After her moving performance in last year’s The Woman King, Viola Davis is taking on her next big role that is sure to court awards nominations in AIR – and she has the fortune of having her husband of 20 years Julius Tennon at her side for the on-screen journey.
AIR tells the true story of how Nike courted Michael Jordan into the now-legendary shoe deal that would make the decorated NBA player’s name forever synonymous with street style and sneaker culture.
The key, it turns out, was Jordan’s mother Deloris, who had the foresight to add an unprecedented clause to her son’s contract that would give him ownership over his name and image at a shoe corporation that no other player before him had ever seen.
During an NYC screening of the film on March 20, film stars Viola Davis, Julius Tennon, Matt Damon, Matthew Maher, and Star/Director Ben Affleck chatted about the making of the film. Affleck spoke highly working alongside Davis and Tennon, who played Jordan’s parents James and Deloris, and the ease with which they worked together on set.
“When they ran a scene together I was always like, ‘just get into it.’ Because they’re married, it doesn’t matter what kind of day they’re having or what they do, it’s going to be real. You see two people who can talk to each other by doing this,” Affleck said of directing the couple, mimicking a knowing eye contact. “You two are magnificent artists. It was a joy.”
“It felt like home, you know?” Davis said of having Tennon alongside her on set. Recalling an exchange in the film where James Jordan makes his protective presence known to…
Read the full article here
