Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are two of the top actors in Hollywood today, appearing in blockbuster movies and scoring Oscar nods for their work. The friends rose to prominence after writing the Oscar-winning movie Good Will Hunting, and they’re preparing to work together again.
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s new Nike project
Affleck and Damon’s new movie will follow the true story of former Nike executive Sonny Vaccarro. The project is set to be released through Amazon Studios.
Both actors will star in the still-untitled movie, as well as write the script and produce the project. Affleck is set to be the director.
The details of the project are still being finalized, but we do know a little bit about the plot of the film. The story will follow Nike’s efforts to sign rising superstar Michael Jordan to an endorsement deal.
At the time, it seemed like a longshot, but Vaccarro made it happen, leading to one of the most famous athlete endorsement deals of all time. Before the partnership with Jordan, Nike was not the top athletic company it is today, but Vaccarro was relentless in his pursuit of the superstar athlete.
Jordan eventually signed with the company, passing on a lucrative deal with Adidas, which led to the creation of the Air Jordan sneaker. The rest is history!
Damon will play Vaccarro, with Affleck co-starring as Nike co-founder Phil Knight. There have been no more casting announcements, but with Damon and Affleck’s star power attached to the project, it’s fair to assume we’ll see some more big names starring in the movie.
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s work on ‘Good Will Hunting’
If the untitled Nike project is anything like Affleck and Damon’s previous collaboration, it’s sure to score some Oscar nominations. The duo co-wrote Good Will Hunting, but it took a long time for the friends to get a studio to make the movie the way they wanted it to be made.
Damon initially started writing the script as a homework assignment for a playwriting class he was taking while enrolled at Harvard University. He asked Affleck to work on the script with him, and the pair completed it in 1994.
Castle Rock Entertainment bought the script for $675,000, but studio executives did not want Damon and Affleck to star in the movie. Instead, they proposed casting Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio.
The company ended up giving the actors 30 days to find another studio to buy the script from Castle Rock; otherwise, the rights to the script would belong solely to them, with nothing for Affleck or Damon.
The friends could not find another studio to purchase the script until their friend, and fellow actor, Kevin Smith passed the script on to Miramax. The studio bought the Good Will Hunting script and agreed to let Affleck and Damon star in the movie.
‘Good Will Hunting’ was a huge success for Matt Damon and Ben Affleck
Good Will Hunting went on to earn more than $220 million worldwide and was nominated for Oscars in all the main categories, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor. Damon and Affleck took home the trophies for Best Original Screenplay, while co-star Robin Williams won Best Supporting Actor.
Affleck and Damon have a pretty good track record of bringing in box office profits while still appealing to the critics. If Good Will Hunting is any indicator, it’s fair to assume the untitled Nike project will make a huge splash come awards season.
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