According to filmmaker Mike Binder, Steven Spielberg had a feud with Ben Affleck. The disagreement originated at a family party attended by the “Good Will Hunting” actor.
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In a conversation with Stephen Baldwin on the “One Bad Movie” podcast, Binder said he had written the film “Man About Town” believing that Steven Spielberg would direct the project.
“He said, ‘We have to do something together. I want you to write something for me,’” Binder recalled, after saying that the director of “Jaws” had been impressed by the film “The Upside of Anger,” directed by Binder.
Binder said the film was about to go into production at DreamWorks, Spielberg’s studio, with the renowned director at the helm of the project. He turned down the proposal but wanted the film to remain at the production company under Binder’s direction.
Everything changed when Ben Affleck, who had previously worked with Binder on “The Upside of Anger,” reached an agreement to take part in “Man About Town,” which did not please Steven Spielberg.
“I call Steven, and Steven says, ‘No. You can’t do it with him. We just flopped with a movie with him, he’s got all this J-Lo stuff going on now, and I have other issues with him,’” Binder said.
+Watch Binder’s full conversation on the podcast
The filmmaker says Spielberg accused Affleck of knocking his son into the pool.
“‘My son was a little boy, playing in the pool, he got out of the pool, and Ben jumped in fully clothed, and my son pushed Ben into the pool,’” Binder recalled.
“‘And Ben got very angry with him, got out of the pool, grabbed my son and threw him back into the pool, and made my son cry,’” Binder continued, saying that at the time he did not understand how that could be a reason not to work with the actor.
“He said, ‘I just don’t like working with him. Besides that, his last two movies flopped. Find someone else. Anyone but him. He’s cold as hell.’ I said, ‘Okay, Steven.’”
At the end of the story, Binder said that both of them acted like “idiots.” “They were great guys, but at the same time, jerks.”
“Steven Spielberg is a genius and a great guy, but he can be a jerk. And Ben Affleck is a great guy, and he can be an even bigger jerk. But in the same way, they can both say, ‘Yes, I can be a jerk,’” he concluded.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
