Matthew Dellavedova movie: producer Joshua Howlett convicted of fraud

A film on Aussie basketball champ Matthew Dellavedova’s rise to the NBA was to be his Hollywood calling card, with interest from heavyweights like Nick Nolte. But it was scrapped after its maker was exposed as a serial conman. Here’s how it all unravelled.

Conman Joshua Howlett teamed up to make a movie with NBA star Matthew Dellavedova but was instead convicted of fraud. Picture: Alex Coppel.

Aussie NBA champion Matthew Dellavedova has narrowly dodged a bullet after a conman and wannabe movie mogul infiltrated the star basketballer’s world with big dreams of a major Hollywood film.

Joshua Howlett announced in 2015 plans to produce Final Four, a film based on a story he wrote about Dellavedova’s rise from rural Victoria to Cleveland Cavaliers’ star basketballer.

Howlett claimed the project had attracted the interest of Hollywood producers.

Hollywood A-listers Woody Harrelson and Nick Nolte were reported to be interested in making the film, and Liam Hemsworth and Jessie Eisenberg touted as possibilities to play Dellavedova.

But it turned out Howlett was a serial fraudster.

The project grew wings in late-2015 after Dellavedova gained global stardom playing a key role alongside NBA MVP LeBron James in the 2015 NBA Finals.

Dellavedova became a Cavaliers’ championship player in 2016 at which time it was announced he and his Australian manager Bruce Kaider were attached to Final Four as executive producers – alongside co-producer Howlett.

A 2016 media release said the movie was to begin filming in Australia in 2017 but Mr Kaider told the Leader he and Dellavedova “killed” the project not long after the announcement.

Matthew Dellavedova during his days as a Cavalier.

“We could tell Josh wasn’t the kind of people we liked to do business with,” Mr Kaider said.

“He knew a producer in Los Angeles and then started pumping himself up in the media, promoting the project … I said to him ‘what are you doing mate’.

“We didn’t want anything to do with him.

“I could tell early he was a snake … we deal with sharks every day in the sports industry so I started calling him out on his bullshit.”

Dellavedova played alongside LeBron James in the Cleveland Cavaliers 2016 NBA Championship. Instagram.

Mr Kaider said he and Dellavedova left two Los Angeles producers attached to the project to work with Howlett.

“We were quick to distance ourself,” Mr Kaider said.

“We started noticing things, behavioural changes, we heard things about him, people started messaging us, he owed money, he owed our partners’ money.”

Howlett – who did not ask Mr Kaider or Dellavedova for money – was then dumped from the project.

Mr Kaider said neither he nor Dellavedova have had any contact with Howlett since 2015.

Nor were they aware Howlett was under investigation in late-2016 for ripping off a partner on another film.

The conman used a bogus $266,000 bank account balance and fake $300,000 Screen Victoria grant to secure a $150,000 investment from a doctor to make Better Half – one of three projects Howlett claimed to be producing under his Handmade Media banner.

Howlett was dumped from his project after Dellavedova and Mr Kaider started “hearing things”. Source: Facebook

Howlett deceived the doctor by presenting himself as a Los Angeles film industry mover and shaker.

In reality, he was broke, with a bank account overdrawn by $18, and living with his mum and dad in Werribee.

The doctortransferred the cash to Howlett in instalments between May 16 and July 13, 2016.

Filming on Better Half collapsed after Howlett blew the doctor’s money on fines, travel, clothing, food and drink instead of production costs.

The doctor reported Howlett to police who charged the fraudster in August, 2017.

Howlett was sentenced in the County Court last March to a three-year community corrections order after pleading guilty to obtaining a financial advantage by deception.

Dellavedova is one of Australia’s most successful NBA players.

Howlett’s offending resurfaced when the serial fraudster pleaded guilty at the Werribee Magistrates’ Court on January 20 to obtaining property by deception.

Howlett was on bail for the Better Half rort when he pocketed $1750 from a dodgy Gumtree camera deal in December 2017.

Howlett, who lives at his parents’ Werribee home, took the cash but didn’t deliver the camera.

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Instead, Howlett – who now claims to be a freelance photographer – told his victim he needed to hang onto the camera a bit longer for a potential job.

Howlett – through his lawyer – claimed he has paid back his victim $600 but was unable to provide proof of this.

Magistrate Mike Wardell fined Howlett, 30, without conviction and ordered he pay restitution to his victim.

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