PAGE 8B
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2012
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TELEVISION
Director answers questions about '30 for 30'
BLAKE SCHUSTER bschuster@kansan.com
After the national television debut of his open letter to Kansas Basketball," ESPN's 30 for 30: There's No Place Like Home," director Josh Swade took some time to talk to the Kansan about his quest to bring James Naismith's original rules of basketball back to the University of Kansas.
WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE JAYHAWK?
Danny Manning, without a question. I watched the [1988 National Championship] game at home with my entire family and friends of ours.
Anytime you're doing something like this, there's a million stories within stories. We went up and interviewed the guys at the Basketball Hall of Fame, and we weren't able to find a place for it in our total run time. But those guys really had some neat things to say about the rules.
WAS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD HAVE LIKED TO INCLUDE IN THE FILM?
DID YOU DONATE ANY MONEY TOWARD BUYING THE RULES?
If I had the money it took, I gladly would have pitched it in. There was a moment when I was speaking to David [Booth] where I offered to do that. We built a website, and once we did all the media hits people started reaching out and pledging money over email, asking if there was a PayPal account. I basically had to respond to people and say, "Hey, hold off. I don't know yet." There wasn't enough time. When we went out on the road we only had three weeks.
WAS THERE ANY PURPOSE FOR YOUR TRIP TO DUKE OTHER THAN TO SING ROCK CHALK AT CAMERON INDOOR?
We kept hearing about the Smithsonian, the Basketball Hall of Fame and Duke. Those were the three big names that were being rumored. With Duke, we were just down the road in Chapel Hill, NC., so it was just kind of to go check it out. There was a practice going on, and we did have to talk to someone, but they just let us in. There were people there who probably thought I was a bit crazy. When you're just rolling with your buddy who is the camera guy, you're not thinking "Oh, this is going to be on ESPN one day," you're just sort of messing around.
It was very difficult. I would sort of mention it to my inner circle, and they didn't even believe me.
HOW HARD WAS IT TO SIT ON THAT INTERVIEW FOR TWO YEARS?
I was very upset like a lot of fans were. [His answers were] shocking and totally unexpected. I didn't push him at all. I'm far from a seasoned interviewer; that's not a skill of mine. I didn't have a special ability to pull this out of him. He offered that. It was shocking how sincere it was.
HOW DID YOU FEEL WHEN ROY
WILLIAMS LEFT KANSAS? HOW DO YOU
FEAL EATER INTERVIEWING HIM?
WHAT'S NEXT FOR YOU?
I work for a production company, and we do the ESPY awards for ESPN and the NFL Honors awards show, which is the night before the Super Bowl. So I will jump into production on that and will put the film stuff on hold for a while. The one thing that has to be there, for me, is passion. If it's something I'm passionate about, I'm called to do it. Then it's not a job, it's just fun.
HOW DID THE FILM BECOME A "30 FOR 30"?
DID YOU KNOW HOW HIGH DAVID BOOTH WOULD BID ON THE RULES?
We went out on the road and did the film, and we had nothing to do with ESPN at that point. They caught wind of it and were really taken by it. One of the reasons they responded to it so strongly is that it's such a departure for them. If people are used to watching "30 for 30," this is going to come out of left field. When we originally signed on to do it with ESPN, no one ever told me it was going to be a "30 for 30." I only found out it was going to be a "30 for months ago. I had to pinch myself when I found that out because I'm such a fan of the series, and it's unbelievable to be included in that.
When I showed up to his office, all he told me was, "I finally talked to coach Self, and coach Self is pretty fired up about it." When he said that to me, I thought, "Ok, that's a pretty good thing." So I knew that there was some excitement and some willingness to win, but I had no clue he was going to go that far. It was nerve-racking beyond belief.
WHAT WAS THE MOST SUR-
PRISING PART OF THE WHOLE
PROCESS?
Kevin Kietzman having me on his show. He catches a lot of heat in Kansas City about favoring K-State, his alma mater, but he really supported me and had me on for a solid 15 minutes. If he never has me on, then the Allen family never hears about what I'm doing. But the most surprising thing is when David Booth actually won the auction.
Edited by Stéphane Roque
ODDS ARE, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE A TOP TEN SONG.
BUT YOU CAN HAVE A TOP TEN INTERNSHIP.
Northwestern Mutual's internship program has been named one of America's top ten internships for 15 straight years. To see if you qualify, just go to nminternship.com. No matter what kind of voice you have, it's your chance to be in the top ten.
Northwestern Mutual
Denea L Mcmillin Director of Campus Selection RPS Financial Group 5251 W. 116th Place, Suite 300 Overland Park, KS 66211 rpsfinancialgroup.com 913-676-8039 denea.mcmillin@nmfn.com
2600 Grand Blvd., Ste. 600 Kansas City,MO 64108
4601 W. 6th St., Ste. B Lawrence, KS 66049
909 East Republic, Bldg. F200 Springfield, MO 65807
727 N. Waco St., Ste. 380 Wichita, KS 67203
05-2743 © 2012 Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, Milwaukee, WI (NM) (life and disability insurance, annuities) and its subsidiaries. Staff members support Representatives and might not represent companies associated with Northwestern Mutual. Products and services referenced are offered and sold only by appropriately licensed individuals. Vault Guide to Top Internship s: Top 10 internships 1997-2011: 2011 Edition.