Why Ben Affleck Chose To Make ‘Air’ Instead Of A Batman Movie

Narcity USA

Ben Affleck shares what he loved most about directing “Air,” the Amazon Studios-produced story of Nike’s first shoe deal with Michael Jordan, and why he’d rather do original stories instead of his own Batman movie. Affleck’s “Air” co-star Chris Tucker also opened up to Narcity’s Josh Elliott about playing Howard White, whom he’s friends with in real life.

Transcript

00:00What captivates me when I watch this movie is the performances, the things these people

00:03say to each other and how they feel, what it makes me feel, and I believe it and I know

00:08it's not real.

00:09Hi guys, how are you?

00:10Hey Josh.

00:11How are you?

00:12I'm good.

00:13Ben, listen, I want to start with you.

00:15I feel like in another universe you could be directing Batman movies and cashing checks,

00:19but here you are with this movie, making art with your friends.

00:22What made this movie the right choice, the right thing to fight for for you?

00:25I mean, it's exactly what you describe, it's making something I care about with people

00:29I love and admire and that's such a better life for me because these are the kinds of

00:34movies I care about.

00:35I think Batman's great and the people who do that and direct that movie should love it

00:39and have joy in it and this is what I love and what I'm dedicated to at this time is really

00:46you know, trying to create worth and value for people who are created and value those

00:50people who bring us these technicians and artists and I think also I want to be able

00:56to try to make the kind of movies that I really like.

00:59Stories about people that are original stories that is sometimes like what captivates me when

01:04I watch this movie is the performances, the things these people say to each other and

01:07how they feel and what it makes me feel and I believe it and I know it's not real.

01:12So there's something magical about that.

01:14Movies at their best, you know, I watched, I mean it's a different kind of movie, but I

01:18watched To Leslie recently and I thought like this is a beautiful movie.

01:22It can make me feel something and feel that, you know, life has meaning and it's okay to

01:28have fun watching a movie, it's okay to respect the audience's desire to have fun and you

01:32don't also have to mean that you condescend to the audience and dumb it down.

01:36I wanted it to be smart and engrossing and surprising and funny and provocative and interesting

01:42and ultimately really rewarding and inspiring.

01:44I'm willing to bet my career on Michael Jordan.

01:47Oh, come on, man.

01:49You asked me what I do here.

01:50This is what I do.

01:51Yeah, I find you players and I can feel it this time.

01:54Yeah, okay.

01:55It's risky.

01:56When you were selling sneakers out of the back of your Plymouth, that was risky.

01:59It took balls.

02:00I mean, that's why we're all here.

02:02Don't change that.

02:03Now.

02:04Well, you definitely nail it like it's a, it's a lot of fun and Chris, I gotta ask you,

02:08I know you brought something to the table, not just in terms of performance, but script

02:13and scenes.

02:14What was, what are you most proud of from this movie?

02:17You know what?

02:18Yeah.

02:19That part, you know, just being able to collaborate with Ben and Matt and to bring, bring the level

02:26to this character.

02:27And I knew Howard White and when I found out about the role, it just all made sense to

02:33do it.

02:34You know, these are the type of roles that I wait for, you know, that I have some, a lot

02:37of freedom and work with great, smart director, producers, writers, and, you know, and do a

02:43lot of research and, and Howard, uh, was so gracious.

02:46Uh, my friend, Howard White, he, he, he had me interviewed.

02:50I interviewed all his childhood friends up into Charles Barkley, coaches and, and teachers,

02:56and that he's still in touch with.

02:57That's how, that's, that's how much of a likable person he is.

03:01He's still talking to these people.

03:03A lot of people don't remember their high school teachers.

03:06And I had to, I, I was talking to them, finding out his characters, his, uh, his mom's things,

03:12his mom's used to say to him, like, he got in trouble one time by walking past this old

03:16man in his neighborhood.

03:17And his mom said, even a dog can wag his tail when he walks by somebody.

03:21So don't you ever do that again.

03:23And he was telling me the lessons that his mom's taught him.

03:26So I, I had a lot of, my mom's like that too.

03:28So a lot of similarities.

03:30So it was a lot of fun to tap into somebody who you can, you can pull from, you know,

03:35from yourself.

03:36Totally.

03:37It was a lot of fun to watch.

03:38Thanks so much, gentlemen.

03:39And have a good one.

03:40Thank you, man.

03:41You too.

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