"Air" Takes Flight: Ben Affleck and Matt Damon Reunite for a Nostalgic Journey

MARCH 21, 2023 20:30

Boston-born friends Ben Affleck and Matt Damon have reunited to create a new film, "Air," set to hit theaters on April 5. The film details the story of the historic collaboration between Michael Jordan and Nike, and the two friends reflect on the appeal of the project in a recent interview with CBS News and CNN.

A Rekindled Friendship

"That was one of the things that we kind of wanted to do," Affleck says in the interview. "The idea of, like, why aren’t we hanging out and spending more time together, since we managed to stay friends this whole time?" The two friends, who have known each other for over forty years, rose to fame together in the 1997 film "Good Will Hunting," for which they won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

They recently founded their own production company, Artists Equity, and have continued to enjoy their collaboration. "It kinda felt like just us and getting to do the thing that we wanted to do," Affleck says of making "Air." "I loved it.

I miss it every day since. It was the best, like, work experience of my life, without question."

A Journey Back to the 80s

"Air" takes us back to the 1980s, and Damon portrays the character of Sonny Vaccaro, responsible for signing a lucrative contract with the then young basketball star Michael Jordan.

Affleck plays Nike founder Phil Knight in the film and also directed the project. "My favorite thing about Ben is, he put me in a fat suit when I finally get to work with him," Damon jokes in the interview. In a surprising turn, Jordan himself wanted Viola Davis to play his mother, as Affleck reveals in the interview. "Which is kinda like choosing Michael Jordan for your basketball team," Damon adds.

The film promises to be a nostalgic journey through the historic collaboration between Michael Jordan and Nike, as well as a reunion of two old friends in their reunion project, "Air."