EXCLUSIVE: Ben Affleck’s untitled Nike drama for Amazon Studios, Skydance Sports activities and Mandalay Footage has assembled a stellar solid, with Jason Bateman (Ozark), Viola Davis (The Girl King), Chris Tucker (Rush Hour franchise), Marlon Wayans (Respect) and Chris Messina (Sharp Objects) signing on for roles, together with Matthew Maher (Our Flag Means Dying), Tom Papa (Behind the Candelabra) and Julius Tennon (The Simone Biles Story: Braveness to Soar). Along with directing, Affleck is starring within the pic which entered manufacturing in Los Angeles on Monday, alongside his fellow Good Will Searching Oscar winner, Matt Damon.
The as-yet-untitled sports activities advertising movie will inform the unimaginable story of how maverick sneaker salesman Sonny Vaccaro (Damon) led a fledgling operating shoe firm referred to as Nike in its pursuit of probably the most transformative athlete within the historical past of sports activities: Michael Jordan. Affleck will painting Nike co-founder Phil Knight within the story surrounding Nike’s longshot effort to signal Jordan to its shoe firm within the mid-’80s, an endorsement that appeared unattainable on the time however which might turn into probably the most important relationship between an athletic model and an athlete and launched the worldwide, multibillion-dollar modern sneaker trade. Sonny’s relentless quest to signal Jordan to what was then the third-place shoe firm takes him to Jordan’s dad and mom, and particularly his highly effective, dynamic mom, in addition to to former coaches, advisors, mates and people near Michael. Jordan himself is a huge mythic determine hovering above the film and by no means seen, whereas Sonny tries to succeed in him by having access to these near him and round him.
Bateman will play Vaccaro’s boss, Rob Strasser, the longtime Nike government and attorney-turned-branding-guru who oversaw the corporate’s advertising and messaging throughout all sports activities. Strasser was an instrumental determine in Nike’s efforts to signal (and later promote) Jordan.
Davis will play Jordan’s mom, Deloris Jordan, who was an unlimited affect on Michael’s Nike deal, with Tucker as Howard White, a former faculty basketball participant on the College of Maryland. White was a junior government at Nike’s fledgling basketball division within the early ’80s, often serving as the corporate’s day-to-day reference to its roster of NBA gamers, which included such notable names as Moses Malone, George Gervin and Artis Gilmore.
Wayans has been solid as faculty basketball trailblazer George Raveling, who was the primary Black coach in two iconic conferences—the Atlantic Coast Convention and the Pacific-10. Moreover, in 1984, he was the top coach on the College of Iowa and an assistant of the gold medal-winning U.S. Males’s Olympic basketball staff, the place he met and befriended Michael Jordan. Raveling was an expensive buddy of Vaccaro’s, and with Sonny’s prodding, he first launched the concept of signing with Nike to Michael.
Messina has been tapped to play Jordan’s unique agent, David Falk, who had represented a number of outstanding NBA gamers previous to signing Michael, together with a pair of No. 1 general NBA draft picks—James Worthy (Michael’s former teammate at College of North Carolina) and Mark Aguirre. Falk is usually credited with developing with the identify “Air Jordan.” Maher will play Peter Moore, the legendary designer for Nike (and later Adidas) who created the designs for the primary Air Jordan sneakers, along with the long-lasting “Wings” and “Jumpman” logos for the Air Jordan model.
Papa is taking part in Stu Inman, the previous Portland Path Blazers government, who famously chosen oft-injured heart Sam Bowie forward of Jordan within the 1984 NBA Draft, with Tennon as Jordan’s father James, who additionally influenced his determination to signal with Nike.
Alex Convery penned the unique script, titled Air Jordan, which was named to the 2021 Black Record of the perfect unproduced screenplays. Mandalay introduced it to Skydance Sports activities President Jon Weinbach, who then secured Vaccarro’s life rights. Affleck and Damon did a subsequent move on the script and are producing alongside Peter Guber, Jason Michael Berman, Jeff Robinov, Madison Ainley, and David Ellison. Government producers embody Jon Weinbach, Jesse Sisgold, Dana Goldberg, and Don Granger, Kevin Halloran, Michael Joe, John Graham, Drew Vinton, Jordan Moldo and Peter E. Strauss. The movie will finally premiere on Prime Video in additional than 240 international locations and territories worldwide.
Bateman is an Emmy winner who directed, exec produced and starred in Netflix’s acclaimed drama collection Ozark, which lately got here to the top of its fourth and remaining season. He’s in any other case maybe finest identified for his flip as Michael Bluth on the Netflix comedy collection Arrested Improvement from Think about Tv, The Hurwitz Firm and twentieth Tv. Different latest credit on the performing aspect embody HBO’s smash miniseries The Outsider and the action-comedy Sport Evening from administrators John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein.
Davis is an Oscar and Emmy winner finest identified for turns in movies together with Ma Rainey’s Black Backside, Fences and Doubt, and for her portrayal of Annalise Keating on ABC’s Methods to Get Away with Homicide. She will presently be seen taking part in former First Woman Michelle Obama on Showtime’s The First Woman, and also will quickly be seen in movies together with TriStar’s historic epic The Girl King. Different latest credit embody The Unforgivable, The Suicide Squid and Troop Zero.
Tucker is an actor and comic finest identified for his position as Carter in New Line’s Rush Hour franchise and has additionally been seen in such movies as Billy Lynn’s Halftime Stroll, Silver Linings Playbook, Jackie Brown, The Fifth Ingredient and Friday, amongst others.
Wayans is an actor, author, producer and comic whose credit embody In Dwelling Coloration, Requiem for a Dream, a number of Scary Film movies, The Ladykillers, White Chicks, Little Man, Norbit, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, The Warmth and the NBC sitcom Marlon. He’s lately been seen within the movies On the Rocks and Respect, in addition to Peacock’s Recent Prince reimagining, Bel-Air, and can subsequent seem in Jeff Wadlow’s horror-comedy, Boo!.
Messina appeared in Affleck’s previous movies Argo and Reside By Evening, and has additionally been seen in such latest options as I Care a Lot, She Dies Tomorrow and Birds of Prey. The actor can presently be seen on Starz’s Watergate drama collection Gaslit, and can subsequent be seen in Phyllis Nagy’s Sundance well timed 2022 drama Name Jane, in addition to mystery-thriller The Boogeyman, the sci-fi thriller I.S.S from director Gabriela Cowperthwaite, Invoice Pohlad’s musical drama Dreamin’ Wild and David Rabe’s We’re Simply Married.
Maher can presently be seen on Prime Video’s Outer Vary and HBO Max’s Our Flag Means Dying. He’ll subsequent seem in Owen Kline’s Humorous Pages, the Apple TV+ collection Howdy Tomorrow! and Yale Leisure’s thriller The Kill Room with Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson and extra.
Papa is a comic and actor who has beforehand appeared on such collection as Pink Oaks, The Jim Gaffigan Present, The Knick and Inside Amy Schumer, in addition to movies together with Prime 5, Behind the Candelabra and The Informant!.
Tennon runs JuVee Productions along with his spouse, Davis. His latest credit on the performing aspect embody the Lifetime TV film The Simone Biles Story: Braveness to Soar, Methods to Get Away with Homicide and Batman v Superman: Daybreak of Justice.
Bateman is represented by CAA and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller; Davis by CAA, Lasher Group and Lichter, Grossman, Nichols; Tucker by ICM Companions and legal professional Susan C. Adamson; Wayans by WME, 3 Arts Leisure and Yorn, Levine, Barnes; Messina by CAA, Leisure 360 and Gendler & Kelly; Maher by CESD and Viking Leisure; Papa by UTA; and Tennon by Lasher Group.
