By XAVIER SMERDON
A WERRIBEE film maker with a dream of making it big in the industry may just have found his golden ticket.
Josh Howlett is the creative mind behind Final Four, a film that will chronicle two Australian basketball players and their “Cinderella run” into the semi-finals in the American College basketball league.
The 23-year-old, who has already received confirmation of funding for the project from a high-profile Australian basketballer based in the USA who cannot yet be named, said he could not believe how much traction the project had gained.
“I always had a blind belief that the film would happen, but now it feels like it’s really taking off,” Mr Howlett said.
“I eat, sleep and breathe this film now. It’s all I think about and now it feels like it’s not just me that knows about it and that others are interested in it too.”
Former NBA player and Dream Team member, Magic Johnson, has expressed interest in making a cameo appearance in the film and could also be partially financing the movie.
It’s expected that the movie will have a budget of $20 million, and Hollywood actors Nick Nolte and Woody Harrelson have also been approached to appear in the film.
Mr Howlett will be playing one of the main characters in the movie and is also a co-producer.
While many of the details remain under wraps, Mr Howlett said he hoped to film part of the project in Wyndham.
“Some of it could be filmed here but I want most of it to be filmed in America,” he said.
“I want it to be an American film about Australians because we are on their turf.”
He said the film was partly based on the story of Indigenous Australian NBA basketballer Patty Mills, but the actual story was entirely fictional.
Several other local people are already involved in the project, which is set to start filming in early 2014.
Jen Carreno from Tarneit is signed on as an Associate Producer, and Clyde Borraine from Point Cook will be acting in the film along with Chris Kirby.
