HBO's new go-to director used to feel 'replaceable.' Not anymore

LOS ANGELES — It's after hours at the Los Angeles Lakers practice facility, and Magic Johnson is alone on the darkened court, practicing the skyhook, the signature weapon of team captain Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. When the veteran star spots Johnson, he grudgingly gives the rookie a private lesson, demonstrating how the skyhook is not just another shot but a way to elevate above opponents and "the world."

Suddenly the quiet is broken by a shout of "Cut!" Salli Richardson-Whitfield jumps off her director's chair and approaches Quincy Isaiah and Solomon Hughes, the two actors portraying Johnson and Abdul-Jabbar, respectively, in HBO's "Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty," about the Showtime era of the 1980s Lakers. The three, along with a whole crew, were on a soundstage at Los Angeles Center Studios, where much of the docudrama, which premiered in early March, was filmed.

After a few minutes, Richardson-Whitfield returns to her chair and announces