Peter Nicks (‘Stephen Curry: Underrated’ director) reveals how he made a documentary about one of the NBA’s biggest stars [Exclusive Video Interview]
Peter Nicks doesn’t normally make documentaries that profile a person’s life like he does in “Stephen Curry: Underrated,” but had made several films about the San Francisco/Oakland area going back to his first film, “The Waiting Room.” Through that connection, along with his work for Ryan Coogler’s production company, Nicks found that Curry’s story actually mirrored several themes that he had explored in his prior films. “It was very much a story connected to the themes that I’ve explored in all my films, which are generally centered around the power and resilience of community and family and this story was very much aligned with that theme,” he reveals to Gold Derby during our recent Meet the Experts: Film Documentary panel (watch the exclusive video interview above).
“Stephen Curry: Underrated” was released back in July and can currently be streamed on Apple TV+. The film follows the point guard for the Golden State Warriors during the 2021-22 season which followed two consecutive seasons where the Warriors failed to make the playoffs. As the season progresses, the film looks back at how Curry got to where he is now. Many coaches wrote him off due to his slender frame but he would still be an all-conference and all-state player in high school and would later help lead Davidson on a March Madness tournament run in 2008 that would see the school make it to the Elite Eight. Back in the present, along with trying to achieve a winning season, Curry also attempts to complete his college degree after he opted out of his senior year in order to enter the 2009 NBA draft.
When interviewing subjects from Curry’s days at Davidson College, Nicks could tell that the connection that he had with his coach, Bill McKillop, was much more special than a standard coach-player relationship. Nicks says that McKillop was one of the few people that truly saw and appreciated what Curry could provide and become as a member of his team at the small liberal arts school in North Carolina. “When you’re not seen in your full potential, it can have damaging and lasting impacts on individuals and entire communities. Coach really was the one person who saw Steph when so many other people did not see him. That’s why he was the only coach to offer him a Division One scholarship.”
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