Showtime Original: Kobe Bryant To Be First Athlete With Hollywood Star

Lakers G KOBE BRYANT will become the first athlete to have a hand and footprint ceremony at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood. The ceremony will take place on Feb. 19 during NBA All-Star weekend festivities in L.A. (Lakers). Bryant said the ceremony will be “cool.” He added that he has “yet to visit the theater as a tourist since moving” to L.A. in ’96. Bryant also is “taking a turn at acting in a soon-to-be released short film” directed by ROBERT RODRIGUEZ in conjunction with Nike (ESPNLA.com, 1/20).

PAGE TURNER: Lakers Exec VP/Business Operations JEANIE BUSS recently released “Laker Girl,” her autobiography written with former L.A. Times writer STEVE SPRINGER. Buss: “I get asked all the time, what’s a typical day like for you in your job with the Lakers, and there’s no easy way to answer that. So, Steve Springer, who was the beat writer for the Lakers at one time, kind of pitched this idea of doing a journal format, interspersed with chapters of my life and how I got to be where I am and kind of why I see the world the way I do. I didn’t think I had enough to fill a book, but working with him was perfect because it turned out to be a very nice year in the life considering that it ended with a championship” (NYTIMES.com, 1/20). Buss added, "It's not a basketball book, and I'm hoping that people who are interested in family businesses (read this) because that's all this really is" (WSJ.com, 1/9). 

ALL IN: Lakers F LAMAR ODOM said of the team’s celebrity fans, “I was surprised at how much JACK NICHOLSON enjoys the game. … JOEL and KARYN SILVER and DENZEL WASHINGTON as well. Sometimes you think it’s just a show from the outside looking in, but being there, you’re surprised by how much they get into it. … (Nicholson) gets on the refs. He gets on the refs hard. He rides them. He lets them know if they’re messing up or if they missed a call. It’s as though he’s in the game” (PLAYBOY, 2/ ’11 issue).