Michael Jordan 'to the MAX' in new IMAX film

Michael Jordan and his wife arrive at the red carpet premiere of "Michael Jordan to the MAX"

May 5, 2000
Web posted at: 3:08 p.m. EST (1908 GMT)

In this story: A 'different angle' to Jordan's life Big guy, big business RELATED STORIES, SITES

CHICAGO (CNN) -- Few sports legends stand taller than Michael Jordan. But the former Chicago Bulls basketball superstar has never been quite this big before.

Coming to theater screens nationwide this weekend is an 80-foot-tall version of Jordan in the IMAX film "Michael Jordan to the MAX."

Perhaps an IMAX Jordan isn't so surprising, because No. 23's exploits have always seemed larger than life. Maybe what is surprising is the fact that no one thought of bringing the star to IMAX before Chicago Bulls fan Don Kempf did.

He got the idea a little over three years ago while sitting in the back row of an IMAX theater at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, watching a film about Niagara Falls.

"All of a sudden, I had this vision of Michael Jordan on screen, eight stories high, his tongue hanging out, coming right at me," he said. "That was the beginning."

He'd never made an IMAX movie before. But with the help of his brother Steve, filmmaker Jim Stern (a part-owner of the Bulls) and heavy participation from NBA Entertainment, his vision has been transformed into a 45-minute IMAX movie that cost just $7.2 million to make.

Co-producer Don Kempf

A 'different angle' to Jordan's life

The film is an unabashed celebration of Jordan's life up to and through his last title run as a member of the 1998 NBA Champion Chicago Bulls. It includes not only new footage shot in his native North Carolina, Kempf told audience members at a CNN.com chat Friday, but also footage from some of his legendary games.

The film is more than a sports documentary, Kempf said. "It tells why (Jordan) really reached the level that he reached, and what was within his background and individual attributes."

The film gives fans a different perspective, said sportscaster Bob Costas. "You see (his career) at a different angle, and with a depth television can't provide, and most film can't provide," he said. "It's overwhelming."

The movie's special effects include a scene in which Jordan appears to hang in midair while en route to the basket -- a "green screen" sequence that required 100 still cameras to click in perfect synchronization.

"I was very impressed," said Jordan, who'd never been in an IMAX theater before until he saw himself featured in one. "Technology is really amazing. I was just happy to be a part of it."

Big guy, big business

The movie's producers believe this film could gross $100 million nationwide, a staggering sum by IMAX standards. By comparison, "Fantasia/2000," released in December 1999, has so far earned $45 million in the United States. The wildly popular "Everest," released in 1998, has earned $75 million.

They also think it could singlehandedly create a popularity boom for IMAX, which traditionally has been the stuff of outdoor documentaries -- "Everest," "The Serengeti" and "Grand Canyon," to name a few.

The film is scheduled to open at 50 IMAX theaters in the U.S. and Canada, including the Smithsonian Institution's dome. In showing the movie, the institute is departing longstanding tradition of showing only space- and science-related films in its theater.

Rich Gelfond, an IMAX co-chairman, said the company is closely watching the success of the Jordan movie. IMAX might even be able to show live sports events someday, he said.

Two of the format's biggest stars this year have been Mickey Mouse and Michael Jordan, he noted. Disney's "Fantasia/2000" became the first feature-length film to be shot in the IMAX format earlier this year.

"Ten years ago," he quipped, "the stars of IMAX movies were beavers."

The Kempfs have other IMAX projects in the works, including films about Wayne Gretzky and World Cup soccer.

Correspondent Rick Lockridge contributed to this report.

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Official 'Michael Jordan to the MAX' site
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