In a surprising revelation from Hollywood's past, acclaimed director Steven Spielberg once refused to collaborate with actor Ben Affleck on a movie project, citing a personal incident where Affleck made his young son cry.
The Project That Never Was
Screenwriter Mike Binder has detailed the events that led to the collapse of a planned film project in the mid-2000s. Binder wrote the script for the 2006 comedy Man About Town under the firm belief that Spielberg would direct it for DreamWorks. However, the deal fell apart when Spielberg discovered Ben Affleck was attached to star.
Appearing on Stephen Baldwin's One Bad Movie podcast, Binder recalled the moment Spielberg backed out. "We make a deal that he's gonna do it, we shake hands, he'll do it," Binder said. "I call Steven, Steven says, 'No. Can't do it with him. We just bombed with a movie with him, he's got that whole J-Lo thing going on now, and I have other problems with him.'"
The Personal Gripe That Sealed the Deal
The core of Spielberg's objection, according to Binder, stemmed from a family holiday incident years earlier. Spielberg reportedly accused Affleck of fighting with his son during a vacation at a time when Affleck was dating Gwyneth Paltrow, who is Stephen Baldwin's goddaughter.
Binder relayed Spielberg's account of the event: "My son was a little boy, he was playing in the pool, and he got out of the pool, and Ben came in fully dressed, and my son pushed Ben into the pool. And Ben got really mad at him, and he came out of the pool and picked him up and threw him back into the pool, and made my son cry."
This personal grievance, combined with professional concerns over Affleck's box office performance at the time, led Spielberg to issue an ultimatum. "I just don't like to work with him. Plus his last two movies bombed. Find somebody else. Anyone but him. He's cold as hell," Spielberg allegedly concluded.
Aftermath and Reflections
Mike Binder noted that Affleck immediately understood why he had been removed from the project, though Binder himself was still keen to involve him. The fallout was significant; DreamWorks ultimately dropped Man About Town entirely. The film was later released by Lionsgate in 2006, without Spielberg's involvement.
Binder watched years later as Ben Affleck won the Best Picture Oscar for Argo at the 2013 Academy Awards, a stark contrast to the actor's career prospects during the Man About Town debacle.
Reflecting on the clash between the two Hollywood heavyweights, Binder offered a balanced, if candid, assessment. "I love both these guys, and they're both smarter than me, but they both kinda acted like idiots, and so did I," he said. "They were great guys, but at the same time, a**holes. They were like everybody else. Steven Spielberg is a genius and a great guy, but he can be an a**hole. And Ben Affleck is a great guy, and he can be a bigger a**hole."
Binder finished by suggesting both men would likely acknowledge their own faults in the situation.
