Ben Affleck Sheds Insight on Directing Instead of Acting in ‘Gone Baby Gone’

Marc Malkin of E! Online (with additional reporting by Matt Donnelly) has a new report on “Gone Baby Gone” that delves into why Ben Affleck went the way of directing instead of acting and touches on what it was like working with his brother.

Ben Affleck doesn’t want to be like Woody Allen [and he’s not] going for a Barbra Streisand career. Unlike Allen and Streisand (who star in the movies they direct), Affleck decided that wasn’t the way to go for him.

Instead, Affleck’s directing debut (“Gone Baby Gone”) stars his little brother, Casey.

When Affleck first bought the rights to Dennis Lehane’s novel, which concerns two Boston detectives investigating a young girl’s kidnapping, Ben and Casey – along with pal Matt Damon and high school friend Aaron Stockard – collaborated on the first screenplay adaptation.

At the time, Ben assumed he’d star in the film. However, when the script was finally in place a few years later, he thought it was time to take a turn behind the camera.

“Once I decided to try directing it, I didn’t want to try acting in it, too. I think that would be far too difficult,” Ben said during an AFI director’s screening Q&A at Hollywood’s ArcLight theater.

“Directing seemed like way, way, way too much to do if I was going to be acting.”

So, how did Ben and Casey get along during the making of the movie?

“They fought all the time!” co-star Amy Ryan joked. “It’s kind of an obvious thing with siblings. It’s a shorthand. You don’t have to use as much dialogue to get a point across.”

If all else fails, Casey cracked, there’s always: “Go f--k yourself!”

As for casting Casey, Ben said: “I knew a spectacular actor who knew Boston, who was a great fit [and] who I could get.”

“Gone Baby Gone” shows as part of the Chicago International Film Festival on Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. at the Music Box Theatre (3733 N. Southport Ave.). Ben and Casey Affleck will be in attendance.

Five New Video Clips Surface For Ben Affleck’s ‘Gone Baby Gone’

Collider.com has five new video clips from “Gone Baby Gone,” which is Ben Affleck’s directorial debut and is potentially Casey Affleck’s breakout role.

Immerse yourself.

The film will show at the Chicago International Film Festival on Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. at the Music Box Theatre. Both Afflecks will be in attendance.

Chicago International Film Festival Makes Opening Splash With Press on Sept. 18

Now in its 43rd year and the longest-running film festival in North America, the Chicago International Film Festival held a press preview on Sept. 18 at La Pomme Rouge in Chicago.


The scene at the Chicago International Film Festival press
preview on Sept. 18, 2007 at La Pomme Rouge in Chicago.
Photo by Adam Fendelman/HollywoodChicago.com
The festival runs from Oct. 4 to 17. It features 360 performances and 160 movies from 44 countries and showcases both well-known and promising new filmmakers. Run by Cinema/Chicago, the 2007 festival is dedicated to film critic Roger Ebert.


Michael Kutza (right) is the founder and artistic director
of the Chicago International Film Festival.
Photo by Adam Fendelman/HollywoodChicago.com
Ben Affleck, Alison Eastwood, Anthony Hopkins, Laura Linney, Malcom McDowell and Jeffrey Wright are among those expected to walk the red carpet.

Films including “Gone Baby Gone” (Ben Affleck’s directorial debut), “Rails & Ties” (Alison Eastwood’s directorial debut), “Kite Runner” (from director Marc Forster), “Michael Clayton” and “Things We Lost in the Fire” are among the headliners.

Chicago filmmaker Darryl Roberts was also in attendance on Tuesday discussing his film “America the Beautiful”. I also noticed the partly animated Chicago documentary entitled “Chicago 10”.

The festival will screen films at AMC River East 21 (322 E. Illinois), Landmark Century Centre Cinema (2828 N. Clark), the Chicago Theatre (175 N. State), the Harris Theater for Music & Dance (205 E. Randolph) and the Music Box Theatre (3733 N. Southport).

Stay tuned for more coverage on HollywoodChicago.com.