Film Synopsis

Oakland, California is the birthplace to more NBA basketball stars than any other city in the country. But there is a street ball legend named Demetrius “Hook” Mitchell who rises above them all. At 5’9”, he built his legendary street status by jumping over the top of a Volkswagen and slam dunking a basketball. As NBA superstar Jason Kidd puts it, “he could jump over a building.” Gary Payton, another NBA superstar and childhood friend asserts, “he was better than me, he was better than Jason (Kidd), Antonio (Davis), he was better than everybody.” But while Hook’s childhood friends, Gary Payton, Jason Kidd, Antonio Davis, Brian Shaw, J.R. Rider and Greg Foster all ended up playing basketball in the NBA, Hook ended up incarcerated. From the drug and crime infested streets of West Oakland to the California Men’s Penal Colony, Hook made all the wrong choices. The story of how “Hook” wound up incarcerated, while the buddies he grew up with skyrocketed to superstardom with multi-million dollar salaries, is told in this poignant tale of a life gone wrong. “Hook” Mitchell is the greatest basketball player to never make it to the NBA.

Co-Directors Bio

Michael Skolnik and William O'Neill, founded Kicked Down Productions in 1998, in an effort to bring socially conscience ideas to independent film production. In 1998, O’Neill & Skolnik co-executive-produced the feature film, Jails, Hospitals & Hip-Hop starring Danny Hoch. In 2000, Skolnik & O’Neill co-directed La Esquina Caliente, an award winning documentary about the baseball games between the Baltimore Orioles and the Cuban National Team. It premiered on the Sundance Channel in 2000. In 1999, O’Neill & Skolnik formed The William W. O'Neill Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) public foundation, with the mission of bringing the arts back into the lives of young people. Equal Opportunity Productions (EqOp), a program of the Foundation, brings theater back into public elementary schools that have lost their arts program. Go to www.eqop.org for more info.

Director’s Statement

We came across an article about a street ballplayer from Oakland who during his youth rivaled the skills of many NBA superstars. His life did not turn out the way theirs did, basking in the glory of playing in the NBA. He can only play behind bars. After writing a letter to “Hook” in prison, we received a phone call that changed our lives. As the conversation was restricted to only fifteen minutes, we had very little time to convince “Hook” to take part in our documentary. After months of telephone calls and letters, we decided to make the trip to visit him and film his extraordinary life story. Words cannot express how we felt when we walked onto the A Quad at the Men’s Penal Colony in San Luis Obispo, California and finally saw with our own eyes the incredible talent that “Hook” possessed. After watching him play basketball, we got the chance to sit with him in his cell alone and talk openly and honestly about how a person with so much talent could end up incarcerated. What we hope you see in our film, is not the basketball player, Demetrius “Hook” Mitchell, but the human being that is behind the dunks, the no look passes and the rebounds. Rarely do you come across a person like Demetrius “Hook” Mitchell.

HOOKED Full Trailer

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