Ben Affleck Is Surprisingly Grateful For His $7.2 Million Disaster Movie With Jennifer Lopez: ” I don’t really have any other avenue”
Ben Affleck’s experience during the shooting of Gigli initially proved to be disastrous for both his personal and professional life. But two decades later, there are only good outcomes at his disposal from that venture.
It was on the set of Gigli that he met Jennifer Lopez. The ‘Bennifer’ quickly became a thing and they got engaged. But the relationship didn’t work out and they parted ways in 2004. Their romance generated plenty of media hype and the scrutiny Affleck received for it proved overwhelming for him. His friend and Good Will Hunting co-star Matt Damon even noted that the media attention hurt the former’s career.
However, Affleck and Lopez reunited in 2021 and tied the knot in July 2022. It’s only fair to assume that the Gigli star is grateful for his stint in the 2003-released movie, which introduced him to his future wife. Turns out, he’s thankful for the impact the movie had on his career as well.
How A Flop Movie With Jennifer Lopez Helped Ben Affleck’s Career
Ben Affleck is known for his brilliant acting in Argo, Good Will Hunting, and Shakespeare in Love among others. But the Gone Girl star has also enjoyed great success in filmmaking, earning plenty of plaudits for his direction in Gone Baby Gone, Air, and The Town. And it all started because of how awful Gigli performed at the box office.
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck
The story about a hitman, Larry Gigli (Ben Affleck), who’s followed by Ricki (Jennifer Lopez) during a kidnapping assignment received terrible reviews and garnered $7.2 million at the box office. To this date, it’s considered Affleck’s worst movie.
However, he believes the things he learned from Gigli’s director Martin Brest and the tough period after the release of the movie shaped his filmmaking career.
He told Entertainment Weekly: “Interestingly, I learned more about directing on that movie than anything else because Marty is a brilliant director, really gifted.
“But if the reaction to Gigli hadn’t happened, I probably wouldn’t have ultimately decided, ‘I don’t really have any other avenue but to direct movies,’ which has turned out to be the real love of my professional life,” Affleck added. “So in those ways, it’s a gift.”
The disastrous reactions to the movie and the issues in his personal life made many believe that the early 2000s was the end of Affleck’s career. But he rejuvenated his Hollywood career with his maiden full-length feature directorial project, Gone Baby Gone, which received plenty of positive reviews in 2007.
LA’s Heat Proved Too Much for Ben Affleck’s Car
At the moment, Affleck and Lopez’s relationship is going strong and he’s also enjoying making and producing films through his newly formed production company, Artists Equity. Damon is also a shareholder in the venture. Having already released AIR, they are now planning to work on another project that could feature Lopez as well.
However, the same can’t be said about his 1969 Cadillac DeVille, which succumbed to the heat in California on Thursday. The car overheated and needed assistance from a passerby for hydration.
Although, considering the tumultuous events Affleck has experienced in his life, the LA heat and the car issue should be a cakewalk!
Source: Showbiz CheatSheet
