Starring & Directing A Super Blockbuster With Huge Expectations Isn’t Easy; Kevin Smith Is On The Money
Affleck’s already experienced the conundrum of playing Batman: you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. But better to have the potential failure of the film on someone else’s shoulders if it doesn’t work. What is the upside for Affleck to direct “The Batman”? If it doesn’t meet the ridiculous expectations of fans, it will be declared a huge failure. If it doesn’t make $1 billion at the box-office (similarly to ‘Batman v Superman’ missing that target), the picture will be deemed a disappointment by the studio and a misfire by the press. Plus, as Kevin Smith has already has convincingly posited, there’s a little trilogy of films by this guy named Christopher Nolan that are hard to top and one of them, “The Dark Knight,” is an unimpeachable classic. This is a high bar to reach, and the circumstances and burdens here are like competing with one arm tied behind your back to try and match Nolan’s movie. Affleck’s wise to factor Nolan’s work here. If he’s not 100% on the script and if he’s considering Nolan as high bar, what does get out of directing “The Batman”? Ultimately, to Affleck, “The Batman” with all the speculation surrounding the project before cameras were even scheduled to roll, must have felt like a no-win situation.
Affleck Didn’t Sign Up For This Kind Of Scrutiny & Attention
In a recent Canadian press tour for “Live By Night,” the exasperated filmmaker complained that all the media wants to talk about is “The Batman.” They never ever ask about his pet project “Live By Night,” even when the movie is in full promotion mode. Affleck was visibly agitated and groaned, “it’s such a pain in the ass.” In another interview Affleck bristled at fans pestering him for info, saying, “It’s frustrating, nobody gave a shit about ‘Live By Night.’ [Meanwhile, everyone’s like] “Where’s the f—ing Batman?!’ and I’m like, ‘I’m working! Can you give me a second?!”
Affleck didn’t sign up for this scrutiny and attention and “The Batman” is becoming a reminder of why he backed away from the blockbuster spotlight in the first place. Affleck is a survivor. His career arc is this: 1) out of the gate he’s a celebrated Academy Award-winning screenwriter for “Good Will Hunting” and the world is his oyster. 2) After a string of mainstream flops and failed attempts at leading man roles (“The Sum of All Fears,” “Reindeer Games,” “Daredevil” and of course the temporary career killer, “Gigli”), Affleck hooked up with Jennifer Lopez and their tabloid-fueled affair nearly ruined his career. 3) After “Bennifer,” the actor was persona non-grata and essentially took a small hiatus away from major roles aside from a few small parts here and there (“Hollywoodland” is a notable one where he had a bit part as George Reeves, the actor who played Superman on TV in the 1950s. 4) Credibility restored, Affleck switches gears, writes and directs “Gone Baby Gone” to major critical acclaim and Amy Ryan lands an Oscar nomination for her performance. 5) Massive comeback. “The Town” earns even more acclaim, features a startling good performance by Blake Lively (her best-ever to date, credited to his direction) and earns Jeremy Renner an Oscar nomination. 6) Then there’s the knockout punch of “Argo,” which earns seven Oscar nominations, a DGA win for Best Director and while Affleck is shut out at the Oscars for directing, the movie wins three Oscars including the grand enchilada with Best Picture. That’s nine Oscar nominations between three films and three wins. You’d have to direct at least three massive flops to be excommunicated after that or more (see Zack Snyder below). Then there’s 7) Affleck steps back into the maelstrom of media frenzy and fan/audience passion and speculation by taking on the Batman role in “Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice.” Initially, the casting is ridiculed and the Internet goes into outrage mode. So begins life under the microscope once again.
Bonus: The flop of “Live By Night” Has Nothing To Do With It
There’s been much speculation that Warner Bros. has taken Affleck off the director’s chair for “The Batman” or politely nudged him out because of the financial flop of the actor/director’s last film, “Live By Night.” This is totally off base. Any way you want to spin it, “Live By Night” is not a stain that would throw a filmmaker (and star) of Affleck’s caliber into director’s jail. It’s a fumble from an actor/director/writer/ producer who has helmed three critically acclaimed, money-making prestige pictures for Warner in a row that culminated with three Oscars win including Best Picture for “Argo” in 2013. “Live By Night” was the “Ok, go make whatever you want” passion project and studios are often willing to give filmmakers huge leeway if they keep their projects in their house. Warner Bros. has been in the Ben Affleck business since “The Town.” They want to stay there and if they had their choice, Affleck would have directed “The Batman.”
Further proof that Warner Bros. aren’t ready to give up on Affleck. Look at Zack Snyder. The expensive “Watchmen” earned $107 million domestically off a $130 million budget (not including marketing) and “Sucker Punch” was a massive flop ($36 million total domestically from an $82 million budget) not to mention the non-starter “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole.” (another money loser). But still WB wanted to be in the Zack Snyder business. He’s been rewarded even. WB has kept him in their house and given him three major superhero films since (“Man Of Steel,” ‘BvS’ and “Justice League”). Studios are not deterred after one flop from a filmmaker they believe in and want keep around (and they often realize a passion project may not cut it, but they want to keep their talent happy).
To further stress the point, it’s not like “Live By Night” was Affleck’s directorial debut. This is a filmmaker with a terrific track record and everybody stumbles at some point. Plus, he’s one of the biggest stars on the planet again. He’s Batman and WB would love to keep him on board for multiple pictures if possible. The way to do this is to keep your star happy.
“The Batman” has no director, is starting again with another script and has no release date. Maybe WB and Geoff Johns land the film in 2019, but Affleck made it clear, he’s not taking the fall for another DCEU failure. In fact, if “The Batman” were to flop, it would be easy to see a scenario where Affleck just peaces out on the entire character in frustration. In the meantime, keep your Bat signal pointed to the sky.