Recently THD interviewed filmmaker Jeff Camarra about his NBA D-League documentary “Up And Down”. The documentary details the travels of Los Angeles Lakers guard Trey Johnson through the D-League.
THD: When can fans expect to see the finished product?
Camarra: The film is done and again the only hurdle now is the lockout. We cannot move forward until there is a new cba, hopefully that will be before the season is suppose to start, but I’m not contractually allowed to speak about this.
THD: What is one thing that surprised you about the Developmental League?
Camarra: I think the biggest surprise to me was the family atmosphere among the team. A lot of the players have wives and children in their hometown;Trey has two children in Mississippi. He explained to me; during the season, your D-League team becomes your family. All of the guys live together in apartments a quarter mile from the arena. They workout together, go to the movies together and even grocery shop together. Given the circumstances they get to know each other beyond a professional level, which I think is unique in comparison to other professional leagues where players aren’t as tight nit.
THD: Are you looking to do any other basketball documentaries in the future?
Camarra: My brother Chris, who was an executive producer on this along with Bryan Kobel, and I have a few ideas for other documentaries, not necessarily focusing on basketball but you never know. I am still very involved with this, but I am open to other projects now.
THD: Did your passion for hoops or film making motivate you more for this project?
Camarra: That’s a tough question, can I say it was a tie? I grew up dreaming of playing in the NBA just like Trey and even though I’m 6’6”, I probably have more of a future in filmmaking; I was a poor free throw shooter. Being able to combine my two loves for this project was a dream come true and I hope to continue to take on projects that I feel as strong a connection to as I do with this.
THD: What was Trey’s overall attitude about life in the D-League?
Camarra: Trey always stayed positive for the most part, but I think the uncertainty started to wear on him. Everyone thought he would be the first player called up at the Showcase and when that didn’t happen, I think he got a little discouraged. Some of the other players in the D-League were telling him “I thought you’d be gone by now.” I think that just fueled him even more to go out and prove that he belonged in the NBA, and I think he proved that with the Lakers.
THD: What was Trey’s initial reaction when asked to do the project?
Camarra: I think Trey was a little reluctant at first, but understandably so. To get a real feel for the D-League life I wanted to live with Trey throughout the most important week of his life, the D-League Showcase, when he played in front of NBA scouts and GM’s. So when I called him, I basically asked if my crew (Dan Zinn, Nayim Saati and Jonah Quickmire Pettirgrew) and I could sleep on his couch and stick a camera in his face all hours of the day for a week. That would be overwhelming for anybody, but he handled it well. We did everything with the team; watched film, worked out, and traveled on the bus. After the second day or so we felt a part of the team and that was really special.
THD: What was Trey’s reaction to being called up by the (then) defending champion Lakers?
Camarra: We weren’t around for that, but we were able to get some great footage of Trey
playing with the Lakers. I was actually finishing grad school and I was in class when I saw Trey texted me. He simply said; “I’m a Laker,” I couldn’t believe it. I immediately called him back and congratulated
him. Living with Trey for a week, we developed a friendship and have stayed in touch. It’s crazy to think the night I met him we watched the Lakers play the Hornets in a regular season game. A few months later he was playing for the Lakers, against the Hornets, in the NBA Playoffs. We couldn’t have written a better ending.
THD: Can a documentary such as this possibly give the D-League more of a following and/or respect from fans?
Camarra: I think fans will follow D-League more closely, hoping their team can find the next Trey Johnson. With 20% of the NBA coming through the D-League, fans should definitely respect the quality of play. I think more than anything, fans will see firsthand how much is at stake for these players. The players bounce around from team to team, sometimes playing overseas, and rarely get to see their families, while not making a ton of money. The transient lifestyle would be hard for a lot of people to handle; but its all for the dream.
To learn more about the movie “Up and Down” follow their facebook page.
Joshua Sexton is a lifelong basketball fanatic, who watches as many games as possible. In addition, He has played and coached the game at the high school level. He has recently started writing about the game of basketball.
