Ben Affleckis looking back at his career with pal Matt Damon — including how meetingJennifer Lopezalong the way impacted his life.
Reflecting on how their relationship at the time affected the movie’s performance, Affleck, 49, saidGiglitaught him “how much everything around a movie sort of dictates the way people see it.”
Affleck pointed out thatGigliwasn’t his worst movie flop: “I’ve had five movies — at least! — that have lost more money thanGiglihas,” he said.
He added, “It’s just that it became a story in and of itself. The funny name, theJennifer Lopezromance and overexposure of that — it was kind of a perfect storm. And I remember talking to Marty the Friday it came out and I was like it’s just spectacular, it’s a tsunami, it couldn’t be worse. This is asbadas it gets.”
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez.Steve Granitz/FilmMagic
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“But,” Affleck acknowledged, “if the reaction toGiglihadn’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. So in those ways, it’s a gift.”
Theo Wargo/Getty Images; Rodin Eckenroth/FilmMagic; Emma McIntyre/Getty Images
“And I did get to meet Jennifer, the relationship with whom has been really meaningful to me in my life,” he told Damon, adding, “Jennifer and I happened to be together at a time where the whole industry of celebrity journalism, if you want to call it that, sort of exploded. But I thought, ‘S—, this is really not how I had hoped to go, where I’m going to be, what? Famous for being an assh— or a failure and not able to work?’ "
The actor and Lopez called off their engagement in 2004, but last year rekindled their romance.
In December, Affleck opened up about second chances and learning from past mistakes whiletalking toWSJ. Magazine. When asked about his relationship with Lopez, 52, he explained that “one of the harder lessons that I have learned is that it’s not wise to share everything with the world.”
The Tender Baris now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
source: people.com
