Air
On April 5, 2023, the movie “Air” came out focusing on the creation of Air Jordan, a line of basketball shoes produced by Nike because of their business deal with Michael Jordan. The entire film is based on a true story taking place at an Oregon Nike Incorporation in 1984. Their basketball shoe division began to plummet causing the Marketing Vice President, Rob Strasser, and the CEO, Phil Knight, to assign Sonny, their talent scout, to find a player from the 1984 NBA draft to be their brand-new spokesperson.
Sonny was given a limit of $250 thousand which restricted the players Nike could choose from. He continued to watch basketball highlights and saw something extremely special in Michael Jordan although everyone assumed he would be far too expensive and was evidently a major fan of Adidas and Converse.
Sonny could not stop thinking about what he saw in Jordan leading him to meet with a friend, George Raveling, for dinner. He asked George about Jordan and his experience while coaching him in the Olympic Tournament and by the end of their conversation support was given. Once Sonny called Jordans agent, David Falk, he was told that there was no chance that they would make a deal, saying that Nike was not even Jordans second choice after Adidas.
Not long after, Sonny thought it would be an innovative idea to travel to Wilmington, North Carolina to have a conversation with Michael Jordans parents in hopes to set up a meeting with Nike. He was on a mission to make the Jordans aware that their son would be given constant recognition rather than be forgotten about once his fame would ware off.
Following Sonnys visit to the Jordans house, Falk called him and screamed for minutes for talking to them. Although, by the end of the phone call Sonny was told that the Jordans had scheduled a meeting with Nike at the Oregon Incorporation. Immediately after, a pitch begins being conducted and the shoe designer, Peter Moore, is told to come up with a show design in which he names “Air Jordan.”
During the meeting, the whole $250 thousand budget is offered to Michael Jordan and Sonny states exactly how he feels about Jordans future. As Nike waits for a call back from Falk, they hear that Adidas offered him the same amount along with his dream car which is something they could not match.
Anxiety throughout the business begins to raise until Sonny gets a call from Jordans mother. She tells him that Michael Jordan will be signing with Nike under one condition: he will earn money off every Air Jordan that they sell. Unsure of the response, Sonny confronts Knight with the information, and they agree to give Jordan money for every shoe sold.
Within the first year of “Air Jordan,” $162 million is made.
Something extremely interesting about this film was that the actor playing Michael Jordan never showed his face. The camera angles would strictly stick to below his chin and the reason is that “Jordan is too big,” according to Affleck during an interview. People know that the individual in the film is not actually Michael Jordan, the movie is just based fully around his story.
Sources Used for the Article:
Your donation will support the student journalists of Dakota High School. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.
Madison Short is a senior at Dakota High School. This year will be her first year as a part of the Dakota Planet. She enjoys many things like traveling,...
