When you cast Ben Affleck alongside famous actors like his best friend Matt Damon, Academy Award winner Viola Davis, and Chris Tucker (Rush hour), Marlon Wayans (white chick) and Jason Bateman (dodgeball), you might just get a certified classic in the Michael Jordan biopic.
With Ben Affleck’s proven track record of successfully leading projects such as Argo and small town, this movie is exciting.However, capturing the essence of an icon like Michael Jordan is no easy task, and the accuracy of the depiction has been a major talking point since the film’s release. Air aired (no pun intended).
Well, it’s not uncommon for movies to slightly bend the truth, and adding a dramatic flair to captivate audiences always seems like the right choice when it comes to hitting box office numbers.
Ultimately, movies like this Air It’s sure to make the rounds and spark a huge discussion among sneakerheads and “His Airness” fans alike. With this in mind, let’s look at which factual elements were mischaracterized.
Sonny Vaccaro’s true “influence”
In retrospect, Matt Damon’s Sonny Vaccaro is the star of the entire movie. But how important was he in influencing Michael Jordan to accept the Nike deal?
In the film, Sonny Vaccaro’s job at Nike is basically to find young college basketball stars to be their endorsers, but things don’t go well. As the film progresses, he gets a crazy idea to put all their eggs in one basket – on a super-talented player who’s about to break out, Michael Jordan.
The movie makes it look like Sonny totally convinced Jordan’s parents to ditch other big brands like Adidas and Converse in favor of underdog Nike. Spoiler alert, given the legacy of brand deals we’re witnessing at the moment, this deal is going pretty well.
Maybe things aren’t as clear cut as the movie makes them out to be, though. Apparently Phil Knight doesn’t think Sonny deserves all the credit. He said a lot of people (including Sonny of course) wanted to take credit for signing Jordan.
The movie made Sonny look like a big hero, but Knight said he only played a supporting role.Jordan seems to agree since he cut Sonny out of his Netflix show last dance. However, it was a man named George Raveling (played by Marlon Wayans) who whispered in Jordan’s ear about working with Nike.
Records show that Raveline did help arrange an early meeting with Jordan, so Sonny may still be involved in something thanks to his connection to Raveline. But when it comes to Jordan’s final shot, Jordan himself said that another man named Rob Strasser (played by Jason Bateman) was the real leader.
Then things got confusing. Sonny left Nike, and he went on to work with Strasser and Moore at rival Adidas.
Sonny basically said Knight, Jordan and Raveling were all lying to make themselves look better. He believes he deserves all the honors because, according to him, no one wanted Jordan and they didn’t know he was going to be a professional player.Those who left Nike with him seemed to agree with Sonny, but according to the movie Airthis is his own story.
The role of Michael Jordan’s mother Delores Jordan
Four-time Academy Award winner Viola Davis adds color to any movie she stars in. But how accurate is “Air”‘s depiction of Michael Jordan’s mother, Delores?
There is no doubt that Michael’s parents played a crucial role in his early success. Deloris, in particular, managed many transactions. Director Ben Affleck acknowledged this and expanded his role in the film to showcase Davis’ talents.
While the movie depicts Deloris as a key figure in the Nike deal, along with Jordan’s agent David Falk, it exaggerates the emotional meeting with Nike executive Sonny Vaccaro. Vaccaro himself confirmed that a meeting did take place, but not in the North Carolina state depicted. He simply contacted Michael after a game and made a crucial connection.
The birth of Air Jordan
The iconic Air Jordan shoes are everywhere today, and this film attempts to explain their origin story. But how true is it?
There are conflicting accounts of how the name “Air Jordan” came about. Most likely, Michael Jordan’s agent David Falk and Nike designer Peter Moore collaborated on the piece during a meeting with Rob Strasser.
Falk insists the name was his idea, a flash of inspiration: “‘It hit me within a minute,'” he recalled in an interview. “‘Air Jordan’ – it features Nike’s new Air technology and perfectly captures Michael’s aerial style.” He claims Moore then quickly drew the now iconic logo.
nike deal
Hollywood loves drama. In the film, Jordan is said to have quickly decided to join Nike following Sonny Vaccaro’s revolutionary pitch. The reality painted a different picture – negotiations dragged on for months. The movie depicts Vaccaro as a whirlwind who showed up unexpectedly to pressure Jordan as planned.
Vaccaro vehemently denies the scenarios, claiming they are purely fictional. Instead, he spent a year cultivating a relationship on the phone with Jordan’s mother, Delores, convincing her that Adidas wasn’t a good fit.
The film also downplays Nike’s financial commitment. For a basketball player, their income is not limited to about 250,000. In fact, they had $2.5 million, and Vaccaro worked hard to allocate it all to Jordan rather than spreading it among multiple players.
Eventually, Jordan signed a five-year deal with Nike and received a crucial perk: royalties for every pair of shoes bearing his name sold. To this day, these shoes still bring Jordan a staggering $100 million in revenue every year.
Air Successfully captures the excitement of Michael Jordan’s rise to superstardom and the cultural impact of the Air Jordan brand. However, the film’s historical liberties raise interesting questions about the line between artistic license and factual accuracy.
While some viewers may crave a strictly historical narrative, for others the essence of Jordan’s legacy and the birth of a cultural phenomenon may be enough. Ultimately, the film serves as a springboard for further exploration, prompting viewers to delve deeper into the true story behind this iconic brand.
Image source: GQ, Looper
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