Matt Damon as Sonny Vaccaro and Viola Davis as Deloris Jordan in Air.
Courtesy of Amazon Studios
Michael Jordan plays a central role in the film Air – even being present in some crucial boardroom pitch scenes – but his face is not shown in the film, save for magazine cover shots and snippets of archive footage of the real player.
It’s a bold choice, as the Amazon Studios film – which hits theaters this weekend – is all about Nike executives wooing the NBA megastar and his creation of the Air Jordan footwear line. During some key scenes where Jordan is present in a room, the production uses an actor who is usually shown from behind, or the camera focuses on his hands.
Ahead of the film’s world premiere at the South by Southwest Film & Television Festival last month, Ben Affleck preemptively told audiences they wouldn’t be seeing Jordan in the film and explained why.
“How do you tell a story about Michael Jordan and never see him?” he asked of the film, which is said to be inspired by real events. “When you’re that person, when you become so much more than a hero or an athlete or even an icon, you start to become an idea for people. You touch them and just begin to represent hope, excellence and greatness. You are unique. And in no way did I want to ask an audience to believe that anyone other than Michael Jordan was Michael Jordan. Which, to be honest, was also out of my own naked self-interest, because I knew it would ruin the film. you will see him [in archival clips] in the film, but you will see Michael Jordan for what he really is, in his authentic, masterful genius for all of us to see. It was a conscious decision. I thought he was too majestic for anyone to impersonate and, as I told him, ‘You’re too old to play the part.’”
In ‘s recent cover story on Affleck, the actor-director added, “Jordan is too tall. He exists above and around the story, but if you ever flesh him out, if you ever say, “Yeah, that’s Michael Jordan,” we know it’s not really. It is a fake. I thought if the audience put everything they thought and remembered about him into the film and projected it onto the film, it worked better.”
And in a press statement, Affleck continued: “Michael Jordan is so famous that I really thought if we ever see an actor play it would be difficult to get the audience to contain their disbelief because in my opinion there is none to convince someone who isn’t Michael Jordan is Michael Jordan. We felt it would be more interesting to tell the story if he existed in the film’s ether. Being talked about but not seen by everyone is somewhat analogous to the experiences of celebrities and sports stars in modern life, as most people go their entire lives without ever meeting or seeing their favorite sports star or star in person. This is how we only see Michael in clips and flashes. We never see him fully in person because to see him in person would mean putting his feet on the ground in a way that the film doesn’t want.”
Affleck also spoke to THR about what it was like bringing up the idea of the film with Jordan. “I have to be very clear, this is not the authorized story of Michael Jordan,” he said. “He was not compensated in a way that would be appropriate if that were the case. If you want to do a Michael Jordan story, they should support the damn truck. That was my statement: ‘Mike, I’m not going to do the film if you don’t agree with anything about it. I just won’t do it. I want to know what’s important to you.” He was very clear. He was the one who told me about it [Nike executive] Howard White, who did not appear in the original script, is played by Chris Tucker. And I said, ‘Any anecdotes about your father?’ And without going into too much detail, he was actually talking about his mother, which wasn’t actually in the script. That’s when I understood what the film was about. It was incredibly moving to talk to him about his mother and I was like, ‘Oh, this isn’t about Nike.'”
From that conversation, Affleck says, he expanded the role of Deloris Jordan (Viola Davis in the film) to become the focus of Nike executives’ promotional efforts. “Perhaps the most interesting thing about the film to me was that the protagonist is not who you think he is,” Affleck said in a statement. “As the film developed, I realized that the pivot of the film is Viola Davis’ character, Deloris Jordan. I wanted to do justice to her and Michael and honor who they are and the lasting impact they have on our culture.”