Yeah, Ben Affleck is getting back into directing according to Variety this morning.
It’s a Miramax, “fact-based” drama called, “Arizona” that might be used as a starring and directing vehicle for the 36-year-old star. The story is about an investigative reporter killed in a 1976 car bomb explosion as he was investigating the infiltration of organized crime into state government.
OK, great, but even juicier and something everyone seemed to miss was the Anne Thompson story about Affleck and Russell Crowe mixing like oil and vinegar on the set of “State Of Play,” a political thriller set to come out in April 2009.
Brad Pitt was supposed to star, but wanted re-writes right before the writers strike last year. Instead of acquiescing, the director Kevin Macdonald (“The Last King of Scotland”) replaced Pitt with Crowe, and his departure delayed the project and so Ed Norton also left and the role was recast with Affleck. Apparently there wasn’t a lot of chemistry between the two new actors to say the least.
“Word is, the on-set chemistry was not ideal. While Crowe is never easy, he and Affleck were supposed to be playing best friends, and they couldn’t stand each other. Poor Macdonald had his hands full. It remains to be seen whether their on-set chill will negatively impact their performances,” Thompson wrote.
“State Of Play” is about a a team of investigative reporters that work alongside a police detective to try to solve the murder of a congressman’s mistress. Crowe plays the journo and Affleck takes on the role of the congressman. The film also stars Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren, Robin Wright Penn, Viola Davis and Jeff Daniels.
Another bad sign about this film? It seems like it was written by committee (it actually went through re-write hell) and the credits include, Matthew Michael Carnahan, Tony Gilroy (“Bourne”), Peter Morgan (“Frost/Nixon”), and Billy Ray (“Shattered Glass”).
The best part of McAdams’ role? She plays a popular blogger turned junior political reporter who finds herself in the midst of the career-making story. The score is being handled by Alex Heffes (“One Day in September,” “Touching the Void,” and “The Last King of Scotland,” all Kevin Macdonald films).
This was supposed to be one of the more interesting dramas of 2009, but now we wish Norton and Pitt were still starring in it.
If it were so bad between Affleck and Crowe, how come there were all those pictures of Ben running around offset wearing logo-emblazoned hats and shirts with Russ’ Sydney rugby team?Why would he do that if he couldn’t stand the man?
Not sure, but I’m willing to bet everything I woen that one of the head writers of Variety has more inside knowledge than your sweater story suggests.
“own,” typing too fast.
There were “rumors” during the filming of 3;10 to Yuma, that co-stars Crowe and Bale didn’t get along. It proved to be pure hogwash… The two became good friends and their families socialized all during the shoot.
Would Ben wear Russell’s team logo hat during filming if they weren’t getting along?
There have been a number of stories being fed to gossipy writers about Crowe not getting along with co-stars and they all seem to say pretty much the same thing, and are always unattributed. Methinks that there’s some disgruntled type who spreads these, because all have proven untrue.
Besides, co-stars don’t need to get along. Some of the most interesting pairings on the screen have been with co-stars who couldn’t stand each other.
It’s called acting.
I thing Jo’s probably right. This kind of stuff comes out in Variety for publicity too.
This is just the usual bullcrap to get publicity before a film opens. Affleck and Crowe probably had nothing to do with it. I bet the distributor leaked it to Variety. I’d side with Jo on this one.
I think the studio releases stuff like this to Variety for publicity. I’ve seen the pictures that the previous person, Jo, mentioned and it sure looked like they hit it off well to me.
I actually worked on the film and it’s true, they barely ever spoke to each other on set. Everyone knew they didn’t mesh at all.