16]

Other Film & TV Projects

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In 2013, Weinbach co-executive produced "Bluegrass Kingdom: The Gospel of Kentucky Basketball."[17] The documentary tells the history of the Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball.

In 2014, Weinbach co-executive produced "Every Street United," with Xbox Entertainment.[18] The series followed street soccer players from around the world as they competed to play in a 4v4 street soccer game at the 2014 World Cup.[19] He co-wrote and co-executive produced a sports comedy TV series, "The Rebels," with Amazon Studios. The series followed a woman after her husband suddenly dies and leaves her as the sole owner of a pro-football team.[20][21]

In 2015, he co-executive produced Shaq Inq, a TV comedy movie, that loosely followed Shaq's business empire.[22] He co-produced "Kareem: Minority Of One," which documents the life and career of former NBA player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.[23] In 2016, Weinbach wrote and produced Patrick and Zo, which chronicled the relationship between Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Mourning.[24] Weinbach executive produced Undrafted, the stories of young men trying achieve their dream of making it to the NFL.[25] Weinbach was nominated for two Sports Emmy Awards for his work on Undrafted.

He produced L.A. Clippers Dance Squad, a reality television series, that featured seven members of a dance team for the Los Angeles Clippers National Basketball Association (NBA) professional basketball team. He said of the show, "The women on this dance squad are pursuing their entertainment dreams, living full lives in L.A., and performing for huge crowds. We’re incredibly excited to team up with E! and the Clippers to showcase this alluring side of the sports world."[26]

In 2018, he produced a baseball documentary, “Walk-Off Stories: Improbably Gibson," which documents Kirk Gibson's 1988 World Series home run.[27]

In 2019, he served as executive producer for "We are LAFC," a ten-part all-access documentary series on Los Angeles FC's inaugural season.[28]

In 2020, Weinbach executive produced Rulon Gardner Won't Die. The film documents Rulon Gardner's life story from growing up in rural Wyoming to his success at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, where he defeated Aleksandr Karelin and achieved the ‘miracle on the mat.’[29]

In 2022, he directed The Redeem Team, which follows the story of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Men's Basketball team, and which was touted as "an immediate hit on Netflix" upon its release,[30][31] and which won the Sports Emmy for Outstanding Long Documentary.[32] In 2023, he produced the feature film Air, which recounts the history of Nike executive Sonny Vaccaro, who persuaded Michael Jordan to be the face of the brand.[33] The film was directed by Ben Affleck and stars Matt Damon, Affleck, Viola Davis, and Jason Bateman, and The New York Times noted that the message of the film—that Jordan was a real, relatable person and not just a super-talented phenom—was "embraced by critics and audiences."[34]

Awards

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Year Film Role Notes
2012 30 for 30 Shorts Producer
2013 The Other Dream Team Producer
2015 Undrafted Executive Producer
2017 Undrafted Executive Producer
2018 Counterpunch Executive Producer
2018 The Nagano Tapes: Rewound, Replayed & Reviewed Executive Producer
2023 The Redeem Team Director
  • Winner - Sports Emmy Award - Outstanding Long Documentary, and Nominated - Outstanding Editing – Long Form[32]

References

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  1. ^ Zorrilla, Mónica Marie (2021-10-20). "Jon Weinbach Named President of Skydance Sports". Variety. Retrieved 2023-05-16.
  2. ^ Hoffarth, Tom. "SUNDAY Q&A: Meet 'The Other Dream Team': L.A.-based Markevicius, Weinbach team up to tell the story of the '92 Lithuanian Olympic hoop stars". LA Daily News. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "Inside "The Last Dance" with Producer Jon Weinbach". Legends of Sport. 2020-05-05. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  4. ^ a b Kamranj, Christopher. ""The Other Dream Team" spotlights 1992 Lithuanian hoops team". ParkRecord. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  5. ^ Weinbach, Jon (2007-10-19). "Inside College Sports' Biggest Money Machine". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  6. ^ Weinbach, Jon (2008-10-17). "Wall Street's $1 Million Fantasy League". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  7. ^ "Straight Outta L.A. | 2010 Tribeca Film Festival". Tribeca. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  8. ^ "Sole Man - ESPN Films: 30 for 30". www.espn.com. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  9. ^ "'Other Dream Team' details Lithuania's journey to Olympics". www.jsonline.com. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  10. ^ "The Other Dream Team: Sundance Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  11. ^ "Olympic Channel's Five Rings Films Presents The Nagano Tapes on 28th February". Olympic Channel Services. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  12. ^ a b "The Czech film critics crown Jan Palach as Best Film". Cineuropa - the best of european cinema. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  13. ^ "Olympic Channel's Five Rings Films Debuts "The People's Fighters", an Unprecedented Look at Cuban Boxing During a Period of Historic Change, Directed by Acclaimed Filmmaker Peter Berg – Olympic Channel Services". olympicchannelservices.com. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  14. ^ "Making The Last Dance | Interview With Jon Weinbach". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  15. ^ "Shootin' The Shot With Larry & Harv Ep. 5 | Producer Of The Last Dance & We Are LAFC Jon Weinbach".
  16. ^ "The Last Dance (2020)". Metacritic. CBS. Archived from the original on April 20, 2020. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  17. ^ "TruTV to Debut BLUEGRASS KINGDOM: THE GOSPEL OF KENTUCKY BASKETBALL, 3/17". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  18. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (2013-10-15). "Xbox Entertainment Greenlights First Unscripted Series: Global Street Soccer Show". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  19. ^ Mazique, Brian. "Jose Perez Talks Every Street United, Street Soccer, the World Cup and More". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  20. ^ "Amazon Studios debuts 10 new pilot TV shows". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  21. ^ "Amazon's shot at original content: 'The Rebels'". CNBC. 2014-02-14. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  22. ^ "Shaquille O'Neal to Star in Scripted Comedy for TruTV". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  23. ^ Lowry, Brian (2015-11-02). "TV Review: 'Kareem: Minority Of One'". Variety. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  24. ^ Flynn, Joe. "Director Jon Weinbach discusses his new documentary on Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Mourning". SB Nation. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  25. ^ "Exclusive: Christopher Reid Talks 'Undrafted'". theknockturnal.com. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  26. ^ Wagmeister, Elizabeth (November 23, 2015). "E! Greenlights Docuseries About L.A. Clippers Dance Team". Variety. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  27. ^ "FS1, Mandalay Rolling Out New Baseball Documentaries". www.sportsbusinessdaily.com. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  28. ^ Thomas, Ian. "ESPN+, MLS Roll Out Documentary On LAFC's First Season". Sports Business Daily. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  29. ^ Haring, Bruce (2020-05-07). "'Rulon Gardner Won't Die' Kicks Off Olympic Channel's Latest 'Five Rings Films' Slate From Mandalay Sports Media And Frank Marshall". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  30. ^ Anderson, John (2022-10-06). "'The Redeem Team' Review: Shooting for Gold". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  31. ^ Fitzgerald, Toni (2022-10-14). "7 Surprises From Netflix's New Hit Documentary 'The Redeem Team'". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  32. ^ a b "Here Are This Year's Winners". TheEmmys.tv. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  33. ^ Miller, Julie (2023-04-07). "Air: The Real Sonny Vaccaro on Matt Damon, Michael Jordan, and Shoe-Biz Heartbreak". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  34. ^ Tracy, Marc (2023-04-12). "'Air' and the Argument for Letting the Talent Share in the Profits". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  35. ^ "2013 PGA Awards Winners - Producers Guild of America". www.producersguild.org. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  36. ^ "THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS & SCIENCES ANNOUNCES THE NOMINEES FOR THE 36th ANNUAL SPORTS EMMY® AWARDS". The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  37. ^ "Nominees – 2018 Sports Programs & Events – The Emmys". theemmys.tv. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
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