There is much to recommend in Air, director Ben Affleck’s new movie about Nike going out on a limb to sign Michael Jordan to a sneaker contract. The acting is, across the board, top-notch. Viola Davis, the finest working actor in America, turns in another heater as Jordan’s shrewd, iron-fisted mother, Deloris. Affleck himself, having finally aged into his calling as an on-screen architect of ridiculous, faintly sleazy men, is in fine form as Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight. The direction does a good job capturing the...
- 4/8/2023
- by Corbin Smith
- Rollingstone.com
The new movie "Air," which debuted on April 5, tells the story of how Nike landed Michael Jordan as the face of its basketball division and created the first Air Jordan sneakers. The shoes - and the resulting line of products and fashion craze - changed the world of sports, fashion, and pop culture as we knew it. The movie, directed by Ben Affleck, stars Matt Damon as Sonny Vaccaro, the Nike employee and later athlete's rights advocate who brokered the deal; Viola Davis as Jordan's mom, Deloris, who fought for her son; and Affleck himself as Nike founder Phil Knight.
Though "Air" focuses on the Air Jordan saga, other parts of the Nike origin story play a role in the film, too. During one scene, Knight tells Vaccaro that he originally didn't like the iconic Nike Swoosh and in another, the workers joke about how much they don't like...
Though "Air" focuses on the Air Jordan saga, other parts of the Nike origin story play a role in the film, too. During one scene, Knight tells Vaccaro that he originally didn't like the iconic Nike Swoosh and in another, the workers joke about how much they don't like...
- 4/5/2023
- by Victoria Edel
- Popsugar.com
Although the Nike company started as a small Japanese shoe reseller in Oregon, it has now grown into a mainstream athletic and sports brand that is known all over the world. Through Nike’s brand identity, it is quickly outshining its competitors and creating a loyal following of satisfied customers. During Nike’s first year, 1964, the company grossed $8,000 in overall sales, whereas, in 2020, the brand’s revenue reached heights of $37.4 billion Usd. Where did Nike get its start to become the national sensation it is today, and how will it proceed as the athletic market continues to shift toward the luxury industry? Things to do: Subscribe to The Hollywood Insider’s YouTube Channel, by clicking here. Limited Time Offer – Free Subscription to The Hollywood Insider Click here to read more on The Hollywood Insider’s vision, values and mission statement here – Media has the responsibility to better our world – The...
- 3/1/2023
- by Finley Clough
- Hollywood Insider - Substance & Meaningful Entertainment
Adam McKay’s upcoming (and still untitled) series about the 1980s-era Los Angeles Lakers has added two more key characters to its expansive roster: Larry Bird and Nike founder Phil Knight.
Sean Patrick Small will star as Bird, the Boston Celtics legend, whose memorable rivalry with Magic Johnson defined the NBA during that decade. Olli Haaskivi will play Knight, who co-founded Nike with Bill Bowerman in 1964, back when it was known as “Blue Ribbon Sports.”
Additional new castmembers announced Friday include Rachel Hilson as Cindy Day, a girlfriend of Magic Johnson, Newton Mayenge as veteran NBA forward Jim Chones and Jon Young as Lakers’ player Brad “Potsie” Holland.
Bo Burhnam had been in consideration for the role, but an individual with knowledge of the project told TheWrap that the actor-director was not able to be involved due to scheduling conflicts.
Based on the Jeff Pearlman book “Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley,...
Sean Patrick Small will star as Bird, the Boston Celtics legend, whose memorable rivalry with Magic Johnson defined the NBA during that decade. Olli Haaskivi will play Knight, who co-founded Nike with Bill Bowerman in 1964, back when it was known as “Blue Ribbon Sports.”
Additional new castmembers announced Friday include Rachel Hilson as Cindy Day, a girlfriend of Magic Johnson, Newton Mayenge as veteran NBA forward Jim Chones and Jon Young as Lakers’ player Brad “Potsie” Holland.
Bo Burhnam had been in consideration for the role, but an individual with knowledge of the project told TheWrap that the actor-director was not able to be involved due to scheduling conflicts.
Based on the Jeff Pearlman book “Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley,...
- 8/20/2021
- by Tim Baysinger
- The Wrap
Exclusive: Hacksaw Ridge backer Argent Pictures, Nine Days producer Mandalay Pictures and Book Club writer-director Bill Holderman are teaming up on a feature adaptation of WWII tale The Last Ridge about the 10th Mountain Division, a troop of U.S. expats-turned-soldiers who helped turn the tide against the Nazis in Europe.
Holderman will adapt McKay Jenkins’ non-fiction book which charts a remarkable true story. When World War II broke out in Europe, the American army had no specialized division of mountain soldiers. That changed after an amateur skier named Charles Minot “Minnie” Dole convinced the U.S. Army to let him recruit an extraordinary assortment of expats, wealthy ski bums, mountaineers, and thrill-seekers and form them into a band of Alpine soldiers.
The group included the Sierra Club’s David Brower, Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman, and Aspen Skiing Corporation founder Friedl Pfeifer.
The men endured nearly three years of gruelling training in the Colorado Rockies and forged 10th Mountain Division which finally faced combat in the winter of 1945 in Italy’s Apennine Mountains, against the seemingly unbreakable German fortifications north of the Gothic Line. There, they planned and executed one of the most daring nighttime mountain attacks in U.S. military history, smashing a linchpin of the German army’s lines.
Argent’s Jill Ahrens, Ryan Ahrens and Ben Renzo, and Mandalay’s Jason Michael Berman will produce the film with Holderman and Erin Simms of their banner Apartment Story. Executive producers are Argent partners Drew Brees, Tony Parker, Michael Finley, and Derrick Brooks with co-executive producers Eric Bromberg and Stephen Michael.
Argent’s Ryan Ahrens said, “Very few details about the U.S. Army’s elite 10th Mountain Division have been introduced to the generations that followed WWII. This story is long overdue, so we’re happy to be entrusted with the source material to tell a cinematic story depicting the courage, sacrifice and heroism of this group of men.”
Mandalay’s Jason Michael Berman added, “I have had a very strong desire and passion to help tell the story of the heroes that made up the 10th Mountain Division ever since I first learned about them and their bravery while a teenager who often visited Colorado with my family growing up. Bill Holderman and I have been talking about this incredible true story since the first day we met at the Sundance Intsitute Labs back in 2014. It is so exciting to collaborate with my close friends and partners at Argent, Jill, Ryan and Ben, to bring this project to life with Bill and Erin.”
Holderman, well known for hit 2018 comedy Book Club, which took more than $100M, and Bill Bryson story A Walk In The Woods, commented, “This is one of the great untold stories in American history and I’m thrilled to be partnering with Jason, Jill, Ryan, Ben and of course, my partner in crime, Erin, to bring this harrowing and triumphant tale to the masses.”
He quipped, “Following on the heels of Book Club, I feel like I’m pigeon-holing myself but those are worries for another day…”
American Made and Hacksaw Ridge backer Argent recently finished shooting Good Joe Bell with Mark Wahlberg and Connie Britton. Recent Mandalay films include Edson Oda’s Sundance hit Nine Days, which was picked up by Sony Classics, and upcoming Netflix original The Last Days Of American Crime with Edgar Ramirez.
The project marks the fourth collaboration between Argent and Mandalay Pictures in the last year following Netflix’s Uncorked, Fox Sports boxing story They Fight and upcoming horror-comedy Bride And Doom.
Holderman is represented by Wme and Paul Hastings.
Holderman will adapt McKay Jenkins’ non-fiction book which charts a remarkable true story. When World War II broke out in Europe, the American army had no specialized division of mountain soldiers. That changed after an amateur skier named Charles Minot “Minnie” Dole convinced the U.S. Army to let him recruit an extraordinary assortment of expats, wealthy ski bums, mountaineers, and thrill-seekers and form them into a band of Alpine soldiers.
The group included the Sierra Club’s David Brower, Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman, and Aspen Skiing Corporation founder Friedl Pfeifer.
The men endured nearly three years of gruelling training in the Colorado Rockies and forged 10th Mountain Division which finally faced combat in the winter of 1945 in Italy’s Apennine Mountains, against the seemingly unbreakable German fortifications north of the Gothic Line. There, they planned and executed one of the most daring nighttime mountain attacks in U.S. military history, smashing a linchpin of the German army’s lines.
Argent’s Jill Ahrens, Ryan Ahrens and Ben Renzo, and Mandalay’s Jason Michael Berman will produce the film with Holderman and Erin Simms of their banner Apartment Story. Executive producers are Argent partners Drew Brees, Tony Parker, Michael Finley, and Derrick Brooks with co-executive producers Eric Bromberg and Stephen Michael.
Argent’s Ryan Ahrens said, “Very few details about the U.S. Army’s elite 10th Mountain Division have been introduced to the generations that followed WWII. This story is long overdue, so we’re happy to be entrusted with the source material to tell a cinematic story depicting the courage, sacrifice and heroism of this group of men.”
Mandalay’s Jason Michael Berman added, “I have had a very strong desire and passion to help tell the story of the heroes that made up the 10th Mountain Division ever since I first learned about them and their bravery while a teenager who often visited Colorado with my family growing up. Bill Holderman and I have been talking about this incredible true story since the first day we met at the Sundance Intsitute Labs back in 2014. It is so exciting to collaborate with my close friends and partners at Argent, Jill, Ryan and Ben, to bring this project to life with Bill and Erin.”
Holderman, well known for hit 2018 comedy Book Club, which took more than $100M, and Bill Bryson story A Walk In The Woods, commented, “This is one of the great untold stories in American history and I’m thrilled to be partnering with Jason, Jill, Ryan, Ben and of course, my partner in crime, Erin, to bring this harrowing and triumphant tale to the masses.”
He quipped, “Following on the heels of Book Club, I feel like I’m pigeon-holing myself but those are worries for another day…”
American Made and Hacksaw Ridge backer Argent recently finished shooting Good Joe Bell with Mark Wahlberg and Connie Britton. Recent Mandalay films include Edson Oda’s Sundance hit Nine Days, which was picked up by Sony Classics, and upcoming Netflix original The Last Days Of American Crime with Edgar Ramirez.
The project marks the fourth collaboration between Argent and Mandalay Pictures in the last year following Netflix’s Uncorked, Fox Sports boxing story They Fight and upcoming horror-comedy Bride And Doom.
Holderman is represented by Wme and Paul Hastings.
- 4/14/2020
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
I don't know much about the origin of Nike or its founder Phil Knight, but Netflix has optioned the rights to Knight's bestselling memoir Shoe Dog, and they plan to make a movie based on his life.
Knight is set to produce the film alongside legendary producer Frank Marshall and they've hired Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski to write the screenplay.
Shoe Dog traces Nike’s evolution from intrepid startup to iconic global brand, and Knight’s entrepreneurial journey, as a business school graduate who borrowed $50 from his father to launch a company that would import low-cost shoes from Japan, which he sold from the trunk of his lime green Plymouth Valiant.
Sounds like it's going to be an interesting story! When talking about the Knight's story, Marshall says:
"It’s an amazing tale about what the path to success really looks like, with its mistakes, struggles, sacrifice and even luck.
Knight is set to produce the film alongside legendary producer Frank Marshall and they've hired Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski to write the screenplay.
Shoe Dog traces Nike’s evolution from intrepid startup to iconic global brand, and Knight’s entrepreneurial journey, as a business school graduate who borrowed $50 from his father to launch a company that would import low-cost shoes from Japan, which he sold from the trunk of his lime green Plymouth Valiant.
Sounds like it's going to be an interesting story! When talking about the Knight's story, Marshall says:
"It’s an amazing tale about what the path to success really looks like, with its mistakes, struggles, sacrifice and even luck.
- 7/30/2018
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
Netflix has optioned film rights to Nike founder Phil Knight’s bestselling memoir Shoe Dog, which he will produce alongside Oscar-nominated producer Frank Marshall. The Golden Globe- and Emmy-winning team of Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski will write the screenplay.
Shoe Dog traces Nike’s evolution from intrepid startup to iconic global brand, and Knight’s entrepreneurial journey, as a business school graduate who borrowed $50 from his father to launch a company that would import low-cost shoes from Japan, which he sold from the trunk of his lime green Plymouth Valiant.
“It’s an amazing tale about what the path to success really looks like, with its mistakes, struggles, sacrifice and even luck,” said Marshall of the project. “It’s about how a company can grow with the right people, dedication, a belief in the power of sport and...
Shoe Dog traces Nike’s evolution from intrepid startup to iconic global brand, and Knight’s entrepreneurial journey, as a business school graduate who borrowed $50 from his father to launch a company that would import low-cost shoes from Japan, which he sold from the trunk of his lime green Plymouth Valiant.
“It’s an amazing tale about what the path to success really looks like, with its mistakes, struggles, sacrifice and even luck,” said Marshall of the project. “It’s about how a company can grow with the right people, dedication, a belief in the power of sport and...
- 7/26/2018
- by Dawn C. Chmielewski
- Deadline Film + TV
R. Lee Ermey, the gunnery sergeant turned actor who portrayed the scene-stealing drill instructor in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, died Sunday at the age of 74.
Ermey's longtime manager Bill Rogin confirmed Ermey's death on the actor's Facebook account. "It is with deep sadness that I regret to inform you all that R. Lee Ermey ("The Gunny") passed away this morning from complications of pneumonia. He will be greatly missed by all of us," Rogin wrote.
"It is a terrible loss that nobody was prepared for," Rogin added. "He...
Ermey's longtime manager Bill Rogin confirmed Ermey's death on the actor's Facebook account. "It is with deep sadness that I regret to inform you all that R. Lee Ermey ("The Gunny") passed away this morning from complications of pneumonia. He will be greatly missed by all of us," Rogin wrote.
"It is a terrible loss that nobody was prepared for," Rogin added. "He...
- 4/16/2018
- Rollingstone.com
R. Lee Ermey, who made an acting career out of his ability to bring stern military careerists to life, has died at age 74. His death was announced on Twitter by his manager, Bill Rogin.
Ermey was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor his role as Gunnery Sgt. Hartman in Full Metal Jacket, but that was only one of his many military roles. Owning to his background as a former Marine Corps. staff sergeant and drill instructor, Ermey was able to project authority and resolute leadership in a number of roles.
Among his many film roles was Mayor Tilman in Mississippi Burning; Bill Bowerman in Prefontaine; Sheriff Hoyt in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, plastic army leader Sarge in the Toy Story films, and Lt. “Tice” Ryan in Rocket Power.
He also hosted the History Channel programs Mail Call, answering questions about military issues; and Lock N’ Load with R.
Ermey was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor his role as Gunnery Sgt. Hartman in Full Metal Jacket, but that was only one of his many military roles. Owning to his background as a former Marine Corps. staff sergeant and drill instructor, Ermey was able to project authority and resolute leadership in a number of roles.
Among his many film roles was Mayor Tilman in Mississippi Burning; Bill Bowerman in Prefontaine; Sheriff Hoyt in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, plastic army leader Sarge in the Toy Story films, and Lt. “Tice” Ryan in Rocket Power.
He also hosted the History Channel programs Mail Call, answering questions about military issues; and Lock N’ Load with R.
- 4/15/2018
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
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