Like the U. S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy says, ' There ' s an epidemic of loneliness in this country.' Pickleball has broken down barriers and brought people together in a way we haven ' t seen before. And at a time when so many really needed it."— Craig Coyne construction in space-limited cities like Los Angeles. Underwood highlights the efforts of individuals like Julio Rivera, who spearheaded the Santa Monica Pickleball Club, creating much-needed public courts in a city starved for them. Coyne, husband of Barbara Bush and a Brooklyn resident, echoes this sentiment, noting pickleball’ s suitability for urban environments due to its minimal space requirements.“ It is like the perfect concrete jungle sport,” he says.
Like the U. S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy says, ' There ' s an epidemic of loneliness in this country.' Pickleball has broken down barriers and brought people together in a way we haven ' t seen before. And at a time when so many really needed it."— Craig Coyne construction in space-limited cities like Los Angeles. Underwood highlights the efforts of individuals like Julio Rivera, who spearheaded the Santa Monica Pickleball Club, creating much-needed public courts in a city starved for them. Coyne, husband of Barbara Bush and a Brooklyn resident, echoes this sentiment, noting pickleball’ s suitability for urban environments due to its minimal space requirements.“ It is like the perfect concrete jungle sport,” he says.
While the recreational appeal is undeniable,“ Dreambreaker” pivots to explore the nascent and often turbulent world of professional pickleball. Underwood had initially envisioned a broader overview of the sport, but found a more compelling narrative in the unfolding drama of its professionalization.“ I didn’ t want to make a film that’ s an overview of a phenomenon. I was looking for a real insider story, something that the 40 + million Americans who play the game might not know about and find really interesting,” explains Underwood.
This shift came after she connected with Coyne, whose deep dive into the pickleball scene for Vanity Fair provided a crucial entry point into the elite echelons of the game.“ He just had so many relationships. He had this big‘ Rolodex’ of everyone. Who do you wanna meet? Who do you wanna talk to?” Underwood recalls.“ He was the one to start. He introduced me to the pro side of it, which I don’ t think I knew existed.”
Coyne emphasizes the unique opportunity to document the birth of a professional sport in real time, observing that“ this doesn’ t happen very often— that pro sports are really birthed before our eyes,” drawing a contrast with established leagues like the MLB, NFL, and NBA.
The documentary navigates the complexities of competing professional organizations, the Professional Pickleball Association( PPA) and Major League Pickleball( MLP), and the influx of capital into the sport.
Underwood and Coyne aimed for a nuanced portrayal, resisting the urge to paint a simplistic narrative of big money corrupting a beloved pastime.
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