Michael Jordan's biggest demand for new 'Air' movie was that Viola Davis be cast as his mom because of how important she was

• Ben Affleck revealed that Michael Jordan's biggest demand for "Air" was Viola Davis.
• Jordan asked for Davis to play his mother, Deloris, because of how important his mom was to the story.

Michael Jordan had one big demand for the new movie about his rise to stardom with Nike: Viola Davis.

And Ben Affleck quickly agreed.

"Air," a movie about Nike's recruitment of Jordan and the start of the Air Jordan shoe and lifestyle line, premiered at SXSW in Austin over the weekend.

Before the screening, Affleck, who directed and stars in the film, talked about approaching Jordan to make the movie and what his demands were. MJ also talked about how important his mom was to his career with a look on his face Affleck had never seen before on Jordan.

"Michael Jordan, for those of you who don't know, is the most intimidating and impressive person you will ever see in real life," Affleck said as he introduced the cast. "[After speaking about his dad], he talked about his mom. A look came over his face ... it was a look of reverence and awe and love and gratitude and innocence. He said, 'None of this would have ever happened without my mother doing everything.'"

Affleck then asked who Jordan wanted to play his mom in the film.

"He said, 'Well, it has to be Viola Davis,'" Affleck recalled. "I said, 'That's like saying can I play basketball on your court, and you say, yeah, if you get Michael Jordan.' Viola Davis is the best actor I have ever seen."

Affleck went on to note that he had long believed that a sign he had made it in Hollywood as a director would be if he could ever land Davis to be in one of his films. He then introduced Davis by calling the movie's premier "the best night" of his life.

In addition to Davis and Affleck, "Air" has an All-Star cast that includes Matt Damon, Jason Bateman, Chris Tucker, Marlon Wayans, and others.

The movie will be released on April 5.

You can see Affleck's comments on Davis and Jordan at the 4:40 mark of this video.