Kobe Bryant Tribute: An NBA Legend & Oscar Winner
The tragic and untimely death of Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and the other 7 victims of Sunday's helicopter crash in Calabasas shocked the world.
It did not take very long at all before the 41-year-old NBA legend's name and photos flooded most media outlets, news feeds and social media platforms with a seemingly endless trail of saddened fans, teammates, stars, celebrities, critics, and sports commentators.
We at HD Movie Codes wanted to make sure that we paid tribute to this amazing man and athlete with a spotlight on an accolade that shines brightly within the world of Hollywood cinema: his Oscar win!
For those who do not know, Kobe Bryant's studio created an animated short film titled "Dear Basketball" that earned critical acclaim, was scored by legendary composer John Williams and eventually won the Annie Award and the Academy Award for best animated short in 2018.
The short film was based on a poem that Kobe Bryant wrote himself in 2015 as a farewell message to the game that he loved. The poem reflected his acceptance of the need to retire and say goodbye to the game but now serves as a farewell message with a more tragic context for his fans around the world.
According to the New York Times, Bryant had plans to create even more animated projects that would attract African-American moviegoers and artists alike. He stated back in 2017 that he saw "so much opportunity to add diversity" and allow the "beautiful art of hand-drawn characters" to once again allow animators to deeply express themselves within their work.
As with many other screen legends and award-winning stars, the legacy of Kobe Bryant will continue to live on through his work, the seemingly endless footage collection of career highlights and jaw-dropping plays along with the crowds of people that he inspired and lives that he impacted.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of Kobe & Gianna Bryant, Sarah, and Payton Chester, John, Keri & Alyssa Altobelli Christina Mauser, and Ara Zobayan.
Rob Nevitt
January 27, 2020
This is truly sad. I was never a lakers fan but I can appreciate the talent. And Kobe was very talented and you hear nothing but great things about the guy. What made it worst is that this was so unnecessary and senseless that if the pilot just stayed grounded like everyone else, this wouldn’t have happened. It’s great to see what he had planned and in the works. He truly was one of the greats. Would have loved to have seen what he’d had done.