This documentary film shines light on the sport of pickleball and the competition against leagues to cash in on the now popular sport. Two wealthy Texas entrepreneurs form rivals in professional pickleball leagues and feud over obtaining contracts on the world’s top players.

Austin billionaire Steve Kuhn, a hedge fund manager turned philanthropist, and sports mogul built Dreamland, an outdoor entertainment and arts venue in Dripping Springs, Texas located in the Hill Country. The site features 16 dedicated pickleball courses, miniature golf courses, and one state of the art music stage.

In 2021, Kuhn co-founded Major League Pickleball (MLP) and held tournaments in Dreamland. I was surprised to learn how this sport evolved into a franchise and attracted investors like Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry, and elite athletes like LeBron James, Patrick Mahomes, and even Drew Brees.

Like in all investments and in sports there is always a competitor – here is where Connor Pardoe steps onto the court. Pardoe formed the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) back in 2018, which required the players to sign a one year exclusive contract and transformed the industry from a recreational activity to a burgeoning sports powerhouse. The PPA then gets a new player, investor Thomas Dundon a chairman and managing partner of Dundon Capital Partners in Dallas, Texas. Dundon extended the exclusivity contracts to 3 years.

This sporty film has the tournament founders going head to head, evolving the sport into social media influencers, and chasing the gold. It also stars John McEnroe, no stranger to sport action drama.

Pickleball fanatics and those curious about the sport will find this documentary interesting, maybe even have more people interested in participating in playing pickleball or as a spectator.

The documentary is produced and directed by Ashley Underwood and written and produced by Craig Coyne is set to premiere Friday, April 11 on truTV and also will be streaming afterwards on the Max platform.

Fresh off its premiere during SXSW, Hallow Road releases its first trailer and if you haven’t seen our review yet…this is a wild edge of your seat psychological thriller. And that is not an exaggeration. Matthew and Rosamund put on absolutely award-winning performances and director Babak Anvari is technical and innovative behind the camera. See the trailer below.

SYNOPSIS: Two parents receive a distressing late-night call from their teenage daughter, who has just accidentally hit a pedestrian. They jump in their car, racing to get there before anyone else stumbles across the scene. As they head deeper into the night, disturbing revelations threaten to tear the family apart as they soon realize they might not be the only ones driving down Hallow Road.

See our SXSW interviews with Babak Anvari and Matthew Rhys below.

FOR A CHANCE TO WIN, CHOOSE YOUR CITY LINK BELOW

Screenings take place Tue April 8th @ 7:00 pm CST. Arrive early! Seating is limited.

AUSTIN – Use code: BMqFh72330
Location: Regal Gateway Stadium 16
9700 Stonelake Blvd., Austin, TX 78759

DALLAS – Use code: aZgeL16793
Location: AMC Northpark 15
8687 N Central Expressway, Dallas, TX 75225

HOUSTON – Use code: pGehw12756
Location: Regal Edwards Houston Marq’E
7600 Katy Fwy, Houston, TX 77024

SAN ANTONIO – Use code: leMLw56255
Location: Santikos Palladium IMAX
17703 W. IH-10, 78257

From blockbuster producers Michael Bay and Jason Blum and acclaimed horror director Christopher Landon comes a blood-chilling, original fast paced thriller Drop.  

Synopsis: When widowed mother Violet arrives at an upscale restaurant, she’s relieved that her date Henry is more charming than expected. But their chemistry begins to curdle as Violet begins being irritated and then terrorized by a series of anonymous drops to her phone. She is instructed to tell nobody and follow instructions, or the hooded figure she sees on her home security cameras will kill Violet’s young son and babysitting sister. Her unseen tormentor’s final directive? Kill Henry.

Drop stars Emmy nominee Meghann Fahy along with Brandon Sklenar, Violett Beane Jacob Robinson and Ed Weeks. The film is written by Jillian Jacobs & Chris Roach. Filmmaker Christopher Landon is the writer-director of last year’s We Have a Ghost and the zeitgeist-rattling Blumhouse hits Freaky, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones and the Happy Death Day films.   

Drop is produced by Jason Blum (Five Nights at Freddy’s, M3GAN) for Blumhouse and by Michael Bay (Transformers films, A Quiet Place franchise), Brad Fuller (A Quiet Place films, The Purge franchise) and Cameron Fuller (the upcoming Flycatcher and The Astronaut) for Platinum Dunes. Ron Lynch and Sam Lerner are executive producers.