*It’s going to be a happy Thanksgiving weekend with “Fantasy Football” headed to streaming this Friday, on Paramount+.
Directed by Anton Cropper, the film follows Bobby Coleman (Omari Hardwick) and his 15-year-old daughter Callie (Marsai Martin) who learns she’s enhancing her NFL player dad’s football skills on the field, through her video game. Kelly Rowland also stars as Keisha Coleman and Rome Flynn portrays Anderson Fisher.
Per the official synopsis: When Callie plays as her dad, a running back for the Atlanta Falcons, in EA SPORTS Madden NFL 23, Bobby is transformed from a fumblitis-plagued journeyman to a star running back bound for superstardom alongside his daughter and wife Keisha (Kelly Rowland). With the NFL Playoffs looming and the pressures of Callie’s new commitment to her friends on the robotics team mounting, the two must forge ahead to keep the magic a secret as they juggle the highs and lows of their newfound success, all as they rediscover what it really means to be a family.
Check out the “Fantasy Football” trailer below.
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Martin, 18, is on double duty this go-round by starring in and co-producing the project alongside LeBron James with his SpringHill Production Company.
“What’s helped me a lot is being able to have my parents by my side and them also being producers and them watching and observing from afar and me actually being a part of it and also observing,” Martin said in our exclusive conversation with the young star.
“Having those lunch breaks where I’m like “okay, so this is what I saw and this may need to be changed,” or having those moments where I am able to collect my thoughts and be able to separate my thoughts from being an actress and also being a producer and seeing what my impact is with the film,” she continued.
Martin described the filming experience as both actor and producer as “a lot” but expressed gratitude for the opportunity while noting that she’s still a student who continues to learn the filming and show business process.
“I mean it’s a lot, it’s not for the weak, Martin said. “But I’m very very grateful to be able to have an amazing support system around me and to constantly learn. I’m also 18, so I’m learning different things. This is a whole period when I’m the student. I am here to listen and observe and move forward from there.”
As for Cropper, he hopes the audience has a “good time” watching “Fantasy Football.”
“It’s a comedy, but it’s a comedy with heart,” Cropper said. “It’s a family-based film.”
Diving deeper into the film’s overall message, Cropper noted what he hopes viewers take away from “Fantasy Football.”
“I think that it’s really important to understand second chances,” Cropper said.
“It’s also really important to understand that life may take you down a different path than what you may have expected. But two things in that, you have to embrace that and you have to keep working at it. Then if you do get the success you want you gotta remember those that are around you that have always supported you and that are with you. That’s really what this is about. It doesn’t matter where you end up, or who you are, or what you do, what really is most important are the people that surround you,” he explained.
Watch my full conversation with Martin and Cooper via the clip below.
“Fantasy Football” hits Paramount Plus on November 25th.
