Hollywood is full of hyperbole — and actors are certainly known for being dramatic — but Ben Affleck probably isn’t too far off when he says that the worst thing for him now that he’s become an acclaimed director is having to fire actors.
Few actors have the career trajectory of Bryan Cranston, who, after decades of supporting roles has suddenly, in his mid-fifties, found himself the star of a critically acclaimed television series, Breaking Bad, and roles in several high-profile movies, including Drive and Argo. In a lengthy interview with The Guardian, Cranston talks about the affect Breaking Bad has had on his career and how he looks at his current success.
Bryan Cranston: “Without luck you will not have a successful career” Read More »
Alan Arkin knows more than most about how bizarre Hollywood can be. The Oscar-winner has been in the business for decades, which made him uniquely able to effectively play movie producer Lester Siegel in the new film Argo.
Alan Arkin talks ‘Argo’ and Remembers ‘Glengarry Glen Ross’ Read More »
Every media outlet wants to talk to Ben Affleck about Argo, his new film based on the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis, and Affleck is happy to talk about his dual roles as a director and an actor (along with also being one of the film’s producers!) Though many of these interviews has focused on Affleck’s second-career success as a director, in others he has spoken about his acting approach to the film and how he worked with the cast as actors.
Ben Affleck on Preparing for ‘Argo’, Acting in the Film and Getting “Lucky” in Casting Read More »
Talk about being (unfortunately) timely: Ben Affleck’s latest film Argo, which he directed and also stars, focuses on a real-life story about the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis, and currently the U.S. is facing similar tensions in the Middle East. It is also perhaps Affleck’s most acclaimed film, which is a tremendous accomplishment considering his two prior films, Gone Baby Gone and The Town, were also well received.
It wasn’t too long ago that I looked at new Ben Affleck movies like trips to the dentist, especially the parts involving the dentist painfully picking at my gums. After excellent roles in films like Dazed and Confused, Chasing Amy, and, of course, Good Will Hunting (which he co-wrote) in the 1990s, the new millennium brought with it a string of films starring Affleck that ranged from inoffensively mediocre to reaching new levels of awfulness. But Affleck successfully taped into his Good Will Hunting creative energy to direct Gone Baby Gone, The Town, and Argo, three films that have received strong critical praise (he also co-wrote the first two).
Remember when most people thought of Ben Affleck as the less-talented half of the Good Will Hunting duo? Turns out that while Affleck wasn’t always the greatest actor — at the very least his bad moments, like Pearl Harbor, Gigli, and Surviving Christmas were really bad — he’s a great director, with his first two films getting rave reviews and his soon-to-be-released third, Argo, already getting award buzz.
