It’s amazing to be able to see a comedic actor expand their talents for a dramatic role. We’ve seen that before like when Jim Carrey was in The Majestic or Steve Carrell in Foxcatcher. Adam Sandler is in that category as well as the dramatic movies that made him so popular included Punch-Drunk Love, Reign Over Me, and Uncut Gems. We can continue to see Adam Sandler make a dramatic movie comeback in the Netflix drama Hustle with his Netflix director coining a name for that transition.
Adam Sandler stars and co-produces the new Netflix sports drama Hustle in which he plays a former basketball scout trying to make a comeback of his own recruiting an overseas player with a troubled past to play for the NBA. The film’s director Jeremiah Zagar spoke to Philadelphia Magazine about wanting to see a serious version of Adam Sandler and a new term he coined to describe his transition to dramatic films.
Me too, though he is funny as well in Hustle. But yes, it’s part of an Adam renaissance. An Adamssance? [laughs] I’m sure those people in Hollywood have some term for what it is.
Jeremiah Zagar spoke more about how the Billy Madison actor made it clear to him to bring real people from the basketball world into the movie. It wouldn’t be a surprise considering for his crime flick Uncut Gems, he recruited Kevin Garnett of the 2008 NBA Champions Boston Celtics to be in that movie. One thing about Hustle that Adam Sandler needed to rewrite was where exactly overseas his character needed to find this promising player. The original plan was China, but it turns out there is no Netflix in China. So Spain it was.
Another reason why this movie was possible to make was that Adam Sandler is a major basketball fan. Not only can he shoot hoops from a balcony or play with his fans, but has been caught even playing basketball with NBA stars like Tobias Harris, Boban, Aaron Gordon, Jordan Clarkson and more. Apparently, Zagar says the Happy Gilmore star plays basketball every day and would probably lose against him if he was to play a little one-on-one. He clearly has connections in the basketball world if he’s able to score points with NBA players on the court and in his movies. Expect to see a handful of the Sixers make an appearance in Sandler’s latest drama.
Adam Sandler will also go into space in another Netflix drama Spaceman where he will play an astronaut sent to a space location near Venus to collect samples of a mysterious intergalactic dust. But have no fear, comedy fans, because the Hubie Halloween actor will still make you laugh in future projects as Murder Mystery 2 is still going forward. Whether Adam Sandler will make you laugh or cry, you can add these upcoming projects of his to your watchlist.
We can all join the Adamssance by watching Adam Sandler’s Hustle in select theaters this weekend and on your Netflix subscription on June 8th.
