EXCLUSIVE: Jason Bateman & Chris Messina Talk Their New Film, ‘AIR’
Jason Bateman and Chris Messina are just two of the stars appearing in Ben Affleck’s new film, AIR. Focused on the creation of the iconic Air Jordan shoe line, we got the chance to hear from both stars about their new film.
During the chat, the two talked about what attracted them to the film and premiering the film at SXSW in Austin this past March. Check out what they had to say below.
What attracted you to joining this film?
Bateman: “Well, to be honest, the draw was really Ben [Affleck]. It was Matt [Damon], the subject matter. It was a big, big deal for people my age, 15, 16 when Jordan came into the league and the shoes and everything like that. And I’m a big sports fan. That was a big draw, but it’s really the people that you work with is a big draw for us because it’s 12 hours a day. You spend more time on the set than you do at home. So that was a big, big pull for me and I loved it.”
What about you Chris? What attracted you to the film?
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. It’s always an amazing experience. It’s always surrounded by great artists in front of the camera and behind the camera. When I read it [the part] and I loved it. I was like, ‘Oh shit, these are a lot of phone calls.’ But Ben did something that I’ve never done in my career, and I’ve done a lot of phone calls.”
Can you talk a little bit more about the phone call scenes with Damon?
Messina: “Usually you call the other actor the phone disconnects or a script supervisor does it with you. But Matt and I were 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. I keep saying this, the hardest part of doing this job is going on to the next one, leaving these guys behind because the way he puts together a team of people is phenomenal and you get very spoiled.”
You both traveled to Austin for the film’s SXSW premiere. What was that like?
Messina: “It was amazing. It was like a rock concert. I’d never experienced anything like it and I don’t know if I ever will again. It was really, really fun and it seemed very genuine and I don’t know. I had seen the movie twice before with just a few people. So this is a film that I’m so happy is going to be in the movie theater and groups of people can come watch it because it’s a film that’s inspiring and really funny and really moving and to kind of feel that with an audience was tremendous.”
Bateman: “I had a blast. You’re getting the results of me growing up in a household where I was taught to deflect everything. I’ll always err on the side of whatever that is. But yeah, like Chris, I saw it just me and my wife before and it was incredible to see it with an audience. And what really stands out when you see it with an audience, this sort of the shared experience is that underdog sense. It’s a combination. The underdog sense and the shared experience we all had with Michael Jordan at that time. We were all separated. We all kind of experienced that Michael Jordan, then to come together in the same room and figure out and learn what was behind all that story, what became this legend and the whole Air Jordan shoe stuff. So that was a real eyeopener for me and like Chris, I’m really glad it’s in the theaters.”
AIR will be released globally in theaters today, April 5.
*This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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