Ervin “Magic” Johnson in They Call Me MagicPhoto: Apple TV+
Ervin “Magic” Johnson projects have been having a busy time lately. After all, HBO is currently gearing up to feature the Lakers superstar in Adam McKay’s Winning Time (played by Quincy Isaiah), and now Apple TV+ has unleashed its own magic with a new They’re Calling trailer. Me Magic, a four-part documentary chronicling Johnson’s rise to divine status in the NBA and beyond.
Directed by Dope’s Rick Famuyiva, the document is clearly not stingy with guest-star talking heads: Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, President Barack Obama and more come to praise Johnson as the narrative traces his ascent from the first overall NBA draft pick. choose, to a Lakers champion, to a business leader and advocate for those who have been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. (It remains to be seen if the “two-month-long full-time talk show host” courtesy of the short-lived “Magic Hour” will be stopped.)
That’s not to mention the presence of Johnson himself, who was clearly being interviewed extensively here, and who in the trailer looks like a modest, realistic dude who is also one of the greatest basketball players in the history of mankind.
That said, anyone looking for a clean 2020 Last Dance charge (marking Jordan’s takeoff a few years later) might be out of luck; the highlights may be just as electrifying, but the tone in the trailer is decidedly positive and hopeful – perhaps because of the personalities of the two men chronicled as well as the director’s intentions.
(Philosophically speaking, it’s important to note that Johnson is one of the best passers in NBA history; he still holds a number of assists records thanks to his ability to hit the ball exactly where it needs to be for his teammates to score a goal. . , again and again.)
They had their world premiere at SXSW in Austin today. The documentary series will premiere on AppleTV+ on April 22.