Ben Affleck and Matt Damon Reunite To Star In Film About Nike
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are reuniting once again, this time for the true-life story of Nike co-founder Phil Knight and former Nike executive Sonny Vaccarro, respectively.
Per the Hollywood Reporter, Affleck will direct, write, co-star and produce the untitled sports marketing drama while Damon will star and also write and produce. The story will center around Nike’s longshot effort to sign rising superstar basketball player Michael Jordan to its shoe company in the mid-eighties, an endorsement that seemed impossible at the time but thanks to the maverick sneaker salesman, would become the most significant relationship between an athletic brand and an athlete. The deal launched the global, multi-billion-dollar sneaker industry and also helped the sport of basketball do the same.
Additionally, the story will focus on Vaccarro’s relentless quest to sign Jordan to what was then “the third place shoe company, a journey that took him to Jordan’s parents, and in particular his powerful, dynamic mother, as well as to former coaches, advisors, and friends.” Jordan will be a mythic figure hovering above the movie and never seen, even as Vaccarro tries to reach him by gaining access to those close to him and around him.
ESPN’s 2015 30 for 30 documentary, titled Sole Man is key to Vaccaro and his story. Affleck, 49, and Damon, 51, are now reworking the script for the project, which will mark the first time the pair will collaborate on a script since Good Will Hunting (1997), where both actors won an Oscar. The pair also reunited last year for The Last Duel, directed by Ridley Scott, with Damon again starring and Affleck in a supporting role.
