Air

***Air*** (originally called Air Jordan) is an upcoming biographical sports drama film directed by Ben Affleck with a screenplay he co-wrote and produced with Matt Damon, from an early script written by Alex Convery. The film also stars Damon and Affleck alongside Jason Bateman, Viola Davis, Chris Tucker, Marlon Wayans and Chris Messina. This is the first film produced by Affleck and Damon's new company Artists Equity and is set to be released by Amazon Studios on April 5, 2023.

## Premise

Sonny Vaccaro, a shoe salesman at Nike, works to sign Michael Jordan to a deal to wear their shoes.

## Plot

In 1984, Oregon-based Nike, Inc. is on the verge of shutting their basketball shoe division due to low sales. In response to this, Marketing VP Rob Strasser, along with co-founder and CEO Phil Knight, task Nike's basketball talent scout Sonny Vaccaro to come up with a new spokesperson for Nike basketball shoes.

While considering the basketball players chosen in the 1984 NBA draft, Nike's executives think third pick Michael Jordan is off limits, being both a fan of Adidas and too expensive for the basketball division's meager budget. However, once he watches Jordan's highlights in conjunction with an Arthur Ashe commercial for his Head rackets, Vaccaro becomes convinced that Nike should pursue who he considers a generational talent, with both brand and athlete building off each other.

Following dinner with his friend George Raveling, who coached Jordan in the Olympic tournament, and asking for his support in courting the star, Vaccaro travels to Wilmington, North Carolina, where he convinces Michael's mother Deloris that Nike would give Jordan all the attention that he would not receive from his preferred brands Adidas and Converse.

After receiving a negative phone call from Jordan's agent David Falk regarding contacting his client's family, Vaccaro learns that the Jordans have scheduled a meeting at Nike's Beaverton, Oregon headquarters the following Monday. Vaccaro and Strasser start preparing their pitch while requesting shoe designer Peter Moore to prepare a prototype, which Moore names "Air Jordan" after Nike's Air Sole technology. In the meantime, Knight agrees to assign the basketball division's entire $250,000 budget to hire Jordan.

After the meeting with Jordan and his parents is successful, Vaccaro learns that Adidas matched the offer while adding a Mercedes Benz 380SL, and he thinks the deal will not go through. However, Vaccaro receives a call from Deloris, who states that Michael will sign with Nike on the condition he earns a percentage of every Air Jordan sold.

Even though Vaccaro thinks the company's higher-ups would not accept this bonus, Knight is told he deems it necessary to ensure the endorsement. An epilogue reveals the Air Jordan exceeded Knight's expectations of $3 million in sales, earning $162 million in one year and becoming a steady source of income for Nike.

## Cast

* Matt Damon as Sonny Vaccaro
* Ben Affleck as Phil Knight
* Jason Bateman as Rob Strasser
* Viola Davis as Deloris Jordan
* Chris Tucker as Howard White
* Marlon Wayans as George Raveling
* Jay Mohr as John Fisher
* Chris Messina as David Falk
* Matthew Maher as Peter Moore
* Tom Papa as Stu Inman
* Julius Tennon as James R. Jordan Sr.
* Damian Young as Michael Jordan
* Joel Gretsch as John O’Neil
* Gustaf Skarsgård as Horst Dassler
* Barbara Sukowa as Käthe Dassler
* Michael O'Neill as Joe Dean
* Al Madrigal as Tim
* Dan Bucatinsky as Richard
* Jessica Green as Katrina Sainz

## Production

The script was first written by Alex Convery in 2021, appearing on that years Black List under the title *Air Jordan*. It was announced in April 2022 that the script was picked up at Amazon Studios, with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon teaming to rewrite the script and star in the film, with Affleck to direct. Filming began in Los Angeles in June, with Jason Bateman, Viola Davis, Chris Tucker, Marlon Wayans and Chris Messina amongst several additions to the cast. Robert Richardson will serve as cinematographer, using the Arri Alexa 35 camera to film with. In July, Joel Gretsch, Gustaf Skarsgård and Jessica Green were added to the cast.

Filming began on June 6, 2022, in Los Angeles.

## Release

The film is slated for release on April 5, 2023. The film will be given a wider theatrical release, the first Amazon has given since 2019's *Late Night*.

## Trivia

* This is the first Skydance film to be labeled from Skydance Sports.

## References

1. ↑ "The Black List 2022: Catherine Schetina’s ‘Pure’ Tops List Of Year’s Most-Liked Hollywood Screenplays" (December 12, 2022).
2. ↑ "Ben Affleck And Matt Damon Launch Production Company With RedBird Capital’s Gerry Cardinale" (November 20, 2022).
3. ↑ "Matt Damon and Ben Affleck teaming up for movie about Michael Jordan and Nike". *ESPN.com* (April 20, 2022).
4. ↑ "The Black List 2021: Daniel Jackson's *Cauliflower* Tops Heap Of Year's Most-Liked Unproduced Screenplays". *Deadline Hollywood* (December 13, 2021).
5. ↑ "Ben Affleck To Direct Nike Drama For Amazon, Skydance Sports; Will Star Alongside Matt Damon". *Deadline Hollywood* (April 19, 2022).
6. ↑ "Jason Bateman, Viola Davis, Chris Tucker, Marlon Wayans, Chris Messina & More Join Ben Affleck's Nike Drama For Prime Video". *Deadline Hollywood* (June 10, 2022).
7. ↑ "ARRI Launches New Alexa 35 Motion Picture Camera With First Productions Underway". *The Hollywood Reporter* (May 31, 2022).
8. ↑ "Ben Affleck's Nike Drama For Amazon Adds Joel Gretsch & Gustaf Skarsgård". *Deadline Hollywood* (July 13, 2022).
9. ↑ "*The Outpost* Star Jessica Green Joins Ben Affleck's Nike Drama For Amazon; *White Men Can’t Jump* Adds *Euphoria*s Zak Steiner". *Deadline Hollywood]]* (July 18, 2022).
10. ↑ "Matt Damon & Ben Affleck Launching Production Company With RedBird Capital’s Gerry Cardinale Funding & Jeff Robinov Circling". *Deadline Hollywood* (June 8, 2022).
11. ↑ Jackson, Angelique (June 10, 2022). "Jason Bateman, Viola Davis, Chris Tucker and Marlon Wayans Join Ben Affleck, Matt Damon’s Nike Movie", *Variety*.
12. ↑ "Ben Affleck Calls Netflix An "Assembly Line", Says His And Matt Damon's New Production Company To Blend "Quality" & "Commercial" Fare". *Deadline Hollywood* (November 30, 2022).
13. ↑ Amazon Studios Returns To Wide Theatrical With Ben Affleck & Matt Damon Nike Movie ‘Air’ This Spring

## External links

* Air on IMDb

Template:Skydance Sports