NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas Gets Talk Show on Cinemoi North America

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NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas to Host Talk Show (Exclusive)
4/15/2013
by Kimberly Nordyke


NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas is adding talk show host to his resume.

Thomas -- who won two NBA championships during his 13 years with the Detroit Pistons -- is set to host "Unfinished Business with Isiah Thomas", a weekly half-hour interview and commentary show debuting on cable network Cinemoi North America TV in June.

The show will focus on notables from all fields of accomplishment who have achieved success against all odds as well as Americans from all walks of life who are icons in their own way, having overcome obstacles that seemed impossible to conquer, to reach personal success.





"Isiah Thomas has been a champion and an all-star at all of the challenging occupations he has tackled," Cinemoi North America president Daphna Edwards Ziman says.

"And his debut as a charismatic host should be another rookie-of-the-year success, because in the art of evocative conversation and relevant and lively exchange, he is already an all-star. He will focus on the victory of the spirit over all obstacles, and this is a very apt subject for an iconic sports figure, whose life story epitomizes what the victory of the spirit is against all odds."





The idea for Thomas' talk show came about as a result of a conversation Thomas had with friends Ziman and Minyon Moore, principal in Washington D.C.-based public relations firm Dewey Square Group, about all he's been able to accomplish given his early beginnings and how he might be able to put the spotlight on others who have done the same. He immediately sparked to the idea.

"All of us who have had great success also had to overcome and try to persevere when others were telling you that you couldn't do it," Thomas tells The Hollywood Reporter. "I wanted to try to find the commonality of that struggle and journey and connecting it to the everyday person who has those hurdles in their lives."





He says the show will focus on both well-known personalities as well as regular people, noting that most people share the same issues and problems in life, whether they are famous or not.

"It won't just be about dealing with the front-page, ultra-successful person," he says. "It also will be about connecting those familiar threads of success with people who haven't been on the covers of magazines or in front of TV cameras."





Thomas says his ideal guest would be someone like Nelson Mandela, the anti-apartheid revolutionary who served as president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999.

(Thomas acknowledges that the timing is not right to reach out to the 94-year-old Mandela, who has been struggling with health issues in recent months.)



He also hopes that, with the various new-media platforms available today, his show will reach a global audience.

"I want it to be inspirational, educational and just share the commonality of success and failure," he says. "Failure is really just a learning process to the next stage of success in your life."

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/liv...-thomas-439356