Mars Blackmon

Mars Blackmon is a fictional character in the film She's Gotta Have It (1986), played by its writer/director, Spike Lee. In the film, he is a "Brooklyn-loving" fan of the New York Knicks, sports and Air Jordans (the basketball shoes worn by Michael Jordan). This led to late 1980s and early 1990s appearances in Nike Air Jordan commercials alongside Jordan and Mars becoming well known for his use of the phrase, "It's gotta be da shoes." As of January 2011, Nike has resumed using the character for its Air Jordan "Spiz'ike" line of shoes.

In the April 30, 2010 episode of the genealogy television show Who Do You Think You Are? that focused on Spike Lee's search for his mother's ancestors, Spike said that he had called his grandmother to ask for a name for the character. His grandmother gave him the name "Mars". In the episode, Spike's research finds that Mars was the name of his great-great-grandfather (his grandmother's grandfather). In March 2015 a Capital One Quicksilver credit card commercial features Samuel L Jackson, Charles Barkley and Spike Lee. In the fictional hotel check in, Spike Lee uses the pseudonym "Mars Blackmon" to register his room.

Air Jordan

Air Jordan is a brand of shoes and athletic clothing designed, owned, and produced for Michael Jordan by Nike's Jordan Brand subsidiary. The shoe concept was made by Michael Jordan before the drawing. Nike then got Peter Moore and Bruce Kilgore to draw the Shoe. The shoes, informally referred to in the plural as Jordans, were first produced for Michael Jordan in 1984 and released for public consumption in 1985.

Product history

Since its introduction into the sports shoe market by Devon Mabry, the Air Jordan evolved from the original basketball shoes to models for different uses, including I-XXIII. Air Jordan currently sponsors 21 active NBA players, including Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Ray Allen, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, and Carmelo Anthony. They also endorse Nike Air Jordan products. Also they sponsor other leagues such as the MLB, NFL, NASCAR and the WNBA.

The Air Jordan 1 was first produced for Michael Jordan in 1984, it was designed by Peter C. Moore, in a red and black colorway to match the uniform of the Chicago Bulls, the team for which Michael Jordan played. This red and black color-way was later outlawed by NBA Commissioner David Stern for having very little white on them. Michael Jordan would wear the shoes anyway, and each time he stepped on the court with the Air Jordan 1 he would be fined five thousand dollars. Nike used this as a promotional tool in advertisements hinting that the shoes gave an unfair competitive advantage and that whoever wore them had a certain edginess associated with outlaw activities. Nike would later create a colorway with red, white, and black which would be worn by Jordan for most of the 1985 and 1986 season.

Michael Jordan

Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials, MJ, is an American former professional basketball player. He is also a businessman, and principal owner and chairman of the Charlotte Hornets. Jordan played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards. His biography on the NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time." Jordan was one of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation and was considered instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s.

After a three-season stint playing for coach Dean Smith at the University of North Carolina, where he was a member of the Tar Heels' national championship team in 1982, Jordan joined the NBA's Chicago Bulls in 1984. He quickly emerged as a league star, entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring. His leaping ability, illustrated by performing slam dunks from the free throw line in slam dunk contests, earned him the nicknames "Air Jordan" and "His Airness". He also gained a reputation for being one of the best defensive players in basketball. In 1991, he won his first NBA championship with the Bulls, and followed that achievement with titles in 1992 and 1993, securing a "three-peat". Although Jordan abruptly retired from basketball before the beginning of the 1993–94 NBA season to pursue a career in baseball, he returned to the Bulls in March 1995 and led them to three additional championships in 1996, 1997, and 1998, as well as an NBA-record 72 regular-season wins in the 1995–96 NBA season. Jordan retired for a second time in January 1999, but returned for two more NBA seasons from 2001 to 2003 as a member of the Wizards.

Spike Lee

Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983.

He made his directorial debut with She's Gotta Have It (1983), and has since directed such films as Do the Right Thing (1989), Malcolm X (1992), The Original Kings of Comedy (2000), 25th Hour (2002), Inside Man (2006), and most recently Chi-Raq (2015). Lee has acted in ten of his own films.

Lee's movies have examined race relations, colorism in the black community, the role of media in contemporary life, urban crime and poverty, and other political issues. Lee has received two Academy Award nominations, a Student Academy Award and an Academy Honorary Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and won numerous other awards, including an Emmy Award and the 2013 Gish Prize.

Early life

Lee was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Jacqueline Carroll (née Shelton), a teacher of arts and black literature, and William James Edward Lee III, a jazz musician and composer. Lee also had three younger siblings Joie, David, and Cinqué, who all worked in many different positions in Lee's films. Director Malcolm D. Lee is his cousin. When he was a child, the family moved to Brooklyn, New York. During his childhood, his mother nicknamed him "Spike". In Brooklyn, he attended John Dewey High School.

Mars

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second smallest planet in the Solar System, after Mercury. Named after the Roman god of war, it is often referred to as the "Red Planet" because the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere, having surface features reminiscent both of the impact craters of the Moon and the valleys, deserts, and polar ice caps of Earth.

The rotational period and seasonal cycles of Mars are likewise similar to those of Earth, as is the tilt that produces the seasons. Mars is the site of Olympus Mons, the largest volcano and second-highest known mountain in the Solar System, and of Valles Marineris, one of the largest canyons in the Solar System. The smooth Borealis basin in the northern hemisphere covers 40% of the planet and may be a giant impact feature. Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, which are small and irregularly shaped. These may be captured asteroids, similar to 5261 Eureka, a Mars trojan.