Granity Studios

Granity Studios is a multimedia original content company formed by former NBA player Kobe Bryant, focused on creating new ways to tell stories around sports.[1] The company is headquartered in Newport Beach, California.

Granity Studios
IndustryMedia
Founded2013 (2013)
HeadquartersNewport Beach, California
Key people
Vanessa Bryant; CEO
ProductsBooks, television, podcasts, films
Websitegranitystudios.com

History

Granity Studios was launched by Kobe Bryant in 2013 as a company that developed different media, ranging from films, to television shows, to novels.[2]

In 2017, Granity Studios produced Dear Basketball, an animated short film based on Kobe Bryant's retirement poem in The Players' Tribune, and was directed and animated by Glen Keane, with music by John Williams.[3] At the 90th Academy Awards, Keane and Bryant won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for their work on Dear Basketball. Bryant became the first African-American to win the category and the first former professional athlete to be nominated and to win an Academy Award in any category.[4] The film also won the Annie Award for Best Animated Short Subject and a Sports Emmy Award.[5] This was also the first Oscar win for Keane, a veteran Disney animator.[6]

In addition to future animation projects, Bryant had been in talks with animator veterans Bruce W. Smith and Sergio Pablos for the last six months before his death about starting his own animation studio.[7]

Beginning in 2018, Bryant wrote, produced and hosted the television series Detail, which aired for multiple seasons on ESPN and ESPN+. It featured his insights into the game of basketball and in-depth analyses of games and individual players.[8][9]

On October 23, 2018, Bryant's book The Mamba Mentality: How I Play, with photographs and afterword by Andrew D. Bernstein, an introduction by Phil Jackson, and a foreword by Pau Gasol, was published by MCD / Farrar, Straus and Giroux. The book looks back on his career with photos and his reflections.[10][11]

At the time of his death in 2020, Bryant was working with Brazilian author Paulo Coelho on a children's book aimed at inspiring underprivileged children. After Bryant's death, Coelho deleted the draft, saying in an interview that "it didn't make any sense to publish without him." He did not say how many pages had been written or whether the book had a title.[12]

Bryant also co-wrote/produced several young adult novels through Granity Studios: The Wizenard Series: Training Camp, Legacy and the Queen, and Epoca: The Tree of Ecrof. A fourth novel, The Wizenard Series: Season One, was released posthumously in March 2020.[13] The Wizarenard Series: Season One topped the New York Times middle-grade hardcover list.[14]

Vanessa Bryant is the president and chief executive officer of Granity Studios.[15]

Films
Year Title Director Notes Ref
2015 Kobe Bryant's Muse Gotham Chopra
2017 Dear Basketball Glen Keane Winner of Best Animated Short Film at the 90th Academy Awards.

Television
Year Title Created & Written by Notes
2017 Musecage Kobe Bryant Produced by Granity Studios for ESPN and ESPN+
2018 Detail Kobe Bryant Produced by Granity Studios for ESPN and ESPN+; 18 episodes as a host, 16 episodes as a writer for Bryant

Books
Year Title Written By Created By Publisher Notes
2018 The Mamba Mentality: How I Play Kobe Bryant Farrar, Straus and Giroux Introduction by Phil Jackson, foreword by Pau Gasol & photos by Andrew D. Bernstein
2019 The Wizenard Series: Training Camp Wesley King Kobe Bryant Granity Studios
2019 Legacy and the Queen Annie Matthews Kobe Bryant Granity Studios
2019 Epoca: The Tree of Ecrof Ivy Claire Kobe Bryant Granity Studios
2020 Geese Are Never Swans Eva Clark Kobe Bryant Granity Studios
2020 Epoca: The River of Sand Ivy Claire Kobe Bryant Granity Studios
2020 The Wizarenard Series: Season One Wesley King Kobe Bryant Granity Studios posthumously published after Bryant's death
2021 Legacy and the Double Annie Matthew Kobe Bryant Granity Studios posthumously published after Bryant's death

Podcasts
Year Title Written By Created By Notes Ref
2018–present The Punies Jon Haller Kobe Bryant 2 Seasons

References
  1. "Granity Studios: About Us". Granity Studios.
  2. Littleton, Cynthia (January 28, 2020). "Kobe Bryant's Death Cuts Short a Promising Second Act in Entertainment". Variety.
  3. "Dear Basketball". California Film Institute. January 25, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2020 – via Vimeo.
  4. Schwartz, Dana (March 4, 2018). "Kobe Bryant is officially an Oscar winner". Entertainment Weekly.
  5. America, Good Morning. "Kobe Bryant honored at 2020 Oscars". Good Morning America. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  6. "90th Academy Award Animated Film Nominees". The Oscars 2018. Disney Enterprises, Inc. January 23, 2018. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
  7. Wit, Alex Dudok de (February 18, 2020). "Kobe Bryant Was Planning To Launch An Animation Studio; Sergio Pablos And Bruce Smith Involved". Cartoon Brew.
  8. "Jazz's Mitchell taking analysis of Kobe to heart". ESPN.com. May 2, 2018. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  9. "Kobe Bryant explains his 'Detail' show on ESPN". 247Sports.com. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  10. Bryant, Kobe (October 24, 2018). "Inside the Mamba Mentality". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  11. Ward, Ryan (October 29, 2018). "Legendary photographer Andrew Bernstein talks collaboration with Kobe Bryant on Mamba Mentality". Clutch Points. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  12. "Author deletes children's book co-written with Kobe Bryant". Associated Press. January 27, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  13. Pinho, Faith E. (January 29, 2020). "Kobe Bryant brought sports to page, podcast and film through Costa Mesa production company Granity Studios". Los Angeles Times.
  14. Haring, Bruce (April 9, 2020). "Kobe Bryant Book For Children And Young Adults Hits No. 1 On NY Times Bestseller List".
  15. "Vanessa Bryant 'Extremely Thankful' for Friends Who Have Helped Her Cope With Kobe and Gianna's Deaths". KVUE. January 25, 2021. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
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