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*** AIR *** (Matt Damon, Ben Affleck)

32,978 Views | 279 Replies | Last: 2 yr ago by StinkyPinky
Know Your Enemy
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Harvey was in multiple episodes of Entourage.
TCTTS
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Awesome, sixty-second Super Bowl spot, with more footage and a different song. Out of all the commercials during the game, this one not only caused our party to go instantly silent as it started, but got the biggest response when it ended. People were amped for this thing, which was so cool to see...

Tonyperkis
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I recently read Shoe Dog and would def recommend it as a pre-read to give some fun context to this movie. The cool thing about this movie is that the MJ story isn't really in the book (when I read it I was disappointed about that although the book is still really good). Can't wait to see the story told this way. This is a must watch.
Head Ninja In Charge
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Might be in the minority here, but based on nothing more than the trailer(s) - this movie doesn't look good. I know Affleck is an esteemed writer/director/producer these days, and that this cast is kind of stacked, and that the audience is kind of built in for the movie's subject matter, but I still don't know. Even the typography for the title/credits looks off to me somehow.
The Porkchop Express
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A Portland State art student named Carolyn Davidson created the swoosh over the course of 17.5 hours of design work in 1971 and was paid $35 by Nike for it. Yes, that's $2 an hour.

A few years later, they threw her a big party and gave her $1 million in Nike stock.
Legal Custodian
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Y'all think Wings by Macklemore will be on the soundtrack?
TCTTS
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Head Ninja In Charge said:

Might be in the minority here, but based on nothing more than the trailer(s) - this movie doesn't look good. I know Affleck is an esteemed writer/director/producer these days, and that this cast is kind of stacked, and that the audience is kind of built in for the movie's subject matter, but I still don't know. Even the typography for the title/credits looks off to me somehow.

I mean, sure, the typography looks a little cheesy, but that's the point. It's supposed to look '80s because it's the NIKE logo font, just used as title cards ("DIRECTED BY BEN AFFLECK," etc). And then the "AIR" logo looks to be a jersey number font (like the "23" from an old Bulls jersey) used as letters instead of numbers. So I at least get what they're going for, and there's a purpose behind it.

As for the movie itself, the cinematography looks great. It's appropriately deep and rich, like it was shot on film, as opposed to the flat, digital look of so many movies today. In fact, the cinematographer is Robert Richardson, who shot Tarantino's last six movies, multiple Scorsese movies, and a ton of Oliver Stone movies back in the day. In other words, literally one of the best living cinematographers shot this movie.

TCTTS
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Three-and-a-half weeks before it hits theaters, which shows a lot of confidence…

Brian Earl Spilner
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Know Your Enemy said:

Harvey was in multiple episodes of Entourage.


Nope. It was an actor playing a character names Harvey Weingard.
Kampfers
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TCTTS said:

Three-and-a-half weeks before it hits theaters, which shows a lot of confidence…


https://tickets.austintheatre.org/9163/9217

If anyone in Austin wants to go, tickets are still available.
TCTTS
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Brian Earl Spilner
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Can't wait.
TCTTS
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TCTTS
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Incredible interview with Affleck, about the movie and a whole lot more. Some really great, behind-the-scenes gems in here...

TCTTS
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In short...

- Affleck met with Jordan and got his approval.

- In doing so, Jordan basically insisted that his mother, Deloris, be played by Viola Davis. Said they're basically the same person. However, at the time, Deloris had only one line in the script. Affleck didn't tell Jordan this, but committed to getting Davis anyway.

- Affleck and Damon then did uncredited work on the script, bulked up the role of Deloris, and managed to land Davis. In the process, they discovered that Deloris is a key aspect of the story, if not the heart.

- Jordan is also the one who suggested they add whatever real-life character Chris Tucker ended up playing. So Affleck and Damon added that character, and Tucker himself ended up writing a lot of the character's dialogue, impressing Affleck and Damon so much so that they pushed for Tucker to receive a writing credit on the script.

- Jordan provided a few insights about his father, James, as well, that made it into the script. James Jordan is played by Viola Davis' real-life husband, Julius Tennon.

- We also get confirmation that the character of Michael Jordan in the movie is only ever shot from the back and his face is never shown. Affleck essentially felt that Jordan is too iconic, and too recognizable, to be played by an actor on screen (which I absolutely agree with).

Seriously, though, the whole interview is absolutely worth reading, and now my anticipation for this movie is at a fever-pitch.
Aggie_Journalist
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TCTTS said:


- We also get confirmation that the character of Michael Jordan in the movie is only ever shot from the back and his face is never shown. Affleck essentially felt that Jordan is too iconic, and too recognizable, to be played by an actor on screen (which I absolutely agree with).


Hmmm. I'm dubious how well this will work. A movie about Jordan signing with Nike where you never see Jordan's face?

Imagine watching any other movie and having a central character constantly face away from the camera. Star Wars, but only the back of Luke's head. Bohemian Rhapsody, but only the back of Freddy Mercury's head. Space Jam, but only the back of Jordan's head.

It works when you're doing it with a side character or a villain (I hear the Roger Ailes movie Bombshell never shows Ailes), but when it's a protagonist or character the audience is supposed to empathize with, you're denying the audience that connection by never showing their face.
Thanks and gig'em
TCTTS
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Aggie_Journalist said:

TCTTS said:


- We also get confirmation that the character of Michael Jordan in the movie is only ever shot from the back and his face is never shown. Affleck essentially felt that Jordan is too iconic, and too recognizable, to be played by an actor on screen (which I absolutely agree with).


Hmmm. I'm dubious how well this will work. A movie about Jordan signing with Nike where you never see Jordan's face?

Imagine watching any other movie and having a central character constantly face away from the camera. Star Wars, but only the back of Luke's head. Bohemian Rhapsody, but only the back of Freddy Mercury's head. Space Jam, but only the back of Jordan's head.

It works when you're doing it with a side character or a villain (I hear the Roger Ailes movie Bombshell never shows Ailes), but when it's a protagonist or character the audience is supposed to empathize with, you're denying the audience that connection by never showing their face.

Have you watched the trailer? Jordan isn't the protagonist/central character. Not even close. Damon's character is. Jordan is the MacGuffin. He's the Holy Grail the protagonist is after.
210
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Also, I'l throw a plug in for Shoe Dog, Phil Knight's memoir about starting Nike. Great read.

https://www.amazon.com/Shoe-Dog-Memoir-Creator-Nike/dp/1501135910/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2N9TXF9YF881F&keywords=shoe+dog&qid=1679002496&sprefix=shoe+do%2Caps%2C120&sr=8-1
bonfarr
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Aggie_Journalist said:

TCTTS said:


- We also get confirmation that the character of Michael Jordan in the movie is only ever shot from the back and his face is never shown. Affleck essentially felt that Jordan is too iconic, and too recognizable, to be played by an actor on screen (which I absolutely agree with).


Hmmm. I'm dubious how well this will work. A movie about Jordan signing with Nike where you never see Jordan's face?

Imagine watching any other movie and having a central character constantly face away from the camera. Star Wars, but only the back of Luke's head. Bohemian Rhapsody, but only the back of Freddy Mercury's head. Space Jam, but only the back of Jordan's head.

It works when you're doing it with a side character or a villain (I hear the Roger Ailes movie Bombshell never shows Ailes), but when it's a protagonist or character the audience is supposed to empathize with, you're denying the audience that connection by never showing their face.


Judging by the Trailer it's Jordan's parents that are the focus of the movie from the client side. Nike is wooing the parents to convince Michael to sign with them, apparently that's how they got him to join Nike marketing as Nikes basketball division was struggling at the time.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this post reflect the opinions of Texags user bonfarr and are not to be accepted as facts or to be taken at face value.
Aggie_Journalist
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Yup. I've seen the trailer and I'll be there opening weekend. I hope it's a great flick. But this is still a movie about Jordan signing with Nike. That's Jordan's decision. He may be the MacGuffin, but this isn't like skywalker in TFA, off on an island and only found at the last minute. Jordan is a central part of this story.

Think of court room movies where the entire plot is around a lawyer trying to convince a judge and a jury of their case. You always see the judge's face in those movies and show the emotion of that conflict. Even when the jury never says a thing, you see reaction shots of how they're responding to the argument before them. It would be bizarre to never see their faces.

It just seems bizarre to have a movie where the plot circles around convincing someone to do something, and never once showing their face so the audience can see how they're reacting to what's going on.
Thanks and gig'em
TCTTS
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It's not *just* Damon's character trying to convince Jordan, though. Like bonfarr says above, it's more about Damon's character having to convince Jordan's parents, but then it's also about Damon's character having to convince Bateman's character, Phil Knight, Nike, etc, and then having to fight off Converse or whoever as well. It's Damon vs. the system.

Again, think of Jordan as the Holy Grail, something we don't actually see until the very end of The Last Crusade. We'll get glimpses of the real Jordan via VHS game tape and all that, but Jordan is like the last boss in a video game. It's more about Damon having to go through all the various levels to get to him. And I feel like the trailer makes that pretty clear.
JCA1
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But Jordan has arguably the most recognizable face in the world. As soon as the actor playing him turns around, everyone watching immediately thinks "that's not Jordan" and the suspension of disbelief is lost.

I see the reasoning behind not wanting to show his face.
TCTTS
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Exactly. And I'm betting there are only one or two scenes tops where Jordan is actually, physically present. The rest of the time he's going to be this elusive, almost mythical figure, basically.
Aggie_Journalist
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I agree that this will be a movie where Damon has to win over Phil Knight, Jordan's parents, probably others, and Jordan himself is ultimately the "final boss fight," which kind of makes my point. Have you ever seen a final boss fight where they don't show you the final boss?

Spoilers in case you don't want to know how Nike convinced Jordan to sign. IRL, this story ends with Jordan being flown out to Nike HQ where Damon's character, Phil Knight, all the Nike people put out all the stops to convince Jordan to sign with Nike over Adidas. Jordan is visibly unimpressed, uninterested, and unhappy until Nike starts saying things that catch his attention and win him over. By some tellings, Nike doesn't know it has Michael until the moment Michael finally cracks a smile. How do you construct that climactic office visit without showing the emotions on Jordan's face as he goes from not wanting to be there to deciding Nike is where he'll sign?
Thanks and gig'em
TCTTS
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I mean, it's a movie, not a documentary. Maybe they've decided to do something different than the smile thing? Or maybe we only see Jordan's mouth smile? All I know is that I trust Affleck and Damon, and am giving them the benefit of the doubt until I see it for myself.
Brian Earl Spilner
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Slightly off topic but good watch.

jeffk
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TCTTS said:

I mean, it's a movie, not a documentary. Maybe they've decided to do something different than the smile thing? Or maybe we only see Jordan's mouth smile? All I know is that I trust Affleck and Damon, and am giving them the benefit of the doubt until I see it for myself.


They could use Viola Davis' character as a proxy for MJ.
TCTTS
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I'm betting that's what they do.
MASAXET
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All this talk about how recognizable MJ is and what actor would portray him without acknowledging how important the actor is for MJ's mom:

jorgerr96
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Red carpet today in Austin. Was able to get Matt and Affleck on two of my records
TCTTS
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Nice! Let us know how the movie is.
JCA1
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Fah Q!
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