The actor and director of the film that recounts the relationship between Nike and the basketball star recounted the requests made by the multi-time NBA champion with the Chicago Bulls.
Ben Affleck He assured that he would never have done air without the blessing of Michael Jordan, but that blessing came with a great request. His name of him? Viola Davis.
Directed by Affleck, the film stars Matt Damon as Sonny Vaccaro, the employee of Nike who convinced Jordan (Damian Young) to sign the agreement that allowed the creation of the Air Jordan footwear line. Affleck also plays the co-founder of Nike, Phil Knight.
Introducing “Air” at its world premiere at the South by Southwest film festival, Affleck said: “I had the chance to sit down with Michael Jordan, because I just wasn’t going to make this movie without asking him, ‘Do you care?’ Interestingly, and tellingly, he had a few things that mattered.”
“One of them was that Howard White needed to be in the movie”said Affleck, referring to the vice president of Jordan Brand. Hearing about White made Affleck realize that he had the opportunity to choose Chris Tuckerwith whom he had wanted to work for a long time.
“I got the script and then I got the chance again to talk to Michael. Michael Jordan, for those of you who don’t know, is one of the most intimidating and impressive men he has ever seen in his life,” Affleck said. “He told me about his father. And then he talked about his mother. It was the first time I’d seen that look cross his face. It was a look of reverence, of wonder, of love, gratitude, and innocence. He said: ‘None of this would have happened without my mother.’ I said, ‘Who would you like to play your mom?’ He said, ‘Well, it’s got to be Viola Davis’.”
“That’s like saying, ‘Can I play basketball on your court?’ ‘Yeah, if you get Michael Jordan.’ “Viola Davis is the best actress I have ever seen,” Affleck continued.. “This is a tough business. It’s hard to know if you’re successful. It is difficult to know if you have achieved something. But honestly, I always felt that if one day I was a director and I had Viola Davis in a movie, that would really be something. That would mean the world to me. And I did it.”
“This is the best night of my professional life, and I want to welcome the best actor in the world,” he concluded, bringing Davis onto the stage for a brief moment in the spotlight before the audience saw “Air ”.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
