ESPN Films yesterday announced the creation of a new documentary-short series, "Versus," which will explore moments of inspiration in sports. Actress Eva Longoria will serve as Exec Producer for the five-part series, which will debut in May with "Go, Sebastien, Go!" The films will debut monthly on Friday episodes of "SportsCenter," followed by a tiered rollout to the SportsCenter app and additional digital platforms (ESPN). The AP's Beth Harris noted "Go, Sebastien, Go!" is about Sebastien De La Cruz, a young mariachi singer whose "performance of the national anthem before Game 3 of the 2013 NBA Finals set off a barrage of racist tweets about Latinos and immigrants." Like Longoria, De La Cruz is from San Antonio, so the story "hit close to home for the Mexican-American actress." Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who "congratulated De La Cruz at midcourt after his performance," appears in the documentary. Another of the short films Longoria worked on "involves Violet Palmer, the NBA's first female referee" (AP, 1/7).
LAST FRIDAY NIGHT: ESPN yesterday announced that "SportsCenter" will debut a new weekly segment beginning Friday, Feb. 6, called "Friday Night Movie Night," in which a short ESPN Films documentary will air in the 6:00pm ET hour. The weekly feature will showcase a variety of films, most of which will be making their TV or world premier. The Spike Lee-produced "Ray Allen/AKA-Jesus Shuttlesworth" documentary will lead off the series (ESPN). Network officials said that ESPN "has also partnered with Marvel Entertainment to create a short film series and a full-length documentary that connects super heroes with great athletes." The ESPN officials added that the "1 of 1 -- Origins" short film series will launch this summer on "SportsCenter" and across ESPN’s digital platforms "simultaneously and will focus on a single athlete who has a defining story of the origin of their powers in the sports world" (MULTICHANNEL.com, 1/7).
