Lionsgate Studio has acquired the rights to the documentary More Than a Game, which tells the pre-NBA story of LeBron James and four other young basketball players known (unoriginally) as the "Fab Five."  

The film depicts the team’s nine-year journey from Akron, Ohio to the national high school championship, including the inner-team struggles and triumphs they faced both on and off the court to achieve their dreams. It also depicts how the team dealt with the growing fame of the future NBA superstar, James, who's reputation led to unprecedented nationwide telecasts of several of their high school basketball games. The documentary includes never-before-seen home videos, personal family photos, and one-on-one interviews.

Lionsgate, in association with Harvey Mason Media and Interscope Records, plans to release the film, which received a standing ovation during the 2008 Toronto Film Festival, in fall 2009.  

The film is directed by Kristopher Belman and produced by Harvey Mason Jr.

"We are thrilled that Lionsgate has joined the More Than a Game team," Mason said in a recent press release. Citing its track record as a marketing and distribution partner, he called the studio the movie-making "equivalent of the Fab Five." (Not to be confused with 1992 University of Michigan basketball team with its five freshman starters — as known as the "Fab Five" — which advanced to the NCAA Tournament championship game and lost to Duke, to this day the most-watched game in college basketball history.)

—Jessica Delli Santi