Aubrey Plaza in ‘The White Lotus’ season 2. Photo: Fabio Lovino/HBO.
The actual plotline for the season remains unknown for now, but if past seasons are anything to go by, it’ll once more see the clientele of a White Lotus resort (this time with Château de La Messardière in Saint-Tropez, France rumored as a main location) dealing with issues of wealth, privilege, dysfunction and, of course, probably a death or two.
Walton Goggins in ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3. Photo: Fabio Lovino/HBO.
Helena Bonham Carter and Kumail Nanjiani are among the ‘White Lotus’ Season 4 cast.
Chris Messina, Max Greenfield and more will also show up.
The new series will be set at a French resort.
From the start, creator/showrunner Mike White has been able to command an eclectic, often starry cast for HBO series ‘The White Lotus,’ which spins a murder mystery each season at a different resort from the titular fictional chain.
Michelle Monaghan in ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3. Photo: Fabio Lovino/HBO.
The actual plotline for the season remains a mystery for now, but if past seasons are anything to go by, it’ll once more see the clientele of a White Lotus resort (this time reportedly in France) rocked by a suspicious death or two.
With White writing and directing as always, the season will be shooting this year.
(L to R) Jason Isaacs, Parker Posey, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Sarah Catherine Hook, and Sam Nivola in ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3. Photo: Fabio Lovino/HBO.
Al Pacino and Jessica Chastain will lead the cast of ‘Lear, Rex’.
Bernard Rose adapted the play for the new movie and will direct.
Rachel Brosnahan, LaKeith Stanfield and Peter Dinklage are also all among a starry cast.
Al Pacino just can’t stay away from the Bard. The actor, who has appeared in several Shakespeare adaptations (and one or two movies inspired by his work), will once more tackle the legendary playwright’s work with a new interpretation of ‘King Lear’.
And he’ll be joined in what is called ‘Lear, Rex’ (“Rex” meaning “king”, “monarch” or “ruler” in Latin, language fans!) by occasional co-star Jessica Chastain and a host of famous faces.
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What’s the story of ‘Lear Rex’?
Oscar® nominee, Al Pacino arrives on the red carpet of The 92nd Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre in Hollywood, CA on Sunday, February 9, 2020.
From the sounds of it, writer/director Bernard Rose is sticking relatively close to the story as laid out by the play… Pacino will be an aging King who divides his land between his three daughters to prevent future conflict.
But he rejects the youngest daughter, Cordelia who loves him and places his trust in her malevolent sisters, who strip him of his power and condemn him to a wretched wasteland of horror and insanity. Tch… you kids today, with your lust for power and your overthrowing of the monarchy!
(Far Left) Rachel Brosnahan on Prime Video’s ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.’ (Center Left) LaKeith Stanfield in ‘The Changeling,’ now streaming on Apple TV+. (Center Right) Peter Dinklage as Casca Highbottom in ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.’ Photo Credit: Murray Close. (Far Right) Ariana DeBose at the 5th Annual Hollywood Critics Association Awards.
Alongside Pacino and Chastain (who plays Goneril, one of the older daughters who plot against their naive old dad), the already impressive cast for this one also includes Ariana DeBose as Cordelia (the youngest daughter), Rachel Brosnahan as Regan (Goneril’s scheme-happy sister), Peter Dinklage as the Fool, Danny Huston as Albany, Chris Messina as Cornwall, LaKeith Stanfield as Edmund, Ted Levine as Kent, Matthew Jacobs as Gloucester, Rhys Coiro as Oswald and Stephen Dorff as Poor Tom.
Barry Navidi is reuniting with Pacino to produce the new film, having worked on several movies with the star (including ‘Salomé’ and ‘Wilde Salomé’, which also starred Chastain.)
‘Lear Rex’: the director and producer speak
Al Pacino at the 94th Oscars® at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles, CA, on Sunday, March 27, 2022.
“It is enormously exciting to get the opportunity to work with this extraordinary cast that Al, Barry and Sharon [casting director Sharon Howard-Field] have put together to tackle this radical, but accessible adaptation of Shakespeare’s greatest play.”
And here’s what producer Navidi had to say:
“I am delighted to have the opportunity to collaborate with Bernard Rose. His artistic vision, combined with a talented ensemble cast of players led by Al Pacino, promises to take us on a remarkable and unforgettable cinematic experience. We are merging the worlds of Shakespeare and Hollywood. This marks the commencement of an exciting new chapter, one that Al has poured his heart and soul into. It is a privilege for me to join forces with my dear friend once more, and to contribute to his enduring legacy.”
When will ‘Lear Rex’ be in theaters?
With the distribution rights yet to be sold, there is no current release date for ‘Lear Rex’. The cameras are set to start rolling on August 12th and we can’t imagine such a star-studded film –– even a Shakespeare adaptation with its occasional cultural language barrier –– sitting in the marketplace for too long.
Al Pacino, Francis Ford Coppola and Robert De Niro onstage during the 50th anniversary tribute of “The Godfather” at the live ABC telecast of the 94th Oscars® at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles, CA, on Sunday, March 27, 2022.
Ariana DeBose in Bleecker Street’s ‘I.S.S.’ Credit: Bleecker Street.
Opening in theaters on January 19th, ‘I.S.S.’ might be set in the near future, but it seeks to channel some very real and current fears of division in politics and the world in general. Not to mention the spreading notion of conflict around the world.
The concept is certainly a compelling, but the film itself takes a wrong turn at one point and boils away the tension it has created like an astronaut exposed to space.
Does ‘I.S.S.’ Have Gravity?
A Still from Bleecker Street’s ‘I.S.S.’ Credit: Bleecker Street.
The idea for ‘I.S.S.’ is one that movie fans might find familiar, since the notion of American and Russian crews at odds in space is one that forms part of the story for 1984’s ‘2010: The Year We Make Contact’.
That movie, of course was also burdened with being the sequel to one of the most highly regarded movies of all time (‘2001: A Space Odyssey’, in case you somehow didn’t figure it out). ‘I.S.S.’ doesn’t have to service an existing story and we feel justified in saying that there are no mysterious monoliths of alien origin or giant space children in this one.
Yet for all its down-to-Earth (well, sort of) plotting, it fumbles midway through, giving a talented cast little to hold onto.
‘I.S.S.’: Script and Direction
A Still from Bleecker Street’s ‘I.S.S.’ Credit: Bleecker Street.
Written by Nick Shafir, the script appeared on the Blacklist of best unproduced screenplays before it was plucked from that pile and became this movie. It’s initially a pot-boiler of a thriller, putting a group of Russian and American astronauts aboard the International Space Station and putting them at odds when the situation down on Earth spirals out of control.
It has a solid start, portraying the claustrophobia of docking at the famous station and the unsure feelings of the main characters who don’t know who to trust. Smartly bringing Ariana DeBose’s character Dr. Kira Foster aboard as a newbie, the opening allows for all the exposition you need to figure out who everyone is and what the situation is aboard.
But as the story’s paranoia deepens, it also goes to some overly melodramatic places, getting to a pulpy level and throwing in twist after twist that don’t really work. It’s as if it switches gears to a completely different film, and not one that is as satisfying as its beginning.
Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite, who previously made the acclaimed documentary ‘Blackfish’, bio-drama ‘Megan Leavey’ and romantic drama ‘Our Friend’ switches gear herself here, bringing a light touch to a science fiction story that could have come out of ‘Black Mirror’ or ‘The Twilight Zone’ (though, again, there is nothing otherworldly here).
It helps that the effects are impressive, leading to some beautiful visuals –– the sense of awe for the new arrivals is not hard to understand when you have superb panoramas. She has also, thanks in part to research with astronauts who have spent time on the station, crafted a welcome claustrophobic atmosphere within, the better to increase the tension. Yet while her work with the cast is initially fine, she seems to lose control of things as the drama dials up.
Ariana DeBose in Bleecker Street’s ‘I.S.S.’ Credit: Bleecker Street.
You might be more used to seeing DeBose singing and dancing (she did, after all, win an Oscar for Steven Spielberg’s ‘West Side Story’), but here she plays Foster with a nervy edge that works well for someone who is adapting to a strange situation even before conflict erupts on Earth, and she has to decide who to trust.
Chris Messina, meanwhile, has the perfectly gruff, low-key attitude that befits a veteran astronaut who has to make some big decisions when things start to go wrong. He plays his scenes with aplomb and stalwart levelheadedness, but even he falls victim to some ridiculous moments that send things on the station to a degree that makes you start to roll your eyes.
The ensemble as a whole does good early work, though even they can’t quite keep a grip on things and the situation becomes untenable. There are great actors at work here, but the likes of Pilou Asbæk can’t keep things afloat as gravity begins to drag on both the narrative and the space station.
Yet even with the characters plunging into conflict, the turns outwit even the acting abilities of the group and before the end, you’re beginning to wonder how much sillier things can get.
‘I.S.S.’: Final Thoughts
Chris Messina in Bleecker Street’s ‘I.S.S.’ Credit: Bleecker Street.
‘I.S.S.’ will likely divide audiences into those who appreciate the slow-burn tension of the initial scenes and the early moments after war breaks out on Earth and those who are just waiting for the situation on the station to become a free-for-all as the astronauts take sides.
It’s just that for us, the dives into suspicion and secrecy overstretch the concept and it never retains its shape. A real shame, since the movie had plenty of promise, and while it offers some taught direction and fine performances, it ultimately lets its initial good feelings slip away into the cosmos.
‘I.S.S.’ receives 6.5 out of 10 stars.
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What’s the story of ‘I.S.S.?
Tensions flare in the near future aboard the International Space Station as a worldwide conflict breaks out on Earth. Reeling from this, the astronauts receive orders from the ground: take control of the station by any means necessary.
Astronauts Dr. Kira Foster (Ariana DeBose), Gordon Barrett (Chris Messina) and Christian Campbell (John Gallagher Jr.) must now face off against the cosmonauts they previous regarded as colleagues –– and in some cases, more.
Who else is in ‘I.S.S.?
The cast for the sci-fi thriller also includes Masha Mashkova as Weronika Vetrov, Costa Ronin as Nicholai Pulov and Pilou Asbæk as Alexey Pulov.
Ariana DeBose in Bleecker Street’s ‘I.S.S.’ Credit: Bleecker Street.
(Left) J.K. Simmons in Prime Video’s ‘Big Sky.’ Photo: Chuck Hodes. Copyright: Amazon Studios. (Right) Clint Eastwood in ‘The Mule.’ Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.
Preview:
J.K. Simmons is part of the cast of Clint Eastwood’s latest film.
He’ll be a juror in the legal thriller.
The film has yet to lock down a release date.
Given how fast he works –– even at the age of 93 –– Clint Eastwood is already finished shooting his new movie, ‘Juror #2’. The movie had to shut down production when the actors’ strike hit but geared back up again in early November and is now in the editing stage.
(L to R) Director Clint Eastwood and Andy Garcia on the set of ‘The Mule.’ Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.
Written by Jonathan Abrams, ‘Juror #2’ will follow a member of the jury of a murder trial who suspects he may have had some part in the victim’s death –– in fact, possibly killed them himself in a vehicular accident –– and is caught in a moral conundrum of whether to use his secret to sway the jury away and protect himself or turn himself in to the justice system he is participating in.
Nicholas Hoult is playing the lead role of the juror, Justin Kemp, with Toni Collette as the district attorney on the case.
Eastwood had reportedly been weighing several scripts and in recent months zeroed in on this film as his likely final project.
(L to R) J.K. Simmons as Walter Boggs and Frank Grillo as Pauly Russo in the action/thriller, ‘One Day as a Lion,’ a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
The actor, who won an Oscar for ‘Whiplash’, might be most recognizable to genre fans as J. Jonah Jameson, the grumpy Daily Bugle editor he played across Sam Raimi’s ‘Spider-Man’ trilogy (and who has popped up since in Jon Watts’ take on the story as an alt-universe variant of Jameson who fronts a web news series).
In addition to those projects, he’s playing a swole Santa in the Dwayne Johnson/Chris Evans holiday film ‘Red One’, though that won’t be released until next year’s Christmas season.
When will ‘Juror #2’ be in theaters?
As of right now, ‘Juror #2’ is still awaiting a release date. There is a chance that Warner Bros. will look to release the movie close to awards season next year, touting it as Eastwood’s final film.
Clint Eastwood in Wolfgang Peterson’s ‘In the Line of Fire.’
‘The Boogeyman’, in theaters June 2nd, is just the latest adaptation of the work by prolific horror master Stephen King. And to stand out in an incredibly, and increasingly crowded field, the new movie needed to be something special.
Long in development (long enough that it was being worked on when 20th Century Fox was still its own studio, only to be cancelled and revived by the now Disney-owned 20th Century Studios), it’s unfortunate to report that this latest attempt at a scary story is somewhat of a dud, with cheap scares that draw laughter more than screams and some big logic issues.
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What happens in ‘The Boogeyman’?
‘The Boogeyman’ is adapted (by ‘A Quiet Place’s Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, with the most recent work from ‘Black Swan’s Mark Heyman) from King’s short story. Originally published in ‘Cavalier’ magazine in 1973, it was later collected into ‘Night Shift’ in 1978.
Focused on a 1970s take on an alpha male called Lester Billings who has been traumatized by the death of his children at –– according to him –– the hands (or claws) of a terrifying creature, it’s a swift, brutal tale with a twist, one that the movie takes as its basic concept then expands upon.
Chris Messina plays Dr. Will Harper a therapist in mourning for his wife, who recently died in a car accident. He’s raising daughters Sadie (Sophie Thatcher) and Sawyer (Vivien Lyra Blair).
Into Dr. Harper’s office stumbles Lester Billings (David Dastmalchian), who has a horrific story to tell: his children are dead, and while people will think he did it, they were actually slaughtered by a mysterious shadow creature that lurked in the darkness and toyed with him and his family.
Harper calls the authorities, but Billings appears to kill himself in a secluded closet within the Harper house, traumatizing the good doctor and his daughters further.
But that’s only the start of their problems –– both Sadie and Sawyer start seeing strange things, with Sawyer convinced she’s being haunted by the same creature that ruined Billings’ life. But is it all just a projection of their grief? And how does Billings’ widow (Marin Ireland) fit in?
A big plus for the film would seem to be the presence of canny British director Rob Savage, who made a splash in 2020 with his creative, entertaining horror movie ‘Host’ in which a zoom seance held between friends during lockdown goes supernaturally, bloodily and mortally wrong.
Savage followed that up with DASHCAM, the story of a rude, opinionated live-streaming DJ who encounters something awful when she offers a ride in her car to an old woman. Both movies play out entirely on computer (or phone) screens and are chillingly effective uses of that particular horror genre.
Yet given both the budget and the scope to expand beyond that, Savage here falters, let down by a corny script that has more tropes than it does storyline and more archetypes than it does characters.
While Savage brings some level of artistry to it all –– tilting camera shots, effective and evocative use of lighting in some scenes and a genuine sense of unease in one early moment –– it’s not enough to save a story that goes to ridiculous lengths to try and evoke some terror.
Messina and his younger co-stars do what they can to breathe life into their characters (Blair, a veteran of ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ and ‘Yellowjackets’), Thatcher appropriately acting scared when needed, but it’s all a losing cause in a movie that will evoke giggles more than a desire to find covers to hide beneath.
The movie also fails to follow its own internal logic; when Sawyer is introduced as the grieving young girl sleeping with a variety of lights on even before she’s haunted and hunted by the titular creature, it makes absolutely no sense that she’d later be content to sit alone in a darkened room with just the meagre light of a TV screen where she’s playing a PlayStation game to make her feel safe.
Then there are the usual horror movie conventions wheeled out for the 700th time –– the girls screaming and making noise while their father is oblivious in another room, characters noticing creepy black tendrils littering a hallway and stairway but deciding to investigate anyway. And in a scene that could come out of a horror spoof, Sadie is driven by a friend to a particular house she’s investigating, one littered with graffiti calling the occupant a murderer and with a mailbox bent over on its pole by a vandal, only to asked, “is this the house”? Yes, young lady, we’re pretty sure it’s the house .
It all builds to something increasingly silly and chaotic, characters making stupid decisions when a clear threat is lurking, and the creature itself switching tactics midway through with no discernible reason. And don’t get us started on the therapist who decides that the best way to cure a traumatized child with issues to do with the dark is immediately to plunge them into a darkened room. The movie makes far too many silly choices such as this to be credible.
Final Thoughts
There are plenty of great Stephen King adaptations out there, on screens big and small. ‘The Boogeyman’ is, sorry to report, not among them. This is one nightmare that’s more likely to be lurking in the bargain bin than on anyone’s must re-watch list.
‘Air’ follows the true story of the rise of Nike and chronicles the upstart shoe company’s attempt to sign NBA rookie Michael Jordan to a sneaker deal. Nike employee Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) believes the only way to save the fledgling company is to invest everything in a rookie who’s never stepped foot on a professional court, who might just become the greatest player of all time. Against the wishes of Nike owner Phil Knight (Ben Affleck) and Jordan’s agent David Falk (Chris Messina), Vaccaro travels to North Carolina to meet Jordan’s mother Deloris (Viola Davis) in person and desperately tries to convince her to influence her son to sign with Nike.
The result is an extremely entertaining and inspiring movie about believing in yourself, which has a similar humorous tone to ‘Argo,’ but is also reminiscent of ‘Moneyball’ and ‘Jerry Maguire.’ Affleck keeps the story suspenseful, even though we know how it ends, and the film is anchored by fantastic performances from Damon, Tucker, Bateman, Messina, and Davis.
For those that don’t know, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck grew up together in Boston and broke into Hollywood when they co-starred and co-wrote ‘Good Will Hunting,’ which earned them both Oscars for Best Original Screenplay. With the exception of a few appearances together such as Kevin Smith’s ‘Dogma,’ the two actors went their separate ways professionally, both becoming movies stars in their own right. But when Affleck’s acting career began to stumble, he went behind the camera to direct ‘Gone Baby Gone,’ ‘The Town,’ and ‘Argo,’ which won an Oscar for Best Picture and resurrected his career.
While their appearance in Ridley Scott’s ‘The Last Duel,’ which they also co-wrote, marked their first big screen collaboration in decades, ‘Air’ marks the first time Affleck has ever directed his childhood friend. Since the movie is based on a well-known true story, we all know the outcome, but somehow Affleck still adds suspense to the film and keeps the audience engaged the entire time. Set in the 80s, Affleck relies heavily on nostalgia, which in a way fuels the movie. He sets the tone during the first frame of the movie when you hear Dire Straits’ ‘Money is for Nothing’ and you see a montage of the 80’s greatest pop culture moments. In fact, the 80’s soundtrack is well chosen and adds to the ultimate enjoyment of the film.
The film touches on themes of believing in yourself, even when no one else will, but also emphasizes the importance of Mothers and the sacrifice they all make for their children. Affleck also wisely made the choice not to cast an actor to play Jordan himself, which for the most part works really well but does become slightly distracting in the later scenes, but more on that later.
Affleck is definitely the comic relief in the movie, playing Nike founder Phil Knight as a bit of a buffoon, with his over-sized Oakley sunglasses and fluorescent colored tracksuits. Whether the portrayal is accurate to real-life events or not, it is entertaining and works for the tone of the film. It’s also a pleasure to see Affleck and Damon share the frame again, almost 30 years after ‘Good Will Hunting.’ Vaccaro and Knight, while friendly, are at odds through most of the movie, and the scenes crackle when the two actors go at it.
Matt Damon, who physically transformed for the role gaining weight, gives a very good performance and anchors the movie, especially when more colorful characters like Knight, David Falk and Howard White are on screen. However, Damon never really gets submersed in the role, as you always realize you are watching Matt Damon play a character. In contrast, you believe Chris Messina, Jason Bateman, Chris Tucker, Viola Davis, and even Affleck to a degree are their characters, but Damon never quite achieves that level.
Don’t get me wrong, Damon’s still very believable in the role and definitely does the heavy lifting carrying the narrative of the movie, but I never really got a sense of who Sonny Vaccaro was, other than a gambler willing to risk everything. But Damon brings all of his own charm and personality to the role, which works, especially in the tender scenes with Davis’ Deloris Jordan, and the two create a sweet bond that is pivotal to the outcome of the story.
According to Affleck, Michael Jordan had three requests to give his blessing to this production, and top of his list was that Oscar winner Viola Davis must play his mother, and I can’t think of better casting. Davis oozes gravitas and commands every scene she is in, creating a powerful presence as Deloris Jordan. Because Michael Jordan is a phantom presence in the movie, Davis’ character becomes the focal point of the story, and the actress commands her scenes with ease. The character is talked about a lot up to the point we meet her halfway through the movie, and the actress’s first appearance on screen does not disappoint.
Davis has great chemistry with Damon, and you get the feeling that Jordan is impressed with Sonny, and again, the bond they form is beautiful and really pays off in the end. Also fun, is that Davis’ real life husband Julius Tennon plays her onscreen husband, Michael’s late father, James R. Jordan Sr. While a small role, Tennon is very memorable in the part and of course as you would expect, has great chemistry with Davis. Jordan Sr. was a very affable fellow, and Tennon’s giant smile fits the character perfectly. You understand from the first moment you see him that he knows his wife is the boss, not Michael, and in turn, the other characters and we the audience understand that important point very quickly too.
The supporting cast is rich with terrific characters and performances. Remember when I mentioned Jordan had three requests for Affleck, the second one was that he create a part for George Raveling, who was Jordan’s Olympic coach and pivotal to him taking the Nike deal. Luckily, he was best friends with Vaccaro in real life, so it made sense for the character to reach out to him during the film. While its only one scene, Marlon Wayans is impressive as Raveling in a bar sequence giving advice to Vaccaro. Wayans has good chemistry with Damon, looking like they truly are old friends and being quite funny, in moments that were very likely improvised.
Jordan’s third request was a role for Howard White, vice president of Nike’s Jordan Brand and another person pivotal in Jordan’s signing with Nike. Chris Tucker plays White with absolute charm and enthusiasm as only Tucker can. He’s really great in the role, very funny, and has a strong chemistry with Damon, as White is presented as a mentor to Vaccaro.
Also great opposite Damon is actor Chris Messina who plays Jordan’s agent David Falk. Messina plays the agent as a cross between Buddy Ackerman in ‘Swimming with Sharks’ and the title character from ‘Jerry Maguire.’ He’s loud, obnoxious, rude and absolutely hilarious when screaming at Damon over the phone, and the two actors have really fun scenes together.
Finally, beloved actor Jason Bateman gives one of his best performances as Nike publicist Rob Strasser. Bateman brings his signature witty and sometimes sarcastic attitude to the character, which works well, but it’s his few dramatic scenes that are really impressive. The actor has a monologue near the end that her recites beautifully and is the motivating factor for Damon’s character in the final moments. It’s a great showcase role for Bateman, and the actor also has very good chemistry with Damon.
Nobody, well, kind of. As previously mentioned, Affleck did not cast an actor to play Michael Jordan, but he does have a stand-in for Jordan in a few scenes using over the shoulder and obscured shots to give the idea of his presence. This was absolutely the correct choice as casting an actor to play the GOAT (Sorry LeBron!), would have been too distracting. That being said, not casting an actor to play Jordan was also distracting, so really there was no good choice.
Not showing Jordan and making his parents the focal point makes sense and works up until the end. But by the time we are in the final scenes, where Jordan and his parents finally meet with Nike, it’s odd that they are spending so much time focusing on Deloris and basically ignoring Michael. I know what Affleck was going for, but I think it would have been better if they built on the anticipation to see Michael, which they basically do, and then finally show him, briefly, in the final scene, casting a look-a-like actor but perhaps with no dialogue. It would seem like a better payoff.
Not to mention that some of the angles in which Affleck shoots the stand-in playing Michael to obscure him also seem odd in the context of the rest of the movie which is shot more traditionally. Ultimately, none of this really hurts the movie as a whole, and the real Jordan is actually seen throughout the movie in plenty of archival footage.
Final Thoughts
In the end, ‘Air’ is a really funny, entertaining, and inspiring movie that is extremely interesting and suspenseful, even if you already know the history of Air Jordan. Affleck is a very gifted filmmaker and storyteller, and ‘Air’ is one of his best. It’s super fun and nostalgic to see Affleck and Damon together again onscreen, and they are surrounded by a cast of wonderful performances from the likes of Davis, Bateman, Messina, and Tucker.
‘Air’ is produced by David Ellison, Jesse Sisgold, Jon Weinbach, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Madison Ainley, Jeff Robinov, Peter Guber, and Jason Michael Berman. It is set to release exclusive in theaters on April 5, 2023.
Biopics of well-known figures often struggle with condensing the lives of their subjects. But part of the brilliance of the very entertaining ‘Air,’ which reunites director-star Ben Affleck and good friend Matt Damon on screen, is the manner in which it smartly sidles up to a legendary figure — in this case basketball star and all-around icon Michael Jordan — and tells a very specific story that manages to illuminate not only an important time period in his life, but a broader moment in American culture.
You see, ’Air’ tells an origin story, of sorts. Instead of a caped superhero, though, it’s about the unlikely genesis of Air Jordans — the shoe line which would come to dominate not only hoops culture but global business at large, presently racking up more than $5 billion in annual sales.
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Based on the true tale of Nike’s attempts to woo Jordan to sign an exclusive shoe contract before he’s ever suited up and played a game of professional basketball, the movie stars Damon as Sonny Vaccaro, the sports marketing executive and longtime hoops scout who pushes Nike chairman and CEO Phil Knight (Affleck) to abandon the standard practice of spreading around endorsement deals, and instead put all their effort into signing one player he believes has the potential to be a star. Viola Davis and real-life husband Julius Tennon portray Deloris and James Jordan, the hoops legend’s loving parents.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of attending a pair of virtual press conferences for ’Air,’ along with several other outlets. In attendance in one interview session were Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Chris Tucker, Chris Messina, and Matthew Maher, while the second session of the double-tilt featured Matt Damon, Viola Davis, Julius Tennon, Marlon Wayans, and screenwriter Alex Convery.
Here are 10 things we learned from the ’Air’ press conference, edited for clarity and length.
1. Ben Affleck Was Going to Walk Away From the Film If Michael Jordan Asked Him To
Ben Affleck is a Golden Globe Best Director winner, so his commitment behind the camera would be enough to get movies of a certain budget made. But his commitment to ‘Air’ wasn’t absolute.
Ben Affleck: I went to speak to Michael, because I’ve been lucky enough to run across him a few times. I’m not gonna act like me and him are friends. I just like idolized the guy, and every now and again I’ve had a chance to spend time with him. It’s been very memorable for me, though probably he’s forgotten it. But I had at least enough of an in to say, “Hey, can I come see you and just run this past you?” Because to be honest, from a point-of-view of respect for him, his family, who he is, and what he means, the stupidest thing in the world would be to go make a movie that, (even though) he doesn’t appear in, nonetheless invokes his name and tells a part of his story, if he was opposed to. So if he said don’t do it, I just was gonna not do it. That would be that. And I was very, very prepared for that to be the result of (our conversation), because I had no reason to think he would be open to it or that he would welcome it. However, what I found was that he was very gracious when I said, look, this is not historically accurate, in the sense that I can’t dot every I and cross every T — this is gonna have to be something of a fable, a parable, an inspiring story. So I’m gonna take liberties in order to make it an hour and 30 or 40 minutes, but I don’t wanna violate anything that’s fundamentally important or true to you. So if you would please tell me what those things are, I promise you they’ll be sacrosanct. And I think it was telling that he wasn’t somebody who was like, “Whoa, we gotta talk about when I did this, and I did that,” (because) there are people who take that approach. He only talked about other people. He wanted to make sure that other people who were meaningful were included in the story. George Raveling was one of them. Then he also said Howard White is integral to this too.
2. Screenwriter Alex Convery Watched ’The Last Dance’ Just Like You
The 10-episode Netflix docu-series ‘The Last Dance’ was a huge hit during the early months of the COVID pandemic. And in fact it birthed the idea for ‘Air.’
Alex Convery: I’m a ’90s Chicago kid, which is where the Bulls and Michael Jordan and my connection comes from. But like everyone else, I was locked up during those first couple of months of quarantine, watching ‘The Last Dance.’ There’s a little five-minute clip about Nike and just how Air Jordans came together. And I was at a point in my career where, you know, you’re trying to write a script that gets noticed. So when you can explain the movie in one sentence — it’s a story of how Nike got Michael Jordan — it has that ability, you know? It goes to the top of the pile, and maybe people will give it a bit more of a chance. But like everything, it comes down to characters, right? So the question was, who can be the protagonist and the engine of this movie? And finding both Sonny and Deloris was really, to me, what elevated it above just a movie about a shoe and Michael Jordan. It’s finding the human elements in a very big movie. I call them “big little movies.” The little (part) being, this is just a movie about a shoe deal, right? It takes place over a week or so, and it’s small in scope, but the big part is when you say it’s about Nike and Michael Jordan. You could talk to 100 people on the street, and all 100 of them are going to know who Michael Jordan is and what Nike is. And to me, that’s what kind of elevates it above just a movie about a shoe.
3. Michael Jordan Asked For Viola Davis To Play His Mother
The hoops G.O.A.T. had some casting advice for Ben Affleck, rooted in his strong relationship to his mother Deloris.
Ben Affleck: (Michael) said, “You know, I didn’t wanna go to Portland. I would’ve signed my shoe rights away for life for a red Mercedes. My mom told me to go to Beaverton.” And when I saw how he talked about his mother — the regard and esteem in which he held her, the reverence and respect and adoration and love when he talked about his mother — it just shocked me, and shame on me for not kind of assuming this was the case. But when I heard it, I realized right away this is the story — and a beautiful story. It’s a story about Deloris Jordan and what she means to Michael, and that she’s emblematic of what so many mothers must have meant to so many athletes and entertainers and people in this business who are oftentimes very young and thrust into a world of fame and money that can be confusing, and must require enormous amounts of guidance. So I thought, actually this is brilliant. This is what the story is. This is beautiful, and this is the protagonist. And I said offhandedly (to Michael), who do you think should play your mom? And he said it has to be Viola Davis. I was like, okay. That’s kind of like saying, “Can I get a basketball team together? Sure. It has to (have) Michael Jordan.” You’re like, well, all right. (laughs) But then I thought, you know, this is very typical of who this guy is. Like, it has to be the very best, absolutely. So I knew that it was incumbent on us to create a role that was worthy of Viola, and we tried to do that.
4. Viola Davis Found Her Character In a Preternatural Steadiness
Michael Jordan is famously one of the most competitive and intense athletes of all time. His mother Deloris, though, had a different defining characteristic.
Viola Davis: Stepping into the role, if you watch videos, Deloris Jordan is a study in Zen neutrality. The woman is very, very steady and quiet, you know? I mean, I would imagine that even when she gets mad, she’s probably very, very, very steady. (laughs) So to really just envelope that spirit and everything was a challenge for me, because I’m the woman who always has a chip on her shoulder. I go in bombastic, you know? So it was both flattering, challenging, and then just a joy to work with Matt and Ben and all these terrific actors. Me and Julius still talk about it to this day, as just one of the greatest experiences.
5. As With a Lot of Interesting Stories, ’Air’ Surprisingly Reframes a Known Character or Entity
With annual revenue in excess of $45 billion, Nike is the undisputed giant of the footwear and athletic apparel industry. But not in ‘Air.’
Matt Damon: We were really trying to capture the spirit of these people in this time more than anything — not exactly who said what at exactly what moment. All of these people on the Nike side, independent of one another, have talked about this time with such nostalgia. And that’s what we were trying to create and remind people about, you know? They were the underdog, which is such a weird way to think of Nike now. But before this incredible deal, they really were these renegades, and kind of outsiders. And so it really is one of those stories that comes along and you go, “Wow, this is really for everybody.” We used to call them feel-good movies. You should leave the theater with, like, a skip in your step.
6. The Sensitivity Modeled in Deloris and James Jordan’s Relationship Mirrors Viola Davis’ Real-Life Relationship
In real life, James Jordan modeled a quiet strength, preferring to let his wife Deloris handle most of the talking. But he stood by her fiercely. For Davis, parts of the relationship mirrored her own marriage with Julius Tennon.
Viola Davis: That is our dynamic in real life. You know, Julius has told me since we got together, he said, “Vee [phonetic], now when you come home and it’s late at night, you make sure you don’t get out of that car until the gates close. And if someone’s following you, you lay on that horn and I’m gonna come out with my baseball bat, and I’ll put it on their ass.” (laughs) And, you know, I laid on the horn once by accident after coming home at three o’clock in the morning, and I counted to five. Julius came out with the baseball bat, and I knew — I was like, “That’s it, I’m gonna marry him. This is my dude.”
7. Chris Messina Enjoyed His Character’s Angry Phone Calls
Chris Messina co-stars as David Falk, Michael Jordan’s famously hot-tempered agent. But for scenes in which he has heated phone calls, he wasn’t just yelling by himself.
Chris Messina: When Ben calls you up, you don’t even need to read the script, because I’ve gotten to work with him now three times and it’s always an amazing experience. It’s always surrounded by great artists in front of the camera and behind the camera. So when I read it, I loved it, but I was like, “Oh shit, these are a lot of phone calls.” (laughs) But Ben did something that I’ve never done in my career, and I’ve done a lot of phone calls. Usually you call the other actor, the phone disconnects, or a script supervisor does it with you. But Matt and I were actually down the hallway from each other. We each had three cameras on us, and Ben would go back and forth from room to room, we’d all get together and we had a blast doing it. The script was amazing, but we could play, we could overlap, we could improvise.
8. Marlon Wayans Used YouTube For Research, But Wasn’t Aiming For an Impression
In basketball circles, George Raveling is a well-known figure — and, as Marlon Mayans learned, one with other connections to history at large. But neither Wayans nor Affleck wanted an impersonation.
Marlon Wayans: I did a crash course on YouTube, and I learned a lot about George Raveling. I learned he was a fantastic man. And when I read the monologue (in the movie), and the fact that that was real, and that he still has (the original copy of Martin Luther King’s) “I Have a Dream” speech in his possession, I just thought that it was an amazing character to play. And usually, the more you research, the better you can do in terms of your performance. But what I love was when we went on set, Ben was like, you know, “We’re not impersonating. You can bring you to it.” And for an actor that’s always the best thing you can do: when I can mix that person with my emotions and what you bring. The script was already written so beautifully, but also we got to play. Then I could get out of my head and really have fun. And that’s what it was. When I left the set, I just felt like if every day on that set felt like the first day, that’s going to be a magical movie.
9. Ben Affleck Has Always Wanted to Work with Chris Tucker
Everyone knows about Ben Affleck’s longtime friendship with Matt Damon. But ‘Air’ checked some other boxes for the multi-hyphenate, too.
Ben Affleck: This is a group of people who either I had known for a long, long time, (many) of whom I’ve worked with multiple times and know well and adore and admire, and then people who have been my sort of life’s goal to work with, in Viola Davis and Chris Tucker. In fact, I think Chris can attest the number of times I’ve harassed him — he passed me by in a hotel lobby and I’m like, “Chris, Chris, Chris, I wanna do a movie with you!” (laughs) I feel like humor is the highest form of intelligence, you know what I mean? So I feel like guys like Chris are the smartest, most interesting people you can meet. People to find the humor and the joy in life is just a magic that I wanna be around. Like, a few times I’ve made him laugh and I take a secret pride in that. I’m like, “He just laughed at my joke!”
10. Matthew Maher Located a Similarity Between His Character, the Designer of the Iconic Air Jordans, and Athletes
Of course, everyone knows Michael Jordan, too. But to hardcore sneaker-heads, designer Peter Moore is also a celebrity — and he even wore it like an athlete.
Matthew Maher: Weirdly, Peter Moore just passed away like a week before I was offered the movie. And I definitely did dive in (for research), I read a lot of blogs and I watched documentaries where he was featured. But what shocked me was looking at his designs and his ideas, which were so amazing and ahead of their time, where he’s talking and he’s just like a regular guy, you know? He’s talking and he says, “Yeah, there was too much red and then we decided to just leave it that way.” He was very like direct (in all his descriptions). And I thought the biggest parallel was listening to how pro athletes talk about what they do, which is like, “Well, we just kept at it,” even though they’re doing these amazing things (that others can’t). A genius doesn’t always express himself very well when he’s talking about his (own) genius acts.
‘Air’ is produced by David Ellison, Jesse Sisgold, Jon Weinbach, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Madison Ainley, Jeff Robinov, Peter Guber, and Jason Michael Berman. It is set to release exclusive in theaters on April 5, 2023.
Opening in theaters on October 28th is the new drama ‘Call Jane’ from acclaimed filmmaker writer and director Phyllis Nagy (‘Carol‘).
The new film stars Elizabeth Banks as Joy, a 1960s housewife who learns that her second pregnancy is threatening her life. She soon meets Virginia (Sigourney Weaver), a member of the Janes, an underground network of women who take risks to provide abortions to pregnant women.
In addition to Banks and Weaver, the cast also includes Wunmi Mosaku, Chris Messina, Kate Mara, and Corey Michael Smith.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Sigourney Weaver and Elizabeth Banks about their work on ‘Call Jane,’ the timeliness of the story, the Janes, Bank’s character and why she makes her choice.
(L to R) Sigourney Weaver and Elizabeth Banks star in Roadside Attractions’ ‘Call Jane.’
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Weaver, Banks, Wunmi Mosaku, and director Phyllis Nagy.
Moviefone: To begin with, Sigourney, did you imagine when you were making this movie that it would be as timely and relevant as it is being released now?
Sigourney Weaver: I thought we’d have a national conversation about it, which is great. But I didn’t imagine the Supreme Court could just overturn a constitutional right that’s been there for 50 years and dramatically changed women’s lives, allowing us to have careers, choose how many children to have, and all these other basic rights that stem from this.
So, what I feel now is, when I watch the movie and see these women working together to help other women, I realize that instead of looking back, we should look forward and say, “All right, we’ve got to get together and vote, and support health clinics for women around the country.” But we have to beat this. We have to forge our way back to our constitutional rights.
(L to R) Elizabeth Banks and Sigourney Weaver in Roadside Attractions’ ‘Call Jane.’
MF: Elizabeth, can you talk about how meeting the Janes change Joy’s life?
Elizabeth Banks: Meeting the Janes is the beginning of a political awakening for my character. I think she’s someone who never thought she would need to seek abortion healthcare, and she was pretty judgmental of people who did. I think that’s pretty relatable for a lot of people. But her empathy was really opened up by meeting the Janes.
I think if I had a message for anybody watching the movie, it would to be that we could use a lot more care and a lot more empathy when it comes to people who may walk a path that we will never walk. I loved making the movie, and I remind people all the time, the majority of Americans don’t find abortion healthcare to be particularly controversial. It is something that the majority of Americans want to remain safe and legal, and we just need to get back to that.
MF: Finally, can you talk about Joy’s decision and why she has no other choice but to make it?
EB: I think that one of the messages of the movie is that people who seek abortion healthcare, that the choice, that is their choice. There is no other choice for them for various reasons. By the way, nobody owes anybody their reason.
That’s another thing that I think the movie really tries to hammer home, that the constitutional right to private decisions about the direction of one’s life is in our constitution. I believe it’s under “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness,” and the idea that a vocal minority has been able to orchestrate the taking of that right from millions and half of Americans is something that we as a collective can get together and fight against.
Elizabeth Banks in Roadside Attractions’ ‘Call Jane.’
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(L to R) Lorenza Izzo and Malin Akerman in ‘The Aviary.’
Opening in theaters on April 29th is the new thriller ‘The Aviary,’ which was written and directed by Chris Cullari and Jennifer Raite.
The movie follows Jillian (Malin Akerman) and Blair (Lorenza Izzo), two women who flee into the New Mexican desert to escape from an insidious cult and its leader (Chris Messina).
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Malin Akerman and Lorenza Izzo about their work on ‘The Aviary.’
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You can read the full interview with Malin Akerman and Lorenza Izzo below or watch the interviews by clicking on the video player above.
Moviefone: To begin with, Malin how do you prepare for a role like this?
Malin Akerman: You dig really deep and find all the craziness inside you. It really was a group effort and a lot of discussions with Lorenza and our directors to figure out how we were going to play this and what they wanted to portray.
Because it’s a battle within yourself, having been brainwashed. How you trust yourself after having gone through something like that. So, it was definitely a lot of discussions while we were shooting before we were trying to figure out exactly what the journey was.
MF: Lorenza, did you do any research into real-life cults and the people who have been affected by them, and if so, how did that research prepare you to play this role?
Lorenza Izzo: Yeah, definitely. I think for every project I’ve ever done, there’s a particular road of research to get to where you want to be. This wouldn’t require a lot of collaboration with our directors, Jen and Chris, and with Malin, I think this one was so much about letting go and really being in there. There was a lot of just physical geographical demands of being out in the desert on night shoots, being really crazy hot and alone in the middle of COVID just with Malin.
We were really trusting each other and diving into the words that were there, which are all about our own journeys with our minds and how much we can trust them, and trust each other while escaping this brutal situation. So much of it was already there that the research was a constant struggle for me, trying to figure out what was actually happening.
(L to R) Malin Akerman, Lorenza Izzo and Chris Messina in ‘The Aviary.’
MF: Malin, can you talk about the control that Seth has over Jillian and Blair, and how something like that happens?
MA: I think it takes a particular type of person. They’re always very charming and manipulative, and I think it’s caught in a moment, no matter what, as humankind we want to fit in and be accepted somewhere.
If you feel alone and if you’re in a moment in time where you’re feeling vulnerable and you’re a bit lost, some of the smartest people that I have met have been part of something that is very cult like. They’ve come out and just said, it was a moment in time and a lot of these, so to say, cults present themselves as some sort of a self-help and a way out of your current situation.
MF: Lorenza, Blair insists that she did not willingly join the cult. Can you talk about that?
LI: This is all so much about humanity. We were saying earlier it is about fitting in, right? It’s about understanding our whole journey through our lives. It’s like, who am I, what am I doing? What’s my crowd? Who are my people? How do I find myself?
I think for her, admitting that she had joined something like that, like the Aviary is just too hard at the beginning. When we meet Blair, there’s just something about admitting what she actually went through. This just requires too much shock and trauma to process that right now. I think at that moment, she’s just like, I need to get out. I need to get through this.
There’s also a lot between Blair and Jillian. Blair looked up to Jillian. So, there’s so much of her asserting herself as an individual. At the same time going, you brought me to this. You’re kind of the reason why I stuck around. So, don’t tell me I joined a cult because I didn’t. I came to find myself and here I am. So, there’s just a lot of different layers going on over there.
(L to R) Lorenza Izzo and Malin Akerman in ‘The Aviary.’
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