It looks like John Scott isn’t the only former professional athlete who played in St. John’s who is going to be the subject of a movie.
Zee Studios of India has announced their first digital film will be a biopic on Satnam Singh, who was with the National Basketball League of Canada’s St. John’s Edge last season.
The film will stream on ZEE5, an on-demand online platform,
Singh, who was the first Indian player ever selected in the NBA Draft, had been the subject of a film before, but that was a Netflix documentary, “One In A Billion,” about how the seven-foot-two centre came to be a second-round pick of the Dallas Mavericks 2015.
Work on a script for the digital movie has started, with selection of a director and casting yet to come. The latter might not be the easiest task, since there can’t be that many actors with the size and athleticism that would be required for the role. However, Singh isn’t expressing any reservations about the project and has actually been assisting in its development.
“It's an amazing moment to see your own life's journey captured into a film! Absolutely unreal!” he gushed on his Twitter account (@hellosatnam).
The 23-year-old Singh played sparingly for the Edge last season, appearing in 38 of the team’s 55 games and averaging just over five minutes of floor time, two points and one rebound per contest.
But despite the lack of playing time, he proved to be a popular player, especially through his community work in and around St. John’s
Singh doesn’t have an announced contract for next season, but spent part of the summer working out at the training facility of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings. As well, his NBA rights were traded from Dallas to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Singh hasn’t appeared in any NBA games, but did suit up for the Mavericks entry in the NBA’s Summer League and with their D-League affiliates before joining the Edge.
The film on Scott, the National Hockey League tough guy who made news when a fan vote got him a place in the 2016 NHL All-Star Game — much to the league’s chagrin — has been in the works since shortly after he retired at the end of the 2015-16 campaign.
The movie, with a script from sportswriter and best-selling author Mitch Albom, is to be focused on that final season, which saw Scott play 27 games for the American Hockey League’s St. John’s IceCaps after a trade from the Arizona Coyotes to the Montreal Canadiens, the IceCaps’ parent club.
Twitter: @telybrendan
