Ben Affleck and Matt Damon reunite, this time for the true life story of former Nike exec Sonny Vaccarro in a feature project that will come from Amazon Studios and Skydance Sports, who are in the process of finalizing their deal.
Affleck will direct, write, star and produce the untitled sports marketing drama, while Damon will star, write and produce. Mandalay Pictures, the banner of Peter Guber and Jason Michael Berman, will also produce.
Damon will portray Vaccarro, while Affleck plays Nike co-founder Phil Knight in a story about Nike’s protracted attempt to sign rising superstar basketball player Michael Jordan to his shoe company in the mid-’80s, a support that seemed impossible at the time, but thanks to the loners -Sneaker salesman would become the most important relationship between a sports brand and an athlete. The deal launched the multi-billion dollar global sneaker industry and also helped the sport to do the same.
The story focuses on Vaccarro’s relentless quest to sign Jordan for the then-third-ranked footwear company, a journey that took him to meet Jordan’s parents and particularly his powerful, dynamic mother, as well as former coaches, advisors and friends. Jordan will be a mythical figure that hovers over the film and will never be seen, even as Vaccarro tries to reach him by gaining access to those close to and around him.
Key to the process is the 2015 ESPN 30 for 30 documentary titled Sole Man, which focuses on Vaccaro and his story. Skydance Sports President Jon Weinbach, who served as one of the producers along with Mandalay Chairman Guber on the Emmy-winning Jordan series The Last Dance, was instrumental in securing Vaccaro’s life rights.
Weinbach worked with the basketball industry veteran when he co-directed Sole Man with Dan Marks, senior vice president of Skydance Sports. Mandalay first grabbed the original screenplay, titled Air Jordan, penned by Alex Convery, and then took the project to Weinbach to Skydance Sports.
Affleck and Damon are now revising the script for the project, which will be the first major feature of David Ellison’s newly formed Skydance Sports division. Skydance is already connected to the sports world through its investor RedBird Capital.
The project will mark the first time Affleck has directed a feature film starring his longtime friend Damon. The two famously won an Oscar for the screenplay for “Good Will Hunting,” which starred Damon and Affleck in a supporting role and was directed by Gus van Sant. The pair also reunited for last year’s The Last Duel, directed by Ridley Scott, with Damon returning to the lead and Affleck in a supporting role.
Convery is a regular on the Black List, with his screenplay Bag Man making the 2018 list and his Stan Lee biopic Excelsior! on the 2020 list. He is represented by UTA and Grandview.
Affleck and Damon are repeated by WME.