Three-time Pro Bowler Arian Foster of the Houston Texans earned a role in an upcoming movie about the NFL draft on the strength of an audition tape he filmed on his own with a friend. But though Ivan Reitman, the director of Draft Day, was impressed with Foster’s acting ability, the running back will hardly be the most prominent athlete Reitman has worked with in film.



In the summer of 1995, Reitman produced the Warner Bros. film Space Jam, featuring NBA legend Michael Jordan. Jordan was fresh off his NBA comeback and dedicated to returning to the form that had earned him three NBA MVP awards.

“We built a whole gym for him around the Warner Bros. lot because it was the summer that he was coming back to the league,” Reitman said on the set of Draft Day in Cleveland. “So every evening after shooting was done, he’d have this whole very complex workout regimen, after which there was a 90-minute game.

“Whoever was good in town — both at a pro level and at a college level — was invited to be part of the game. And it was the greatest basketball you could ever see. I used to go down every evening after shooting and just watch them play. It was just a pleasure.”

A 2003 BBC interview with former Chicago Bulls guard Steve Kerr corroborates:

While out in LA, (Jordan) basically let it be known that any of the NBA guys who were in town should come and play with him. They had unbelievable games all summer long. That meant that when Michael came to training camp he was in incredible shape and incredibly motivated.

Reitman said that Jordan, whose work ethic was legendary even during his brief stint in minor league baseball, was not one to relax during breaks on set.

“What I remember most is he just didn’t like any downtime,” he said. “He was keeping himself busy all the time. He’d be shooting, he’d be playing ping-pong in between stuff.

“He was great. He was a lot of fun.”