Dennis Rodman’s infamous trip to Las Vegas during the 1998 NBA Finals has long been the stuff of legend. Now Hollywood wants to bring that story to life on the big screen as a feature film that involves Rodman as a producer, Variety reports.
“48 Hours in Vegas” will be a retelling of the well-publicized two days that Rodman spent away from Bulls during their Finals rematch against the Utah Jazz.
The core of the story, which was rehashed as part of the ESPN documentary series “The Last Dance,” is well known: With the Bulls on the brink of their sixth NBA championship, Rodman asked coach Phil Jackson for time off in the middle of the series against Utah. Jackson, knowing Rodman’s mercurial nature, gave him the thumbs up for a trip that soon spiraled out of control.
In “The Last Dance,” Michael Jordan said he needed to fly to Vegas and personally bring Rodman back to the team.
Variety reports that the movie, which will be written by Jordan VanDina and boasts Oscar winners Phil Lord and Chris Miller among its producers, will add another layer to the story “as the player and his anxious assistant GM develop an unexpected friendship amid the player’s Sin City revelry.”
“Dennis refused to follow the herd,” Lord and Miller said in a statement. “That is what made him a target and it’s also what made him a star. His weekend in Las Vegas is full of fun and hijinks but it is also full of important questions about the way public figures and workers are treated, especially when their individuality is expressed so vividly.”
Rodman, as basketball fans know, returned to the Bulls after his Vegas bender and helped MJ finish off the Jazz. In the deciding Game 6, he played 39 minutes, third-most on the team.
