Matt Damon fills the shoes of Sonny Vaccaro, the legendary shoe salesman that helped spearhead the biggest athlete-shoe collaboration of the 1900s. Ben Affleck directs the momentous biopic, Air, a film about Nike’s pursuit of NBA’s extremely decorated baller, Michael Jordan, and the subsequent development of the Air Jordan brand. Air is written by Alex Convery, marking the first feature film screenplay for the scribe.
The cast includes Viola Davis as Jordan’s mother, Deloris, Julius Tennon as his father, James, Jason Bateman as Nike executive Rob Strasser, Chris Tucker as Jordan Brand executive Howard White, Marlon Wayans as basketball player and coach George Raveling, and Gustaf Skarsgard as Adidas heir Horst Dassler.
Watch The ‘Air’ Trailer Below:
In addition to his director duties, Ben Affleck plays the role of Phil Knight, the billionaire founder and former CEO of Nike, Inc. As the story goes, the Portland, Oregon native was a track and field athlete when he developed a relationship with Bill Bowerman, a coach at the University of Oregon at the time and the future business partner that would help Knight establish Blue Ribbon Sports, later changed to Nike in 1971.
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The first Air Jordan released to the public in 1985, garnering a successful campaign that led to a second design being released the following year with a retail price of $100. Since then, Nike has experimented with different designs and colorways, with retail prices reaching well above $200, and resellers capitalizing on the value of retro styles with inflated prices 4-times the original price.
Air Jordans’ cultural influence has inspired many in the fields of sports, business, and fashion, as well as been the catalyst for violence among the youth.
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At the height of the brand’s popularity in the 1990s, it was common for lines to form at shoe retailers located at malls in anticipation of every shoe release. The overall sentiment was that Air Jordan wasn’t just a shoe brand, but a piece of social currency, similar to that of Starbucks or Tesla, created by the stellar athleticism of Michael Jordan.
Air releases in theaters on April 5, 2023.
