Ben Affleck Talks About Michael Jordan’s Real-Life Influence on Upcoming Nike Movie Air. Directed by Affleck and written by Alex Convery, Air Nike shoe salesman Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) tells the story of his efforts to sponsor future basketball star Jordan. Affleck stars as Jordan’s mother, Deloris Jordan, alongside Jason Bateman, Marlon Wayans, Chris Messina, Chris Tucker and Viola Davis.
talk to The Hollywood ReporterDetails about Affleck Jordan’s participation Air. Affleck, who has been in contact with Jordan for years, decided to get the story right and reached out to the NBA legend to find out how best to tell it, including who should play Jordan’s mother. showed his main participation in signing the contract with Nike. Check out Affleck’s detailed story below:
I play cards with Michael from time to time and we have mutual friends and … None of this sounds good, right? And it’s not like he’s like, “Oh, yeah, Ben’s my son.” (Imitating Jordan’s voice.) He was like, “Yeah, I know him.” Jordan is a hero to me. And I know how important and meaningful a person he is, particularly in the African-American community. If you want to talk about Michael Jordan, do it respectfully. No one is asking you to do hagiography, but get it right. I’ve never known anyone with such charisma and energy to walk into a room and it just resonates. And is it him or is it the way people react to him? Your memories of him? I don’t know, but it’s very powerful. I said, “May I go out, please?” I said. And he was great. “Yes, no problem. Come to the golf course.” Went out, met him. I waited for him to finish playing. I don’t play golf myself. I have to be very clear, this is not an authorized Michael Jordan story. If so, he wasn’t compensated accordingly. If you’re going to do a Michael Jordan story, they’ve got to back the truck. I said, ‘Mike, if you’re not interested in something about it, I’m not going to do the movie. I’m not going to do it.’ I don’t. I want to know what’s important to you.” He was very clear. He told me about (Nike executive) Howard White, who wasn’t in the original script, who was played by Chris Tucker. And I said, “Any anecdotes about your dad?” And without going into any details, he talked about his mother, who was not actually in the script. That’s when I realized what a movie was. It was very touching to talk to her about her mother, and I realized, “Oh, it’s not about Nike.” I said, “Well, do you have any idea who it’s going to be…?” And immediately I was like, “Oh, fk.” Because I want to ask him who he will cast. And if I don’t understand them, it feels like I’m not paying attention to it. In fact, it is difficult to find actors. And I knew who he was going to say, because it was someone I wanted to direct for a long time, who I think … I don’t think there is an objective best actor. But I think there is a group of people who can say, “These are the best actors in the world.” Viola is clearly among them. And (Jordan) looks right at me and — by the way, there’s one line for the mother character in the movie — and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, she wants me to pitch it to Viola Davis. How do I offer a one-liner to Viola Davis? This will not happen.” But he said, “This is my mother.” He was dead serious. “Viola Davis, this is my mother.” And so it happened. Discussion is over. However, this was not his problem, but it happens. And I said, “Okay, Mike.”
Jordan’s aerial presence was important (even if he wasn’t in it)
Even if it involved rewriting the script, Affleck was lucky Take Davis Air. Davis’ casting not only matched Jordan’s wishes, but the widely acclaimed actor is more sought-after than ever after his latest stint as an EGOT winner. The acronym is used to describe those who have won Emmys, Grammys, Oscars, and Tonys, which Davis finally achieved with a Grammy win for narrating the audiobook version of his autobiography. find me.
With such key colleagues Air Like Damon, Bateman and Affleck, Davis isn’t the only superstar talent behind the upcoming Nike movie biopic. With Deloris Jordan playing more than a one-line feature, Air it differs from how it was originally conceptualized. Michael Jordan’s discussion about his mother, Deloris, actually made Affleck realize this.it’s not about Nike,” but a more personal story.
By the way, AirIts plot still revolves around an upcoming shoe: the Nike Air Jordan’s. Biographical So Jordan has to balance the main plot with his life. It will be interesting to see how much screen time Davis gets in a more prominent role it really comes in Air.
Source: THR