Sponsors
-
Jennifer “garners” praise for Broadway debut
Jennifer Garner won raves reviews for her Broadway debut in Cyrano de Bergerac Thursday night. “I’m ready for a glass of wine!” she said while making her way to the opening night party. “I’m just happy that I stayed on my feet and said everything that I was supposed to say.” The Big Ben of Broadway – New York Times critic Ben Brantley – called the production “surprisingly potent,” star Kevin Kline “artfully low-key” and Garner “captivating” in her demanding role as the love interest Roxane. “Ms. Garner, I am pleased to report, makes Roxane a girl worth pining over,” he wrote in his review published this morning. Despite the glowing review, Garner vowed she would not be reading the play’s notices. “I’m not going to look at [them],” she said. “No. I can’t stand it.” Garner’s husband Ben Affleck was on hand for support. “She did fine! It was terrific, and I had a lot of fun,” he said. “I’m really impressed by her courage and her talent.” Having now seen her in the role a few times, Affleck added that Garner “keeps impressing me, and I keep on loving it.”
Ben admits JLo killed his career
Ben Affleck has come a long way in the nearly 10 years since he and Matt Damon won an Academy Award. He’s had more flops than blockbusters, a high-profile romance with Jennifer Lopez, and a daughter, Violet, with his wife Jennifer Garner. Now Affleck is staking his career on his new film Gone Baby Gone, a career he now admits was sidelined by bad script choices and his relationship with Lopez. In November’s Details, the 35-year-old actor discusses his directorial debut, leaving Los Angeles, and how his life has evolved since Good Will Hunting. Some highlights:
On dating JLo: “It was probably bad for my career. What happens is this sort-of bleed-over from the tabloids across your movie work. You go to a movie, you go only once. But the tabloids and Internet are everywhere. You can really subsume the public image of somebody. I ended up in an unfortunate crosshair position where I was in a relationship and [the media] mostly lied and inflated a bunch of salacious stuff for the sake of selling magazines. And I paid a certain price for that. Then, in concert with some movies that didn’t work…”
On Gone Baby Gone: “I feel like [the film] is the linchpin for my life. My career. I have a lot riding on it. I want [the film] to work. Badly. I mean, a shitty movie comes out on 2,800 screens? I’ve been there and it’s embarrassing.”
On his directorial debut: “Listen, I’ve gone out and directed a movie and made it really f**king good. If the movie’s good, people will like it and go see it. All the rest of it is bullshit.”
On what’s at stake: “It’s pretty simple. If people don’t go see it, I’m f**ked.”
On living in LA: “I’d be surprised if I’m still living here in a couple of years. Professionally it would be difficult. But that’s not as important as that other thing.”
Affleck flick similar to real-life case in U.K.
Ben Affleck‘s new movie Gone Baby Gone may be pulled from British screens following the case of missing British tot Madeleine McCann. The actor’s directorial debut is due for release in November, but now may not be released in U.K. cinemas following the disappearance of McCann. Affleck admits the film bears striking similarities to the case and is preparing to take the appropriate steps to prevent the film from being shown to U.K. audiences. He says, “We are acutely aware of the situation. We have a greater concern for that than the release of our film, which is just a commercial matter, whereas this is a matter of life or death. I’m not up to date on the details and it is not something that has taken off in the United States like it has in the U.K. It is only when someone said there was this case that was very similar to my film we looked it up. We don’t want to release the movie if it is going to touch a nerve or inflame anybody’s sensitivities.” Four-year-old Madeleine went missing during a family holiday in Portugal on May 3.
source
Ben Affleck’s global awarenss flick
Ben Affleck stars in the first in a series of five-minute YouTube global awareness films called Clean My Ride, Flex My Fuel. The short flicks chronicle the adventures of a shaggy alternative fuel activist who enlists a few celebs in his campaign for flex fuel. Also lined up to take part in the project are Jennifer Garner, Matt Damon, Jason Biggs, Sarah Silverman and Joshua Jackson.
Ben to do Red Sox DVD for kids
Red Sox fan Ben Affleck has signed on to narrate a children’s DVD about his favorite team. Red Sox Baby: Raising Tomorrow’s Boston Red Sox Fan Today will be an educational film for infants and pre-school children and will help teach counting, spelling, shape and color recognition as well as safety and teamwork. The film is expected to be released on DVD in mid-April.
Hollywood madam exposes Ben Affleck, Bruce Willis
Heidi Fleiss: the next generation is nabbing headlines in Hollywood. Several big-screen stars have been named on the client list of Hollywood madam Jody “Babydol” Gibson. In her autobiography, Gibson exposes alleged clients Ben Affleck, Bruce Willis and Gary Busey. “This book is about my life servicing the rich and famous and their sex, sex, sex!” reads the book’s promo material. “From Ben Affleck’s steamy night with a hot blonde to Bruce Willis’s wild time with the champagne flowed.” Affleck has not commented on the book, but Bruce Willis issued a denial through his lawyers, saying, “This story is a complete fabrication.”
source
Smokin’ makes Ben quit smoking
Ben Affleck credits shooting his latest film with helping him quit smoking. The new dad recently sat down with People mag and answered a few questions:
Are you enjoying awards show season? “The tilt-a-whirl is nice every now and then… But, like anything, you can overdo it.”
On his Golden Globe nom: “I was very happy. My wife was up early with our child and [woke me up] to tell me I’d been nominated – and to get me to change the baby.”
On playing a chain-smoking bail bondsman in Smokin’ Aces: “The whole week that I shot, I smoked, like, five packs a day. By the time the movie was over, I was so sick of smoking, I just didn’t want to do it anymore, and I quit. I have this celluloid record of the last time I smoked.”
How was directing your brother Casey in Gone, Baby, Gone? “A pleasure. It was like directing anybody else, except I could fantasize that if it came down to it I could throttle him.”
Saved by the bell
Jennifer Garner was cut from the Golden Globes last week – but she wasn’t complaining. The Catch and Release star seems to have cultivated a habit of slipping when it comes to all things important. “I was supposed to present the clip for Little Children, which is a beautiful movie and I was really excited to present the clip, except I slipped the last time I presented at the Oscars and almost fell on my tookus,” Garner explained. “I never get nervous doing stuff like that, but that kind of shook me a little bit… Then I was a bridesmaid this summer at my friend’s wedding and I slipped going down the aisle in a big way. Then it started to be a psychosomatic thing… I was sure that I was going to slip, I was backstage, sweating, going over what I was supposed to say and I had taped my shoes onto my feet… They [the producers] came running back and said, ‘We’ve run out of time! We’re running late, can we cut you? We’re so sorry! Are you upset?’ I was like, ‘That’s great! That’s fine! Sorry Little Children, but I’m thrilled to not have to walk out there!’”
Sponsors
-