Heat F LEBRON JAMES "shot down a report claiming he was in talks with producers about a follow-up" to the '96 movie "SPACE JAM," which starred Basketball HOFer MICHAEL JORDAN, according to Shandel Richardson of the South Florida SUN-SENTINEL. James said, "It's news to me. I haven't heard anything about it." But he added, "If I have the opportunity, it will be great" (SUN-SENTINEL.com, 2/22). YAHOO SPORTS' Dan Devine noted James "not being involved doesn't necessarily mean the project's not in some level of discussion or development, but it does mean that we're not likely to see the two-time NBA champion chilling with Yosemite Sam in the very near future" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 2/21). DEADLINE.com's Anita Busch noted former NBC Sports Group Chair DICK EBERSOL's sons "have come on board to develop the sequel." The first "Space Jam" film grossed $230M worldwide for Warner Bros. CHARLIE EBERSOL has been "brought on to produce the picture through his company, The Company, from a script by his brother WILLIE EBERSOL." This is his "first screenplay." Meanwhile, JON BERG is "production executive on the project at Warner Bros." "SPACE JAM 2" marks Charlie Ebersol's "first major film deal" (DEADLINE.com, 2/21).
AND THE OSCAR GOES TO...: ESPN CHICAGO's Crasnick & Padilla noted White Sox DH ADAM DUNN, an investor in Truth Entertainment, which produced the Oscar-nominated film "DALLAS BUYERS CLUB," has an "invitation to attend the Academy Awards show Sunday" in L.A. Dunn said, "How many opportunities do you have to go to the Oscars? But if it's any sort of big deal with the team, I won't go." White Sox GM RICK HAHN in an e-mail wrote, "We told him it wouldn't be a problem if he wanted to head out there for a night" (ESPNCHICAGO.com, 2/24).
