Stepping Behind the Camera: Ben Affleck Makes Directorial Debut
Penny Ditch  |  by abcnews.go.com. All rights reserved. 20.10 | 11:14

J.K. Rowling: Yes, Dumbledore Is Gay PHOTOS: Stars Bling at Swarovski Party T.

I. Pleads Not Guilty to Weapons Charges The crime thriller, adapted by Affleck and based on the novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane, unfolds in Affleck's hometown of Boston, specifically in the neighborhood of Dorchester. "I thought, 'Why don't I just follow Martin Scorsese?

'" he joked. "'Or Clint Eastwood? Why don't I just throw myself off a cliff?

' But in a way, it's almost better. Because those guys are mountains, and I'm just a man. Nobody would expect me to compete with a mountain.

" And in fact the specificity of the Boston crime thriller, which like "Mystic River" unfolds around a sudden disappearance, proved to be one of Affleck's strongest assets. Even in his earliest conception of the film, Affleck could see the minute details of the Boston backdrop in his head. It was from reading Lehane's book and envisioning the familiar Boston scenes that Affleck decided he "wanted to make the movie.

" And with the success of first Eastwood's and then Scorsese's works, Miramax was onboard. Affleck marvels that, in the end, the success of his predecessors aided, rather than deterred, the project. He joked that "suddenly the studio got really enthusiastic about the script.

" Affleck tapped a cast of varied faces for the project. With humble humor, he expounded on the oddity of directing veteran talents like Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris. "Morgan is a wonderful actor, and I gave him a chance to shine," he said.

"I think you're going to see a lot of this actor Morgan Freeman. Ed Harris? He's a pretty good actor.

Read more on by abcnews.go.com. All rights reserved.
Keywords: t i, Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris
Related news
  • Song With Orange: Miles Davis Features
    Amber Swift

    Friday, May 26, 2006 was Miles Davis's 80th birthday anniversary, and KJazz aired a retrospective of the trumpeter's career with musical highlights across each of his musical periods...

  • Princess Grace s legacy: Public lives and private grief
    Sam Boyle

    Long before the current crop of celebrity bad actors with their jail stints and rehab visits, there were the Grimaldi kids, the wild children of the Riviera, who kept a generation of paparazzi and gossip columnists busy with their outrageous behavior...

  • Milan Menswear Turns to History for Timeless Style
    Peja Stojakovic

    Milan Menswear Turns to History for Timeless Style Italian designers turned the clock back for menswear during Milan's fashion week, which ended on Wednesday, and pulled out pocket handkerchiefs, neck scarves and waistcoats to create timeless styles for...

  • Men turn the clock back
    Wayne Rooney

    Italian designers turned the clock back for menswear during Milan's fashion week, and pulled out pocket handkerchiefs, neck scarves and waistcoats to create timeless styles for next spring...

  • Milan: Milan menswear turns to history
    John Hitch

    ITALIAN designers turned the clock back for menswear during Milan's fashion week, which ended yesterday, and pulled out pocket handkerchiefs, neck scarves and waistcoats to create timeless styles for next spring...

Post comments
Name
Place
7 + 9 =
Comments