Jeron Smith goes from the Obama White House to leading Stephen Curry’s push into film projects

Jeron Smith (left) and NBA star Stephen Curry became friends after the Golden State Warriors visited the White House in 2016.unanimous media

Jeron Smith nearly said no to the White House.

It was 2015, and Smith had worked his way up to be Jordan Brand’s North American director after leading a number of creative efforts at the Nike subsidiary, including the “Basketball Never Stops” campaign. He was interviewing to be deputy director of digital strategy in the Obama White House. It would mean leaving a job he loved, as well as a massive pay cut.

“It cut my salary by about 2 1/2 times from what I was getting at Nike, so I wasn’t sure if I was going to take the job or not,” Smith said. “In my fourth interview at the White House, one of the women interviewing me said, ‘If you get this job, are you going to take it?’”

Smith told her he wasn’t sure.

“She said, ‘This is the most prolific administration and if you don’t take this job you will regret it the rest of your life,” he recalled. “That stuck out to me.”

It’s funny how one decision can alter the rest of your life. Had Smith not taken that job, he might not have met Stephen Curry. And if he hadn’t met Curry, they wouldn’t have built Unanimous Media, the film company that has been on a roll lately producing a run of projects.

Smith and Curry met when the Golden State Warriors visited the White House in 2016 and a friendship developed. Curry, who has been represented by Octagon on the court and off throughout his career, had several endorsements, but he wanted to do more away from the court.

“Stephen clearly, clearly knew and would articulate that he wanted to use his platform to inspire as many people as possible,” Smith said.

Smith served as part of Barack Obama’s administration from 2015 until the president left office in January 2017.unanimous media

When President Barack Obama left office in January 2017, Smith’s White House role ended and his job working on Curry’s vision began. That led to the founding of Unanimous Media, a partnership with Sony Pictures, which has developed several film projects in recent months, including:

■ “Breakthrough,” a true story about a boy who survived after being clinically dead for an hour. The Christian-based film debuted at No. 3 at the box office Easter weekend and has grossed more than $50 million to date.

■ “Emanuel,” a documentary on the survivors of the 2015 Charleston, S.C., church massacre that debuts in theaters June 17.

■ “Holey Moley,” a 10-episode mini-golf competition series that premieres June 20 on ABC.

■ A docuseries called “Benedict Men” about the high-powered basketball team at St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, N.J., that’s scheduled to launch on Jeffrey Katzenberg’s new content platform, Quibi, in 2020.

■ And “Jump Shot,” a documentary that tells the story of Kenny Sailors, the developer of the modern-day jump shot, which recently premiered at the South by Southwest festival.

The films and series are all part of Unanimous Media’s partnership with Sony that was announced a little more than a year ago. It came after Smith met with a half-dozen studios interested in working with Curry. 

“We are at a time right now where cultural significance of talent transcends beyond the storytelling content,” said Sanford Panitch, president of Columbia Pictures, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment. “Where actors and their connection to social responsibility and their digital presence and their online relationships are all part of how content is made today.”

Sony announced the multiyear deal with Curry’s company in April 2018, saying the content projects would be focused on family, faith and sports-themed projects. When it was announced, some media outlets described it as the largest media deal for any athlete to date, although terms have not been revealed.

“Nothing happens without Stephen, but I think that Jeron is sort of the center of gravity,” Panitch said when asked to describe how they work together. “He is our point of contact and he is the one we talk [to] about ideas that they want to develop.”

Smith, 33, who played college basketball at Howard, wrote a thesis on “Leveraging Mobile Technologies to Increase NBA Revenues” in 2009 while in graduate school at Georgetown that helped jump-start his career. He’s relaxed and easy to talk with, but he possesses an undeniable drive. Smith said he sleeps four hours a night, and he applied for more than 50 jobs at Nike before getting his foot in the door in 2010.

“Jeron has great vision and is a true strategist,” Curry said in an email. “Building a new company is a very humbling job and requires consistent work ethic, passion and perseverance. Jeron has pursued the opportunity fearlessly.”

Smith helped create Unanimous Media from Curry’s vision of using his platform to inspire. Among the company’s early works is the movie “Breakthrough,” a Christian-based film that has grossed more than $50 million at the box office since debuting in April.unanimous media

Smith also has negotiated Curry’s deals with Facebook Watch, Rakuten, Tencent and YouTube. But the Sony deal is the biggest.

Smith said he is gratified by the box office success of “Breakthrough,” calling the take “pretty remarkable” for a faith-based film.Curry played a major role in promoting “Breakthrough,” including posting the trailer across his social media platforms, which generated 125 million views. Smith hopes the success of “Breakthrough” is predictive.

“It was the first theatrical release that Stephen executive produced, and the success of the film helps set the tone and expectation for future projects,” he said. “With this being his first feature film, it’s a good example of the power of his brand and how he truly transcends the world of sport.”