Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s Nike Film ‘Air’ to Make Surprise Debut at SXSW (EXCLUSIVE)

Air, whether because of (it's her husband Ben Affleck's film), that Viola Davis play his mom in the movie, or from the countless promos on TV, social media, and just about everywhere. And I'll be honest, when I first heard about the story—about the game-changing partnership between a then rookie Michael Jordan and Nike’s fledgling basketball division—I wasn't like, get me to the theater now.I love a good sports movie (The Natural, Field of Dreams, and Rocky among them), but growing up without a local NBA team or an obsession with Nike meant I wasn't totally sold. Still, I was interested enough that I made the trek to Amazon Studios for the press screening.

Yes, we are making a meal out of Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s recent appearance on Bill Simmons’s The Ringer podcast recently to promote Affleck’s new directorial effort “Air” which co-stars Damon (read our review), about Nike and its relationship with Michael Jordan and we fully admit it. Look, it’s just chalked full of good stories, and look; sometimes this is (infinitely) more interesting than the regular news grist mill.

Ben Affleck steals the show at the “Air” red carpet.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor It’s been more than 25 years since Ben Affleck became the youngest Oscar winner for best original screenplay for “Good Will Hunting,” which he co-wrote and starred in with Matt Damon. Isn’t it time for a sequel? Not so much. Damon laughed when revealing that Affleck was recently approached for a follow-up movie. “Someone just tried to pitch Ben ‘Good Will Hunting 2,’” Damon told me Monday at the premiere of “Air” in Los Angeles. “I shit you not — that happened. He told me today. He was like, ‘You’re not going to believe what I heard.’ This was a flat-out sequel. I don’t get it.”

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck looked more loved-up than ever as they walked the red carpet at the “Air” premiere in Los Angeles on Monday night.

Matt Damon and his wife, Luciana Barroso, looked great on Monday at the premiere of his film,  at Regency Village Theatre in West Hollywood — but it was their daughters who stole the show.The 52-year-old actor and his wife of 17 years were joined by their three daughters, Isabella, 16, Gia, 14, and Stella, 12, who posed next to their parents on the red carpet. Damon recently co-founded a production company called Artists Equity with Ben Affleck, who also attended the premiere with his wife, Jennifer Lopez.Air, directed by Affleck, tells the story of the sneaker brand, Nike, and Air Jordan's rise to fame.The new film features an all-star cast, including Chris Tucker, Jason Bateman, and EGOT winner Viola Davis.Also at the premiere, Damon, Affleck, and Davis, all Oscar winners, posed together.The shoes — produced by American corporation Nike, Inc — were created for Hall of Fame former basketball player Michael Jordan during his time with the Chicago Bulls in 1984 and were released on April 1,1985.Although not directly involved with the film, Jordan met with Affleck prior to the start of production and gave the project his blessing. The casting of Davis was his idea.Damon plays sports executive Sonny Vaccaro, who is in charge of improving Nike's sales in their basketball division and works to sign rookie Jordan to a deal to wear their shoes.During the premiere, Damon jokingly spoke with ET's Kevin Frazier about his longstanding bitter rivalry with late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, who was also at the event.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez packed on the PDA at the red carpet premiere of his new film, Air, on Monday night. Ben and Jennifer, who rekindled their early 2000s romance and got married last year, attended the red carpet premiere for Ben's new sports film which he both directed and stars in.The couple were seen posing together, and put on some PDA for the cameras as they were seen holding each other close before kissing. Jennifer wore a long-sleeved Antonia Grimaldi dress which had a sheer white top covered in rhinestones with a neon green maxi skirt that perfectly hugged her around her hips and waist.

Jennifer Lopez is playing the role of supportive wife at the premiere of her husband Ben Affleck‘s new movie AIR!

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon's professional collaborations date back to their childhood friendship. But the A-list stars took their bro status a step further than most.On a recent episode of, Affleck and Damon revealed that they shared a bank account when they were in high school and trying to get their careers off the ground.«It was always like, as long as one of us had money, we knew that the power wasn't going to get shut off. After doing Geronimo, f**k, I probably had $35K in the bank in my checking account.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez are amongst the thousands of fans that tune into “Yellowstone” whenever a new season drops. In an appearance on “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” Affleck revealed that he’s a bit “disturbed” by his wife’s love of the series.

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s friendship and working partnership really does go all the way back to high school. At a Q&A after a New York screening of their latest project, "Air," the duo joked about working together for almost 40 years. Affleck, who directs and stars in the film with Damon, joked, "It's not the first time I've carried him," according to IndieWire.

Matt Damon couldn’t just pick one favourite thing about working with his longtime friend Ben Affleck as a director on their new film “Air”.

Ben Affleck loves directing his longtime friend Matt Damon.

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck enjoy a quick walk between promotional events for their new movie AIR.

Ben Affleck meets up with Matt Damon and Viola Davis for a promo stop at ABC Studios in New York City on Monday (March 20).

Ben Affleck’s new film “Air” is premiering at SXSW. The film has garnered rave reviews and is an important one for Affleck, where not only he stars and directs but marks the first title made by his new production company, Artists Equity. In a new interview, Affleck spoke about his relationship with Michael Jordan and why his approval was so important to make the film.

Jennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck not only gained a wife, but also an actress for his movies!The actor has been promoting his upcoming film Air, which he directed and stars in, produced in collaboration with Matt Damon, who also stars in the biopic about Sonny Vaccaro and Nike co-founder Phil Knight and how Michael Jordan became the face of the brand.The film marks their very first project from their newly founded production company, Artists Equity, and not only are they already working on their second project, but they have also called in "a favor" from none other than J.Lo herself, who her husband says has been "a joy" to work with.WATCH: JLo and Ben Affleck argue at the Grammy's: but what did they say?MORE: Jennifer Lopez covers up in tiny towel in rare post-shower clipThe acting and producing duo confirmed during an appearance on CBS News that the multi-hyphenate will be the star of their next big project. The couple have a lot of projects on their plate as of late, as they recently moved into a new house together.Sharing details of the movie in the works, Ben said: "We're just getting rolling on working again with Amazon, to do the story of a wrestler named Anthony Robles, who was born with one leg and won a National Championship for Arizona State."MORE: Jennifer Lopez's revelation about her twins' different lives and personalities will surprise youHowever, he wasn't so forthcoming at first about confirming his wife was also a part of the project.

Ben Affleck opened up about his conversation with Michael Jordan before working on the biopic AIR.

Ben Affleck is turning to someone close to home for his next big film project. Affleck and producing partner Matt Damon recently opened up about an upcoming biopic the pair are developing and confirmed that Jennifer Lopez is set to star.Affleck and Damon recently sat down for an interview with, while promoting their upcoming film , which tells the story of Nike visionary Sonny Vaccaro and his efforts to make a groundbreaking promotional deal with a young Michael Jordan.The film was the first project from Damon and Affleck's newly formed production company, Artists Equity.

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are opening up about their new movie, Air.