I want to thank all of my fans for the positive response to my 30 for 30 documentary, “Jeanette Lee Vs”, on ESPN. It is obvious that you liked it. It was also gratifying to hear so many kind words and expressions of support.
Now, I am proud and excited to report that we are in the process of formalizing an agreement with a major publisher to produce the definitive Jeanette Lee autobiography.
We thought we would take advantage of the movie to help enhance the value and depth of the autobiography. Obviously, I will be touching on much more aspects of my life and include many more stories that the constraints of a one-hour movie just would not allow. So, with the movie fresh in your mind, please tell us what parts you like or what parts you would like to know more about. What moved you….what left you wishing for more….
Please hit the attached link form and it will take you to a form for you to submit your ideas , suggestions and preferences. Thank you for participating and helping make the book the best it can be. As always, thanks for your support. It means the world to me.
AzBilliards and Accu-Stats Video Productions have been given the opportunity to share selected excerpts from the upcoming documentary Jeanette Lee Vs, which will premiere on Tuesday December 13th at 8pm EST on ESPN.
This documentary tells the story of Jeanette Lee, from her beginnings in the world of billiards, through her diagnosis with scoliosis and eventually her ongoing fight with cancer.
In this excerpt, the focus is on the WPBA and how it helped build ESPN.
Immediately following the premiere of the documentary, the American Poolplayers Association will be conducting an online interview with Jeanette and a number of special guests on their Facebook and YouTube pages. Jeanette will be joined by producers from the film along with Tom George, Mike Panozzo, Maki Hsieh (the Executive Director of the Asian American Hall of Fame who will speak about the impact of the film on Asian Americans particularly women) and Jonathan Karron (Chief Marketing Officer of The V Foundation for Cancer Research).
AzBilliards and Accu-Stats Video Productions have been given the opportunity to share selected excerpts from the upcoming documentary Jeanette Lee Vs, which will premiere on Tuesday December 13th at 8pm EST on ESPN.
This documentary tells the story of Jeanette Lee, from her beginnings in the world of billiards, through her diagnosis with scoliosis and eventually her ongoing fight with cancer.
In this excerpt, Jeanette talks about finding out she was not in remission.
Immediately following the premiere of the documentary, the American Poolplayers Association will be conducting an online interview with Jeanette and a number of special guests on their Facebook and YouTube pages. Jeanette will be joined by producers from the film along with Tom George, Mike Panozzo, Maki Hsieh (the Executive Director of the Asian American Hall of Fame who will speak about the impact of the film on Asian Americans particularly women) and Jonathan Karron (Chief Marketing Officer of The V Foundation for Cancer Research).
AzBilliards and Accu-Stats Video Productions have been given the opportunity to share selected excerpts from the upcoming documentary Jeanette Lee Vs, which will premiere on Tuesday December 13th at 8pm EST on ESPN.
This documentary tells the story of Jeanette Lee, from her beginnings in the world of billiards, through her diagnosis with scoliosis and eventually her ongoing fight with cancer.
In this excerpt, the focus is on how the billiards world has come together like family for Jeanette.
Immediately following the premiere of the documentary, the American Poolplayers Association will be conducting an online interview with Jeanette and a number of special guests on their Facebook and YouTube pages. Jeanette will be joined by producers from the film along with Tom George, Mike Panozzo, Maki Hsieh (the Executive Director of the Asian American Hall of Fame who will speak about the impact of the film on Asian Americans particularly women) and Jonathan Karron (Chief Marketing Officer of The V Foundation for Cancer Research).
AzBilliards and Accu-Stats Video Productions have been given the opportunity to share selected excerpts from the upcoming documentary Jeanette Lee Vs, which will premiere on Tuesday December 13th at 8pm EST on ESPN.
This documentary tells the story of Jeanette Lee, from her beginnings in the world of billiards, through her diagnosis with scoliosis and eventually her ongoing fight with cancer.
In this excerpt, Jeanette’s family talks about her fight with cancer.
Immediately following the premiere of the documentary, the American Poolplayers Association will be conducting an online interview with Jeanette and a number of special guests on their Facebook and YouTube pages. Jeanette will be joined by producers from the film along with Tom George, Mike Panozzo, Maki Hsieh (the Executive Director of the Asian American Hall of Fame who will speak about the impact of the film on Asian Americans particularly women) and Jonathan Karron (Chief Marketing Officer of The V Foundation for Cancer Research).
AzBilliards and Accu-Stats Video Productions have been given the opportunity to share selected excerpts from the upcoming documentary Jeanette Lee Vs, which will premiere on Tuesday December 13th at 8pm EST on ESPN.
This documentary tells the story of Jeanette Lee, from her beginnings in the world of billiards, through her diagnosis with scoliosis and eventually her ongoing fight with cancer.
In this excerpt, Jeanette talks about her diagnosis and treatment for scoliosis.
Immediately following the premiere of the documentary, the American Poolplayers Association will be conducting an online interview with Jeanette and a number of special guests on their Facebook and YouTube pages. Jeanette will be joined by producers from the film along with Tom George, Mike Panozzo, Maki Hsieh (the Executive Director of the Asian American Hall of Fame who will speak about the impact of the film on Asian Americans particularly women) and Jonathan Karron (Chief Marketing Officer of The V Foundation for Cancer Research).
AzBilliards and Accu-Stats Video Productions have been given the opportunity to share selected excerpts from the upcoming documentary Jeanette Lee Vs, which will premiere on Tuesday December 13th at 8pm EST on ESPN.
This documentary tells the story of Jeanette Lee, from her beginnings in the world of billiards, through her diagnosis with scoliosis and eventually her ongoing fight with cancer.
In this excerpt, Jeanette talks about the origins of her well known nickname “The Black Widow”.
Immediately following the premiere of the documentary, the American Poolplayers Association will be conducting an online interview with Jeanette on their Facebook and YouTube pages. Make sure to tune in to listen to Jeanette’s thoughts on the documentary.
ESPN will debut the next installment in the Peabody and Emmy award-winning 30 for 30series, “Jeanette Lee Vs.” on December 13 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. Directed by Ursula Liang (“9-Man,” “Down a Dark Stairwell”), the documentary recounts the rise of Jeanette Lee, the billiards player nicknamed “The Black Widow,” who at her peak became, improbably, one of the most recognizable figures in sports. The film will be made available on ESPN+ immediately after its premiere, along with the rest of the 30 for 30 library.
She was like nothing else her sport had seen. A vision of confidence, even swagger, as she stalked the billiards table. Dressed, always, in her signature color, with a two-fingered glove on her bridge hand and a stony, icy glaze that never seemed to change. The 30 for 30 film returns with Lee to her origins, Brooklyn, New York, where as the young child of Korean immigrants, she suffered from scoliosis, a painful spinal condition that required surgery. Lee rebelled as a teenager, and fell in love with billiards one night when she walked into a pool hall in Manhattan. Within a few years, she was playing tournaments and headed towards the professional circuit. Soon, women’s billiards was a mainstay on the fledgling ESPN2 network, and Lee’s unapologetic approach to self-promotion made her a television star.
Even as Lee became one of the top-ranked pool players in the world, her back issues never entirely went away. Then in 2021 came something more frightening: a diagnosis of ovarian cancer. As the film illustrates through extensive access to her life today, it’s a struggle she continues to fight, now as a single mom with the support of her children and extended family. It’s a poignant coda to a story about a woman who’s been battling her whole life and who remains one of the more distinctive stars to ever emerge on the sports landscape.
Said Liang: “This is a challenging moment in the U.S. for Asian Americans; the community is on edge and increasingly targeted in bias incidents. There couldn’t be a better time to bring Jeanette’s pioneering, maverick journey to the forefront. She is inspiring at every turn and an icon to many. I’m honored to tell her story and introduce her to new audiences. She battled fierce opponents, trying times, debilitating pain, personal demons and persistent criticism, but remains a singular presence from a breakout era of pool—an unforgettable figure, the Black Widow.”
The documentary is executive produced by ESPN Films in association with Words + Pictures, founded in early 2021 by Connor Schell. From Words + Pictures, Schell and Libby Geist are executive producing. This is the second collaboration between ESPN Films and Words + Pictures as part of an ongoing deal between the two companies. Phil de Picciotto, Jason Weichelt and Tom George are also serving as executive producers.
Advance press screeners, additional information, including film clips and director statements and bios, are available upon request. Follow 30 for 30 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The World Premiere of the Jeanette Lee documentary, “Jeanette Lee Vs” has been announced to take place at the DOC NYC film festival on Saturday, November 12th and Tuesday November 15th.
The DOC NYC festival is one of the most important documentary film festivals in the country and Jeanette Lee Vs has not only been accepted to be shown, but is scheduled at the largest theatre (The SVA Theatre) during a primetime slot of 7:15 on Saturday night.
Jeanette Lee is scheduled to attend the premiere of this much talked about documentary and the screening will be followed by a Q&A with Director Ursula Liang, Producer Cora Atkinson, and Editor Michelle Chang.
Fans who can’t make it to New York for the screening in person, are invited to take part in the online screening premiere period that runs from Sunday November 13th until Sunday November 27th.
Olympic Gold Medalist and 17 time National Champion Cross Country Skier Kikkan Randall, Business Executive and former WNBA President Donna Orender, Jeanette Lee and Olympic Medalist and National High Jump Champion Chaunte Lowe
Although still fighting cancer, The Black Widow Jeanette Lee was back out doing one of the things she does best, representing the world of professional pool to the world. Lee recently participated in a Title IX celebration and symposium on behalf of the Jimmy V Foundation, a prominent cancer charity. The topic was the courage of women in the face of the challenge of cancer. Jeanette gave a speech, performed a billiards demonstration, attended the Wine Celebration Gala and participated in a round table symposium with other cancer warriors.
Lee’s participation in this event was a great sign of both her level of celebrity stature and as to how strong she is feeling after what has so far been a 20 month battle with ovarian cancer. Lee takes an ongoing, daily chemo treatment with Lynparza which appears to be working exceedingly well, considering that her cancer is “in as much remission as it can be”. Lee commented on how it felt to get back out representing the world of pool, “It was great fun and very fulfilling. I very much want to use my battle with ovarian cancer to help others and the Napa gala and symposium did exactly that. I drew strength from it myself. The Jimmy V Foundation does great and very visible work and I value my association with them.”
Jeanette did all of this, including bi-coastal flying, and was able to handle it all physically without undue fatigue. That has emboldened her and her management, to have her do more things. In a measured way, very conscious of her condition and with an eye towards making sure she does not create any fatigue, Jeanette will be doing more things publicly. She will be making appearances at upcoming events including the WPBA Sledgehammer Open in support of her late friend, Helena Thornfeldt and the BCA Hall of Fame induction in support of the enshrinement of her long-time friend and coach, Jerry Briesath. She will also be making herself available for commercial outings and exhibitions on a limited basis.
“I am not ready or capable at this time to compete at the highest level but I still want to be out there with the players and billiards fans. I simply feel good being around their energy,” commented Lee. Lee’s manager, Tom George, commented, “For Jeanette, being out in the public eye and interacting with her fans is very therapeutic. We will be careful not to get her overly tired but will be selectively scheduling public and corporate appearances. Her long-term health remains our guiding priority.” Mr. George can be reached at tk.george@comcast.net.
