‘Meal Ticket’ directors hope their McDonald’s All American Games documentary ‘reinvigorates dreams’

For two Chicago guys, this was a significant directorial debut.

Carlton Gerard Sabbs and Corey Colvin are the co-directors of Amazon’s Meal Ticket, a documentary about the 49-year history of the McDonald’s All American Games. Opportunities to create a feature-length film about a sports institution are rare. It’s even more uncommon when you’re essentially rookies in filmmaking. The McDonald’s All American Games serve as the springtime basketball showcase for top high schoolers from across the country. Players, coaches, and fans tune in every year to see the best of the best—future college and pro stars. 

They’ll be watching when ESPN airs the games on March 31. Some of those same people will also be checking out Meal Ticket, which premieres March 19 on Prime Video.

“Carlson and I are both from Chicago,” said Colvin in an interview with Awful Announcing. We named our production company Stony and Yates as an homage to Chicago. Growing up, many of those games were played in Chicago. I know Carlson had a chance to check one out while growing up. I had one, maybe on a school field trip. Being a big fan of the game, you always knew about it. You knew its history.

“When it came across our desk, to be able to tell the story, go down the rabbit hole, and really start to find out about the crop of players that came through the game, it was a really fun thing to research and learn about as we were telling the story. We had that opportunity to really hone in on our documentary filmmaking.”

Meal Ticket, a documentary from Roc Nation, Known Originals, and Creative Control, wasn’t originally their idea. Years ago, Sabbs and Colvin were working on marketing and promotional materials for filmmakers Coodie Simmons and Chike Ozah. Colvin described them as mentor figures who took Sabbs and Colvin “under their wing.” When this project became available, Simmons and Ozah recommended their proteges. 

“Corey and I had been building up our storytelling in the industry,” Sabbs said. “(There was) a clear vision from the (executive producers) and stakeholders up front about what kind of film they were hoping to get. They went to Cootie and Shige in the hopes of finding the right people. And they came across us.”

The documentary features not only past stars but also current ones. The first boys’ game took place in 1977 and included Magic Johnson. The McDonald’s Game has showcased players like Johnson, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James. The first girls’ game was held in 2002, and since then it has featured players such as Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore, Candace Parker, Breanna Stewart, and Caitlin Clark. 

Sabbs and Colvin had access to decades of archival footage. Meal Ticket contains great stories and interviews. The first-time filmmakers began working on this four years ago, which explains why the 2022 games are highlighted. This marked the event’s return after two years of cancellation due to the pandemic. Sabbs describes filming the 2022 games as a “test run.” The co-directors focused on Flau’jae Johnson, Janiah Barker, Amari Bailey, and Dereck Lively II.

“We came back with the footage,” Sabbs said. “We put together just our piece of that story. It blew everybody away, and then we hit the ground running to go to the next level of telling the story of the legends.”

Meal Ticket isn’t just a story about the players; it also honors founder Bob Geoghan, who passed away in 2022. 

“I would say that Carlson and I would have really done our job if Bob Geoghan becomes a household name and potentially even winds up in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame one day.”

For Sabbs, he hopes Meal Ticket will inspire others.

“I hope this film reinvigorates dreams for people in America, in the world, because it’s all you have. The stories that come from this film are so inspiring.”