As the NFL crowns its next champion, Amazon Studios released a Super Bowl trailer for “Air,” a film that tells the story of how a multibillion-dollar shoe empire was built around another legendary sports champion: Michael Jordan.
“Air” is the latest film made by longtime partners Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, with both men starring and producing with Affleck directing. Affleck plays Nike founder Phil Knight while Damon plays Nike marketing exec Sonny Vaccaro, the man who signed Michael Jordan to the most lucrative shoe deal in sports history before his rookie season with the Chicago Bulls.
While the movie never shows Jordan himself, “Air” shows how Vaccaro, with the help of Nike’s top lawyer Rob Strasser (Jason Bateman) navigated the many layers of Jordan’s family and entourage to make the deal happen and create the basketball phenomenon known as Air Jordans. Foremost among the people that needed convincing were Jordan’s agent, David Falk (Chris Messina) and Jordan’s mother, Deloris (Viola Davis).
“Air” also stars Marlon Wayans and Chris Tucker, with Alex Convery as screenwriter. Watch the trailer in the clip above, and catch “Air” in theaters on April 5.
