Space Jam is a 1996 American live-action/animated sports comedy film directed by Joe Pytka and written by Leo Benvenuti, Steve Rudnick, Timothy Harris, and Herschel Weingrod. The film stars basketball player Michael Jordan as a fictional version of himself; the live-action cast also includes Wayne Knight and Theresa Randle, as well as cameos by Bill Murray and several NBA players, while Billy West, Dee Bradley Baker, Kath Soucie and Danny DeVito headline the voice cast. The film follows Jordan as he is brought out of retirement by the Looney Tunes characters to help them win a basketball match against invading aliens intent on enslaving them as amusement park attractions.
Theatrical release poster
Space Jam producer Ivan Reitman in 2011. A conversation between him and a Nike executive sparked the idea of a film starring Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny.
Image: Michael Jordan in 2014
Image: Billy West by Gage Skidmore 3
Michael Jeffrey Jordan, also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. He played fifteen seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) between 1984 and 2003, winning six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls. He was integral in popularizing basketball and the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s, becoming a global cultural icon. His profile on the NBA website states, "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time."
Jordan in April 2014
Jordan in training with the Scottsdale Scorpions in 1994
Jordan going in for a slam dunk for the Laney High School varsity basketball team, c. 1979–80
Jordan in action for North Carolina in 1983