What demands did Michael Jordan have for Ben Affleck, before shooting ‘Air’?

Ben Affleck would never have made the movie ‘Air’ without the approval of Michael Jordan, the basketball star on whom the film is inspired. As the actor, director and producer told Varietythe athlete was present in the development of the story and was even responsible for some of the most relevant decisions of the film.

‘Air’, directed by Affleck, stars Matt Damon, in the shoes of Sonny Vaccarothe Nike employee who convinced Jordan (played by Damian Young) to accept the creation of the mythical line of shoes, air jordan. Ben Affleck is also part of the cast, playing Nike co-founder Phil Knight.

At the film’s premiere, Affleck commented: “youI had to meet with Michael Jordan, because I wasn’t going to do it without asking him what he cared about. To my surprise, there were several things on his mind.“

“One of them was that Howard White was supposed to be in his movie,” commented Affleck, referring to the vice president of the Jordan brand. As a result of this, the idea arose to include Chris Tucker in the cast, with whom the director had wanted to collaborate for a long time.

“I read the script and spoke to Michael again. For those who don’t know, he is one of the most intimate men you can meet,” he admitted. “He told me about his father. After his mother… For the first time, I saw a different look on his face. There was admiration, love, gratitude and innocence.“

“Told me: ‘None of this would have happened without my mother.’ To which I replied: whatWho would you want to play your mother? The answer was: ‘Well… It has to be Viola Davis.”

“To understand each other, that’s like saying: ‘Can I play basketball at your house?’, ‘Yes, if you bring Michael Jordan with you.’ Viola Davis is the best actress I’ve ever seen,” Affleck continued. “This is a complicated industry. It’s hard to know if you’re successful… If you’ve achieved something. But honestly I’ve always known that if I ended up directing, I wanted to have Viola in a movie. That would mean the world to me. And so it is.”

After this, he welcomed the interpreter to the stage, who shared a few words and the film was screened.

If something seems to be clear, it’s that ‘Air’ is a film of dreams fulfilled and goals achieved. A story full of stars that, without a doubt, intends to transmit the soul of each one of them.

‘Air’ will be released in theaters in Spain on April 5.