CHICAGO _ In the opening scenes, Michael Jordan has the microphone. He's standing near midcourt at the United Center with the lights down and an overhead spotlight engulfing him and only him. Naturally.
It's Nov. 1, 1997, the night of the Bulls home opener and the pregame ring and banner ceremony to further celebrate the organization's fifth championship in seven years.
Jordan is addressing a sold-out crowd that he has already captivated, entertained and spoiled for most of the previous 13 years.
Their journey together, though, is not over.
"To all the fans in the city of Chicago," Jordan says, "if you guys remember in 1984 when they drafted Michael Jordan, I said then when I got here that we'd be champions by the time I leave. Well, we're a five-time champion going for six. And we'll need your support."
That's your cue. Buckle in.
"The Last Dance," a 10-episode documentary that will premier Sunday night on ESPN, should be a thrill ride for Chicagoans eager to take a time machine back to the 1990s to relive the exhilaration of the greatest run of success in the city's rich sports history. The film zeroes in on the last of the Bulls' six championship seasons, the 1997-98 campaign with carefully chosen flashbacks and subplots explored throughout the '80s and '90s to give the story its needed depth and context.
Everyone knows how the story ends _ with Jordan and the Bulls digging deep to win that sixth championship. But it's everything along the way _ the tension and the laughter, the unity and the fatigue _ that steers the story in such a compelling manner.
This week the documentary's director, Jason Hehir, took time out to visit with the Chicago Tribune's Dan Wiederer for a deeper discussion about his approach to the film, the overall wiring of Jordan and the Bulls and the most enthralling things he learned throughout the process of completing "The Last Dance."
(Some questions and answers are edited for clarity and space.)
