Michael Jordan

Air director and star Ben Affleck explains why NBA superstar Michael Jordan doesn't actually appear in the movie.

The film “reveals the unbelievable game-changing partnership between a then-rookie Michael Jordan and Nike’s fledgling basketball division which revolutionized the world of sports and contemporary culture with the Air Jordan brand. “Admittedly, we made as much a sort of fable as anything else, because it’s really about a character who never appears in the movie, in Michael Jordan,” Ben Affleck explained. While speaking on the [Inside Total Film podcast](https://www.gamesradar.com/ben-affleck-air-michael-jordan/), Ben Affleck explained the choice not to include Michael Jordan as a character.

Viola Davis plays Deloris Jordan — Michael Jordan's mother — in the soon-to-be-released film, "Air." The EGOT winner said the key to nailing her role was ...

You come in the backyard.'" She does so by "gathering data" through observation and listening. Deloris wanted to ensure that Michael wasn't swindled by men in suits lusting after his talent — and the money it could command. Deloris led by example to instill the values of "knowing your worth and self respect and taking risks" in her son, Affleck said. Instead, his mother demanded that their agreement with Nike secured a revenue share in exchange for the use of the Jordan name. "Those are the two things with acting; people feel like you are only involved when you're speaking, but especially with playing Doloris, all she does is observe and listen.

Air is an uplighting underdog movie about Nike's attempts to form a contract with Michael Jordan and barriers they broke to do so.

Air is a good time overall with an uplifting mix of comedy and drama that is bound to put a smile on your face. At the same time, however, this is a story less about Jordan and more about Nike, and in that vein, I can see what they’re trying to do. Air is a delightful underdog movie that teaches some interesting history of Nike and Jordan’s partnership. The absence of Jordan is noticeable but it also creates an impact as the team gets closer to signing him. It’s very uplifting, and a little cheezy but satisfying to see through to the end. There is one other aspect of the movie that’s bound to be divisive, however. If Jordan does not agree to sign with Nike, the basketball division could very well be shut down and everyone at the office would be out of a job. That being said I do find it interesting learning more about how Nike evolved as a brand and how they learned to use big-name athletes to endorse their products, even when it involved bending the rules of the sport. The snarky back and forth between the different businessmen are often hilarious and humanizing, very reminiscent of shows like The Office or The IT Crowd. As a movie, Air is also pretty interesting in terms of its setting. This is the story of Sonny convincing Nike CEO Phil Knight (Ben Affleck) to spend their entire budget attempting to court Jordan into signing and how they came up with the idea of building a brand around one athlete. It’s gripping and the all-star cast gives it their all to bring these characters to life.

Ben Affleck's latest directorial effort, Air, tells the story of Michael Jordan's collaboration with Nike and the inception of Air Jordans, ...

Ben Affleck reveals how he almost dropped his upcoming movie Air when he went to meet Michael Jordan, even with Matt Damon featuring in the same.

After all, “by acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time,” as his bio on the official NBA website reads. Affleck recalled how he ironically replied to Jordan, saying, “The best actor in the world?! This also made things kind of convenient for him, as he found out while talking to Jordan at that time his only true demand for Air, was the legendary Viola Davis playing the part of his mother, Deloris Jordan, to whom, Tennon is married. On a similar note, he also specifically mentioned Howard White, the former Maryland Terrapins point guard, who after knee injuries started his career at Nike. Jordan mentioned that Raveling played a key part in his contract with Nike, saying, “I wouldn’t be at Nike without him.” He mentioned how when he first met with Jordan, he almost dropped his dream project altogether even with his childhood best friend Matt Damon involved in the movie.

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon return to screens in Air, an underdog story about the creation of Nike's Air Jordans. However, the real events that inspired ...

There was a special showing Thursday night in Austintown of a movie featuring the story behind a man with a Youngstown connection.

Ben Affleck's latest directorial effort, Air, tells the story of Michael Jordan's collaboration with Nike and the inception of Air Jordans, ...

Vaccaro, now 83 years young, recently created his own endowed scholarship with his wife, Pam in memory of her sister that provides college opportunities to ...

The scholarship is a nod to those who gave him a chance. Dike Beede, Dom Roselli and the people at YSU gave a scholarship to a kid who never played football," Vaccaro said. Watching the movie, never being involved with the script, things are really accurate." "Youngstown and YSU were a stop in my journey through my life. "The movie was fairly accurate but I'm one of the few people from the 9 people in the film is based on, still alive. Vaccaro has been one of the top donors to YSU for years.

For example, Bennie Blades said in the documentary they were the Muhammed Alis of their era. Rapper/actor Fredro Starr is in that age group these days and made ...

So for you out there that are the age of Blades, Burr, or Starr, feel free to spin a yarn or two. It is one of the few privileges of getting older. In 15 years, when I tell the story of the time that I hung out in an NFL player’s entourage for New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas in the 2010s, that player will be Cam Newton one day and Marshawn Lynch the next. Then Starr randomly spit out that Jordan shaved his hair because of the popularity of Onyx. For members of Generation X, Starr is most known for being one of four bald-headed members of Onyx. “Michael Jordan cut his hair bald because of Onyx.”