AMERICAN STREETBALLERS (aka STREETBALLERS): described as “Good Will Hunting" meets "Million Dollar Baby" meets "Coach Carter” has a killer soundtrack packed with a number of grammy nominated platinum artist. The film itself and all of the musicians attached to the project fuse the best in indie cinema and Hip Hop. "American Streetballers" hit the festival circuit playing for packed crowds in Los Angeles, Saint Louis, Kansas City, Detroit, New York City, Philadelphia, North Carolina, Washington DC and Nashville winning multiple awards including “Best Dramatic Feature”, “Best Cinematography”, a “Jury Award” and an “Audience Choice Award”. The festival tour garnered national press (USA Today, Sports Illustrated, ESPN.com, The Philadelphia Daily News, as well as others) and helped ignite a cult following for the film, the website and the multiple social networking sites dedicated to "American Streetballers" and its philosophy. In 2009 and early 2010 "American Streetballers" hit mainstream theatres in Saint Louis, Los Angeles, Kansas City, and Dallas (opened in February, 2010). On just four screens in four cities, with a limited release, "American Streetballers" posted an impressive Box Office total of $28,642 making a per-screen average of $7,160.50 for a self-released independent film. Here’s the latest figures posted on Box Office Mojo: http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=streetballers.htm The critically appraised independent feature film "American Streetballers" (the highest-scoring film in the 17-year history of the Saint Louis International Film Festival beating out previous winners "Juno" and "Slumdog Millionaire"), is an Irish-Urban Drama that explores the lives of two junior college basketball players, Jacob Whitmore and John Hogan. The film descends into the underworld of city culture and streetball, an unconventional form of basketball where the rules are as unpredictable as the players. With both characters struggling to find sanity amidst a world of drugs, alcoholism and racism, two worlds collide revealing a story of hope, transformation and friendship that lead to a challenge on the courts of the city’s tough Northside. With a message of Hoops, Hustle & Hope "American Streetballers" has been named “The Greatest Basketball Film Ever Made” by streetball legends and NBA players alike. News & Reviews from mainstream media and top basketball websites: "Streetballers crackles with energy, style and the sense of an auspicious young director making his voice heard." Scott Foundas - LA Weekly (9/21/2009) "Streetballers succeeds brilliantly. A product of love of the game, and the first feature film from independent film quadruple threat director/producer/writer/lead actor Matthew Scott Krentz." Ball in Europe (2/11/2010) http://www.ballineurope.com/new/movie-review-streetballers/ "The greatest basketball film ever made!" Josh Powell - World Champion Lakers "Streetballers is a detailed, expressive, wonder-full film... it will get you to thinking about more than just the immediate. You don’t have to love basketball to love this story of redemption, inspiration and courage." Campus Circle Magazine (9/21/2009) http://www.campuscircle.com/review.cfm?r=9543 “My first thought after finishing Streetballers was, Wow! I want everybody to see this movie.” Bob Andelman - Mr. Media (9/24/2009) http://trueslant.com/bobandelman/2009/09/24/interview-matthew-krentz-indie-filmmaker-actor-streetballers/ “Streetballers is a riveting cinematic experience that successfully captures the struggles, triumphs and passion of street basketball. A must see for any basketball player, fan or enthusiast.” Greg Johnson - CEO, Streetball.com (9/25/2009) http://www.streetball.com/profile/Streetballers453 "Plot: Simply put, strong. Encompassing much, utilizing twist, turns and subplots strongly, Streetballers will have your full attention throughout. Aside from the obligatory basketball, rap, guns and violence, this flick is about so much more. It’s about family; it’s about friends; it’s about hope; it’s about making the most of the least." Tzvi Twersky - SLAM ONLINE (10/12/2009) http://www.slamonline.com/online/other-ballers/streetball/2009/10/streetballers/ “Streetballers is a great movie. It can hold it's own on "the court" visually with any high budget studio film but it was made for a tenth of the cost." TheFlickFanatic.com http://www.theflickfanatic.com/Flickanalysis.php “Streetballers grinding for a change… I had a chance to speak to Matt Scott Krentz, writer and director of the new Streetballers movie last night and came away impressed with his hustle, attitude and flavor." Sean Couch – Bounce Magazine http://www.bouncemag.com/2009/10/03/streetballers-the-movie-grinding-for-a-change/ “Overall, Streetballers killed all my expectations and left me excited for the future of the talent in this film. It is nice to see St. Louis represented by some great new up and coming talent. It is an impressive first feature effort from this team and I can only hope that their second effort is as good.” Reviewstl.com (8/22/2009) http://www.reviewstl.com/streetballers-movie-review/ “Last weekend, the locally produced sports movie Streetballers cracked the national top ten at the box office. According to Variety the film averaged more than $5700 per screen, ranking it ninth in the country, ahead of G.I. Joe, Julie and Julia, The Hangover and even Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. ... the per-screen average is a measure that gets Hollywood’s attention." Joe Williams- Saint Louis Post-Dispatch (8/26/2009) http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/joes-movie-lounge/joes-movie-lounge/2009/08/local-movie-streetballers-outperforms-harry-potter-sort-of/ Academy Eligibility Links: The complete list of 274 films has been named eligible for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. 281 films qualified in 2008, and this is still far less than the 300-400 that made the list years prior. Streetballers made the cut for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. http://www.hollywoodnews.com/2009/12/18/82nd-academy-awards-list-274/ or http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/rules/reminderlist2009.pdf Case Studies: Streetballers featured on the cover of MovieMaker.com as their feature article (12/9/09) http://www.moviemaker.com/distribution/article/streetballers_matt_krentz_self_distribution_20091203/ Streetballers on Studio Daily (8/29/2009) http://www.studiodaily.com/blog/?p=1877 Apple Trailers Link: Watch the Streetballers Trailer on Apple Trailers: http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/streetballers/