Carmelo Anthony on Knicks Win, Chalamet at Cannes
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- Carmelo Anthony spoke with Variety co-president Ramin Setoodeh at the Variety and Google TV Industry Innovators Cocktail Hour on the rooftop of the Five Seas Hotel in Cannes, weighing in on the Knicks' championship and celebrity fan culture.
- Anthony named Spike Lee, Ben Stiller, Timothée Chalamet, and Fat Joe as standout Knicks supporters, calling Chalamet part of 'this new generation' who is 'running around representing the Knicks to the fullest.'
- Anthony said the Knicks' title 'reignited the city of New York, from sports to businesses to kids,' and argued that sports may be 'one of the only things out there that unifies everybody like that.'
- Anthony recounted giving Chalamet his self-styled 'Favorite White Boy' award during a December taping of his '7PM in Brooklyn' podcast, saying Chalamet 'appreciated' the recognition.
- Anthony described building a post-basketball 'ecosystem where everything flows together — from wine to cigars to production,' including his wine label The Seventh Estate and production banner Creative 7 Productions.
- Anthony produced the documentary 'Born Melo,' directed by Jake Rogal, which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival and traces his Hall of Fame induction alongside the basketball journey of his 19-year-old son Kiyan, now playing at Syracuse.
- Anthony said the documentary project prompted him to rebrand his media company into a production shop so he could 'take control' of a narrative 'written about me for the past 20 years.'
Why it matters: Anthony is using the Knicks championship spotlight to introduce himself as a builder rather than just a retired Hall of Famer, with wine, podcasts, and a production banner now anchored by a personal documentary about his son Kiyan's Syracuse basketball path. The Cannes stage gives his rebranded media company visibility among global advertising buyers at the exact moment New York's championship glow is at its peak.
