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Josh Swade
Born
Kansas City, MO
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Kansas
City University of New York
Occupation(s)Filmmaker, author
Years active2012–present
SpouseLauren Moffatt

Josh Swade is an American documentary filmmaker and author, working primarily in the sports and music genres. His feature films include Ricky Powell: The Individualist, about street photographer Ricky Powell, which premiered on Showtime in 2021; One & Done, about basketball player Ben Simmons, which premiered on Showtime in 2016; and the 2012 ESPN 30 for 30 documentary There's No Place Like Home. He has directed and produced several ESPN 30 for 30 Shorts, and several short films on popular musicians, including The Black Keys, Rick Rubin, Sheryl Crow, Major Lazer, and Gary Clark Jr. He also wrote the book The Holy Grail of Hoops: One Fan's Quest to Buy the Original Rules of Basketball.

Early life and education

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Swade was born in Kansas City, Missouri.[1][2] He attended the University of Kansas,[3] before transferring to Baruch College, where he received a Bachelors degree in 1998.[4]

Career

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Music

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Following his graduation, Swade worked in A&R at Maverick Records, before co-founding the record labels Young American Recordings in 2005 and +1 Records in 2008.[5][6] In 2014, +1 Records became a division of Lyor Cohen's 300 Entertainment.[7] In 2018, +1 Records partnered with Empire Distribution.[8]

Filmmaking

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In November 2010, Swade read a New York Times story that James Naismith's original rules of basketball would be auctioned off on December 10, 2010.[2][9] The ensuing 2012 ESPN 30 for 30 documentary There's No Place Like Home follows Swade, a lifelong Kansas Jayhawks fan, on his attempt to win the auction so that the rules could be housed at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, where Naismith coached and taught for the majority of his career.[4][9][10][11] University of Kansas alumnus David Booth and his wife paid $4,338,500 for the rules of basketball, setting a record for the highest sales price for sports memorabilia, according to Sotheby's, which conducted the auction.[12] There's No Place Like Home premiered on ESPN on October 16, 2012.[13] In 2013, Swade’s book The Holy Grail of Hoops: One Fan's Quest to Buy the Original Rules of Basketball was published, with an afterword by University of Kansas basketball head coach Bill Self. It was based on the events in There's No Place Like Home.[4]

In 2014, Swade began work on #BringBackSungWoo, a 30 for 30 Shorts documentary which follows Sung Woo Lee, a South Korean longtime fan of the Kansas City Royals.[14][15][16] The 22-minute film premiered on ESPN and Grantland on October 7, 2015.[17]

In May 2015, Swade helped launch Rolling Stone Films,[18] where he directed and produced films on musicians including Rick Rubin, The Black Keys, Sheryl Crow, Ringo Starr and Willie Nelson.[19][20] His short film on Rubin, Rick Was Here, was the first Rolling Stone Films production,[21] and was nominated for a 2014 National Magazine Award for Best Video.[22]

In 2015, production began on One & Done, a feature documentary for Showtime. The film chronicles the life of Australian-born basketball player Ben Simmons, following him beginning in his senior year of high school at Montverde Academy, focusing on his lone year at Louisiana State University, and culminating in his selection as the top pick in the 2016 NBA draft. The film premiered on Showtime in November 2016.[23][24][25] The film was noted for the way in which it exposed the inner workings of the amateur basketball system in the United States.[26] New York Times writer Joe Nocera wrote, "'One & Done' will undoubtedly stir outrage among traditional college sports reformers... as well it should."[26]

Swade's film Ricky Powell: The Individualist, about the life and career of New York City street photographer Ricky Powell,[27] premiered at We Are One: A Global Film Festival on May 30, 2020,[28] and on Showtime on December 10, 2021.[29] It features interviews with Powell, Natasha Lyonne, LL Cool J, Chuck D, Laurence Fishburne, and Mike D, and was executive produced by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson.[29][30] Powell is renowned for his candid photos of artists including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Madonna, Eric B. & Rakim, Run-DMC and the Beastie Boys.[31][32] Vogue magazine called the documentary "electrifying," writing that it "delivers a heady dose of nostalgia."[32]

Swade directed and produced the 2021 five-part documentary short series Storied, covering the 2021-22 Syracuse Orange men's basketball season. Featuring behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with head coach Jim Boeheim and members of the coaching staff and team, it was released on October 12, 2021.[33]

Filmography

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Year Title Credited as Notes
2012 There's No Place Like Home Co-director ESPN 30 for 30 feature
2013 Arthur and Johnnie Producer ESPN 30 for 30 Shorts
2014 Rick Was Here Director Rolling Stone Films, short film
2015 Willie Nelson and His Famous Guitar: The Tale of Trigger Producer Rolling Stone Films, short film
The Big Come Up Director Rolling Stone Films, short film
#BringBackSungWoo Co-director ESPN 30 for 30 Shorts
Tiger Hood Producer ESPN 30 for 30 Shorts
Sheryl Crow: Live at the Bluebird Café Director Rolling Stone Films, short film
Ringo Starr: Photographer Producer Rolling Stone Films, short film
Major Lazer Take Kingston Producer Rolling Stone Films, short film
2016 One & Done Co-director Showtime feature
Becoming: Ben Simmons Producer, executive producer Disney XD episode
Billy Corgan: Babyfaced Heel Producer, executive producer Rolling Stone Films, short film
2017 24 Strong Executive producer ESPN 30 for 30 Shorts
2020 Ricky Powell: The Individualist Director, writer, producer Showtime documentary feature
2021 Storied Director, producer Short documentary series

Bibliography

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Books

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  • The Holy Grail of Hoops: One Fan’s Quest to Buy the Original Rules of Basketball (Sports Publishing, New York, NY, 2013), afterword by Bill Self

Articles

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References

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  1. ^ Richard Sandomir, “Naismith’s Papers Fetch Record $4.3 Million,” The New York Times, December 10, 2010.
  2. ^ a b Rustin Dodd, “Review: ‘There’s No Place Like Home’, the quest for Naismith’s Rules,” Kansas City Star, October 13, 2012.
  3. ^ Nicholas Hirshon, “University of Kansas grad David Booth scores original basketball rules for $4.3M at memorabilia sale,” New York Daily News, December 11, 2010.
  4. ^ a b c Bill DiFilippo, “For The Holy Grail of Hoops, There’s No Place Like Home,” SLAM, July 30, 2013.
  5. ^ Rustin Dodd, “A look at the new documentary on Naismith’s Rules,” Kansas City Star, August 23, 2012.
  6. ^ Jonathan Cohen, “Eno, Young American, ‘Dukes of Hazzard’,” Billboard, May 5, 2005.
  7. ^ Colin Stutz, "+1 Records Becomes Official Label Partner of Lyor Cohen's 300 Entertainment," Billboard, November 5, 2014.
  8. ^ Eggertsen, Chris. "EMPIRE and +1 Records Announce New Global Partnership Deal". billboard.com. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  9. ^ a b “30 for 30 doc There’s No Place Like Home earns standing O at premiere,” ESPN Front Row, October 16, 2012.
  10. ^ Pete Beatty, “A Complete Ranking of ESPN’s ’30 for 30’ Films,” Vulture.com, October 1, 2013.
  11. ^ Will Eidam, "'There's No Place Like Home'," Austin Chronicle, October 16, 2012.
  12. ^ Richard Roth and Whitney Hurst, “Basketball ‘bible’ auction sets sports memorabilia record,” CNN, December 11, 2010.
  13. ^ Adam Friedgood, “ESPN 30 for 30: A Review of ‘There’s No Place Like Home’,” Bleacher Report, October 16, 2012.
  14. ^ Reeves Wiedeman, “Good-Luck Charm,” The New Yorker, November 3, 2014.
  15. ^ “Royals superfan Sung Woo Lee will be back in Kansas City for Game 1 of the World Series,” MLB.com, October 16, 2014.
  16. ^ Andy McCullough, “Filmmaker says Sung Woo Lee will return to KC for the World Series,” Kansas City Star, October 16, 2014.
  17. ^ "30 for 30 Shorts: #BringBackSungWoo," Grantland, October 7, 2015.
  18. ^ Todd Spangler, “Rolling Stone Hires Josh Swade, Former ESPN Producer, as Head of Video,” Variety, May 19, 2015.
  19. ^ D. Patrick Rodgers, "Watch Rolling Stone's Early-Days Black Keys Doc The Big Come Up," Nashville Scene, May 13, 2015.
  20. ^ Ivan Foley, "ESPN film has ties to KC, The Landmark," Platte County Landmark, September 20, 2015.
  21. ^ "Dawn of Def Jam: Watch Rick Rubin Return to His NYU Dorm Room," Rolling Stone, October 16, 2014.
  22. ^ Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke, "The Finalists for the National Magazine Awards Are…" New York Observer, January 15, 2015.
  23. ^ Erik Pedersen, "Showtime Preps Docu On Ben Simmons, NBA's Likely No. 1 Draft Pick," Deadline Hollywood, June 21, 2016.
  24. ^ Lamarco McClendon, "Showtime Grabs Documentary on Rising Basketball Star Ben Simmons," Variety, June 22, 2016.
  25. ^ Gary Parrish, "76ers rookie Ben Simmons' year at LSU exposed in Showtime's 'One & Done'," CBS Sports, November 4, 2016.
  26. ^ a b Nocera, Joe. "One-and-Done System Gets a Documentary. Call It a Farce". The New York Times. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  27. ^ Kohn, Eric. "We Are One". indiewire.com. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  28. ^ "Ricky Powell: The Individualist premieres". laweekly.com. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  29. ^ a b Aswad, Jem. "LL Cool J, Run-DMC and More Remember Hip-Hop Photographer Ricky Powell". vogue.com. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  30. ^ "We Are One: Global Film Festival Unveils Lineup Including Ricky Powell docu". deadline.com. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  31. ^ Shaffer, Claire (29 May 2020). "Legendary Hip-Hop Photographer Ricky Powell Gets His Own Documentary". rollingstone.com. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  32. ^ a b "Cancelled By Coronavirus, Global Film Festivals Go Digital This Weekend". vogue.com. 29 May 2020. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  33. ^ "Syracuse University Athletics, LEARFIELD Announce STORIED". learfield.com. 12 October 2021. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
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