Red V Blue Kickstarter is Live

The Red V Blue Kickstarter Campaign is live. It’s official. “The Rivalry: Red V. Blue” is the FIRST movie to document the Louisville-Kentucky basketball feud, college basketball’s most heated rivalry!

The documentary has been in production for over two and a half years and has been funded entirely out-of-pocket by the filmmakers. Now we need your help to finish “The Rivalry: Red V. Blue”!

We have completed 80 percent of the production, but there are a few more players, coaches, and personalities who need to be interviewed. Your Kickstarter dollars will cover the completion of principal photography as well as the post-production and distribution expenses of Red V. Blue. These costs include but are not limited to:

• Equipment rental
• Crew stipends
• Editing stipends
• Archival footage
• Animation / graphics
• Sound editing
• Sound design
• Licensing agreements
• Merchandise manufacturing

Below is the official video for the Red V Blue kickstarter campaign. If you like what we are doing and want to see Kentucky recognized for its excellence in college basketball, share “The Rivalry: Red V. Blue” with your family, friends, teammates and rivals alike!

Kevin Ware Cuts Down Nets, ending Louisville’s 27 Year Title Drought

When Kevin Ware cut down the nets in Atlanta, ending Louisville’s 27 year title drought, it was an emotional conclusion to a tournament and story that captured America’s imagination.

On the heels of the Kentucky Wildcats 2012 championship run in New Orleans, Rick Pitino and the Louisville Cardinals came out swinging in 2013 and knocked out all competitors.

But it wasn’t easy. Or pretty. No one who watched the Sweet Sixteen Easter Sunday game against Duke will ever forget it. When Kevin Ware went down with one of the most gruesome, freakish sports injuries ever captured on camera, something special happened.

A team was galvanized, a leader was born, and one of the dramatic sports stories of the year captured the imagination of millions of people around the world.

Heck, even Matt Jones was rooting for Louisville after Kevin Ware’s injury, you can’t write that stuff! The Kevin Ware story was once-in-a-lifetime Hollywood magic. Except it actually happened. And I’ll never forget it.

The Cardinals clawed their past the Blue Devils, Ducks, Shockers, and finally, the Wolverines. In the process Luke Hancock emerged as an improbable hero, becoming the first reserve player to ever win the Most Outstanding Player award.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that Louisville won the championship in Atlanta, Kevin Ware‘s home city?!

It was an incredible true story, and Red V. Blue was there to capture it all, just like we were in New Orleans in 2012 to capture John Calapari and UK’s championship.

Red V. Blue set out to equally portray both sides of the greatest college basketball rivalry in the world, and the Cardinals and Wildcats delivered! With back-to-back championships claimed for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, it has been a dream for Kentuckians, as well as for us as documentary filmmakers — you can’t get more equal than back-to-back bling!

Get ready for a big announcement coming soon! Have you watched our trailer yet?

Kentucky Basketball: 30th Anniversary of the Dream Game

Kentucky Basketball comes down to one thing: the Dream Game.

Without the Dream Game, the best rivalry in college hoops might not exist today. For years, the University of Kentucky refused to play the Louisville Cardinals or any other in-state rivals. The policy was established by legendary Kentucky Basketball coach Adolf Rupp and was continued by his successor, Joe B. Hall.

But the 1983 NCAA tournament ended the stand-off. Bracket play resulted in a Round of Sixteen clash between UK and UofL in nearby Knoxville, TN. Kentucky state governor John Y. Brown was infamously in attendance in a half-red, half-blue blazer. After forty minutes of thrilling, back-and-forth basketball, Louisville ran away with the game in overtime. Following the game, Governor Brown gave an impassioned speech to the Kentucky legislature, and the result was an annual rivalry game between the two schools.

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the original Dream Game between the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky in the 1983 NCAA Tournament. We celebrated by shooting some update interviews with Matt Jones and Denny Crum. Yesterday we took the pulse at Wags barbershop in downtown Louisville regarding the Cardinals current tournament run. Boone was in rare form following UK’s disastrous first-round NIT loss to Robert Morris!

If you want more Kentucky Basketball goodness, check out our boy Mike Rutherford’s post on Card Chronicle. Make sure to check out our Kentucky Basketball blog to follow the progress of our one-of-a-kind sports documentary. To subscribe to the newsletter for our one-of-a-kind basketball movie, please visit our homepage.

2013 NCAA Tournament Predictions

The last few weeks have been extremely eventful with U of L clinching the number one seed in the 2013 NCAA tournament and UK failing to make the Big Dance, then losing to Robert Morris in the opening round of the NIT!

If the early rounds of the 2013 NCAA Tournament are as crazy as the opening round of the NIT, things are about to get crazy. UK losing to Robert Who?! Louisville fans are NEVER going to let Big Blue Nation forget about that defeat, considering the hell that was dished out following Louisville’s loss to Morehead State in the 2011 tournament!

Trash talk aside, here at Red V. Blue we are buzzing about the prospect of back-to-back championships: 2012 for UK and 2013 for U of L (fingers crossed). Last year we were in the Big Easy for the Final Four, and this year we will be in ATL, provided that the Cards keep up their end of the bargain!

And if Louisville does cut down the nets this year at the 2013 NCAA tournament, imagine the drama of the next rivalry game at Rupp Arena this December. It would be one of the biggest clashes ever, hands down. Also, considering the talent of UK’s incoming class, there could potentially be back-to-back-to-back championships at stake!

Below is Red V. Blue director Rory Owen Delaney’s picks for the 2013 NCAA tournament. What are your predictions? To subscribe to the newsletter for our one-of-a-kind basketball movie, please visit our homepage.

Part Basketball Movie, Part Cultural Warfare

RED V. BLUE is a one-of-a-kind basketball movie about the Louisville Cardinals—Kentucky Wildcats college hoops rivalry, one of the hottest rivalries in sports today.

RED V. BLUE producers Adam Lefkoe and Wade Smith presented the basketball movie business plan to the Louisville Venture Connectors today. For the occasion, we released “Red V. Blue: Cultural Warfare,” a new promotional teaser for the documentary, featuring Pat Forde, Mike Rutherford, Matt Jones, and more.

Red V. Blue: Cultural Warfare from Rory Owen Delaney on Vimeo.

The new RED V. BLUE trailer was so well received, that Louisville Business First elected to interview producer Adam Lefkoe for their publication.

Among the day’s other highlights, Adam and Wade hooked up with B. Stille, an original member of the Nappy Roots and founder of Birdgang Clothing. B agreed to an interview and offered to make some music for us. Thanks, B!

Wade also showed off our exclusive line of RED V. BLUE merchandise, including t-shirts, ballcaps, fleece jackets, golf shirts, umbrellas, and more.

Adam Lefkoe, B. Stille and Wade Smith

In other news, Forbes Magazine named the Louisville Cardinals the most valuable college basketball  team with an estimated value of 36 million dollars. Expect this number to rise after Louisville joins the ACC. Fifth on the list was the Kentucky Wildcats, valued at $24.4 million dollars. Expect this number to rise once the Wildcats finally get luxury corporate boxes in Rupp Arena.

To subscribe to the newsletter for our one-of-a-kind basketball movie, please visit our homepage.

Basketball Documentary 12/12 Rivalry Photos

Red V. Blue is the basketball documentary of basketball documentaries.

If you like college hoops, you will love Red V. Blue. It combines the passion of college hoops with the interesting history and ongoing current events in the Louisville—Lexington feud.

Although Duke-North Carolina has long been touted as the premier college basketball rivalry in America by the national media, the Louisville Cardinals-Kentucky Wildcats rivalry should be given equal consideration.

This is why we are making Red V. Blue: To make a college basketball documentary that puts Kentucky basketball on the map!

December was awesome. To kick the week off, we interviewed Oscar Combs at the former offices of Cats Paws Magazine. Inside there is UK memorabilia from wall-to-wall. Oscar gave us the tour and history behind his Kentucky basketball goodies. He even let his try on his 2012 championship!

After we visited Oscar in Lexington, we caught up with Tony Vanetti on the Afternoon Underdogs Show in Louisville at the Fan Outfitters in St. Matthews. Tony was giving away tickets to the basketball game at the Yum! Center, so the fans showed up in force to enter the contest and peruse the merch. Tony and Dave also featured a debate featuing obnoxious UofL fan and obnoxious UK fan, which was entertaining to say the least.

After the Afternoon Underdogs, we went to Anchorage to check out the Hardwood Classic, a basketball event featuring UK and UofL alumni that benefits “Crusade for Children.” We filmed some of the game and then interviewed former UofL player Luke Whitehead and former UK player Derek Anderson.

Saturday was the day of reckoning in Kentucky. Before the game, PG and Aaron were at PRIME Lounge in downtown Louisville conducting interviews. During the game, PG and Aaron operated in the upper levels, while Wade and Rory covered the action down on the court. The contest was close, but the Cardinals came out on top!

On Monday we sat down with the voice of the Wildcats Tom Leach at UK’s Memorial Coliseum. Tom talked about Cawood Ledford, Bill Keightley, and how cool it was to call his first UK championship game last year in New Orleans. Check out the slideshow below — more pictures are coming!

To subscribe to the newsletter for our one-of-a-kind basketball movie, please visit our homepage.

College Hoops Fans Must Watch Red V. Blue Teaser

College Hoops like you have never seen it before!

[iframe src=”http://player.vimeo.com/video/55879103″ width=”100%” height=”480″]

Here it is, College Hoops fans: The first Red V. Blue teaser featuring Denny Crum, Joe B. Hall, Adam Lefkoe and many more. Red V. Blue is a documentary about the Louisville-Kentucky college basketball rivalry, two schools separated by less than 75 miles.

From the storied 1983 Dream Game to the legislation passed in its wake that mandated the annual clash, Red V. Blue details the extraordinary circumstances that helped create one of the nation’s fiercest college hoops rivalries.

Red V. Blue will feature real fans, journalists, and former players as well as college and high school coaches. The documentary will pay equal tribute to both historic basketball programs.

To subscribe to the newsletter for our one-of-a-kind documentary, please visit our homepage.

Congrats to the Louisville Cardinals!

Congratulations to the Louisville Cardinals for the hard-fought victory over the Kentucky Wildcats today in Louisville. Yesterday we interviewed Oscar Combs, filmed the Afternoon Underdogs radio show and then captured the Hardwood Classic where we sat down with UofL’s Luke Whitehead and UK’s Derek Anderson. Today we were at the Yum! Center filming all the action live courtside and in the upper levels. It’s been a blur, but a good one!

Boxing Brouhaha

At the Louisville Legends Amateur Boxing Club we met with boxer Earl Heyman and his trainer James Doolin. Heyman attended Ballard High School and played as a defensive tackle for the University of Louisville from 2005-2007. Today he is training to become a professional boxer. Doolin expects Earl to make his professional fighting debut sometime in 2013, a debut that Heyman hopes to make in Louisville, KY. Ironically, Heyman’s trainer James Doolin is an outspoken, diehard Kentucky Wildcats fan despite attending the University of Louisville. The two rib each other in good humor for the cameras as Earl does sit-ups and shadow boxes. Red V. Blue weaves slice-of-life stories with interviews of former coaches and players to highlight the extraordinary circumstances that helped create and sustain one of the nation’s fiercest college rivalries.

Matt Jones, Mike Rutherford, Pat Forde, the 101 Club & More

Check out some production stills from our interviews with Matt Jones, Mike Rutherford, Pat Forde and UK superfan Ken Curlas. Ken is a member of the 101 club, a service organization which dedicates itself to furthering the University of Kentucky. Members of the 101 club are instantly recognizable by their distinct blue blazers, and you’ll see them at every UK home game sprinkled around Rupp Arena. Ken is an alumnus of the University of Kentucky and has an entire wing of his house decorated in Wildcats memorabilia. Ken was kind enough to invite us into his home where he spoke about the old days of Memorial Coliseum, the transition from Adolf Rupp to Joe B. Hall, the 101 club, and the 2012 national championship, among other topics.