In 2007, Ben Affleck turned back to his gift of writing and adapted the Dennis Lehane novel Gone Baby Gone as well as taking the directorial reins on the project. He didn't star in that gritty Boston-set thriller, however, but rather directed his younger brother, Casey Affleck, in what turned out to be his breakthrough performance as a leading man.
Ben Affleck's true passion project in the years since Gone was co-writing, directing and starring in The Town, a new dramatic thriller that hits theaters nationwide today. In it, he crafts an amazingly complex and mature work that on the one hand has audiences rooting for his character to get away with a string of bank robberies, but on the other hand asks them to pull for a far more important form of success: his reformation.
Affleck recently discussed the challenges of handling quadruple duty (including producing) on The Town.
Writing, directing, starring and producing on this film: How do you do it? Do you ever get time to sleep?
Affleck: I didn't sleep much during this movie unfortunately, but I am quite the sleeper. Actually kind of a legendary sleeper. The couch knows the feel of my body.
You're a Beantown man. This had to be such a labor of love for you, because it comes through.
Affleck: It was definitely something that, in order to be successful, I had to dedicate myself to completely. So all the stuff about Boston was wonderful, and it brought me home. And it was kind of a crutch because I leaned on what I knew in a way I couldn't have shot a movie in Toronto or Arkansas. I got the chance to shoot at Fenway Park and these iconic places. Even shot a little bit in Cambridge where I grew up. It was definitely a bonus, but I had to stay focused on the fact this was a movie and the audience needs to be entertained.
You grew up in Cambridge. So how did you know about Charlestown and what goes on there? That's pretty frightening.
Affleck: It’s about two miles from where I grew up but was a world apart. They had these tough kids who'd play hockey 'cause they were super tough. You wouldn't want to get in a fight with them, because they had this code of silence going on. That was really scary. And a little bit less about the bank robberies. When I came back I did a lot of studying about that, and especially a period in the '90s that was off the hook, rampant guys knocking over banks and so I pushed that up a bit and moved it forward, making this movie with that vibe.
You're 2 for 2 now with directing. Is this something you may just want to move now into directing?
Affleck: I'd like to keep acting and directing, and that's what I'll do as long as I have the opportunity to. Luckily I can be in the ones I direct so far, but directing takes up so much time that it tilts you in one direction. But now I'm gonna go and do some just acting, like in The Company Men, which comes out in October. That's a wonderful movie with Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, Kevin Costner about men and their families amid this economy, and the crisis we're all going through.
And you also have Jeremy Renner, Mr. Hurt Locker. Man, is he scary in this film.
Affleck: Gus Van Sant told me directing is 90 percent casting, and, man, is he right. He and the other main cast made the movie 90 percent better just by showing up for work in the morning. He really did research of meeting the guys in the life for real, going to the prisons and getting a feel for the top and the bottom of that lifestyle.
Your casting choices were fantastic. Starting with Jon Hamm. He's proven he can do comedy, but what made you say, “He can play FBI, and I know he's gonna be great”?
Affleck: In movies where the criminal is protagonist, the law enforcement figure is antagonist. They think the audience doesn't have the sense to know who to root for on their own. But I wanted to make him appealing, not just unappealing. So to think of someone who has edge, who was tough but strangely likable in a way even though he's chasing someone the audience is supposed to like, I couldn't think of anyone better—he’s infinitely likable but a man's man. He comes off in an very likable yet sharp and imposing way. I don't know what I would have done if he'd said no.
How do you keep it all together onset? You're giving us car chases plus all types of robberies and emotional moments. What's the secret to pulling off that range?
Affleck: I don't know if I have any secrets, but it's challenging. Directing a movie for me is about keeping a focus on a lot of things and keeping it all going. I was excellently supported, not just by the acting, but by all the technical group around me. It's not me just making a movie, it's a lot of talented people.
