Ben Affleck was a guest on the first episode of the new HBO sports talkshow show, Any Given Wednesday, hosted by Bill Simmons, the founder of now-defunct Grantland. (Simmons got canned by ESPN last year after he reportedly clashed with producers. You can read more about him here.) The first guest was Charles Barkley, and he chatted with Simmons about Lebron, basketball and money management. Barkley is a seasoned player and sports commentator and he had a nice rapport with Simmons.
The show is only a half hour long and Ben Affleck was the second guest, in a one-on-one with Simmons. He was somewhat tipsy, but not as drunk as the Daily Mail makes him seem. He made sense, I’ll give him that, but he swore a lot, slurred a bit and had obviously had a few. It was like talking to your buddy at the bar, but halfway through the night, not at the end. Given how conscious Affleck is of his image, I have to wonder if he’s regretting this today. Here’s some of what he said and you can see a clip below.
On deciding to direct after a career slump
If you went by what people said… I wasn’t cool and I wasn’t talented, and I was like the lowest rung of cool and talented that you could possibly be in the public consciousness at that time. I had broken up with Jennifer Lopez and I had like three or four movies in a row that had bombed.I was so uncool that I was literally a punchline in… Arliss’s [Robert Wuhl’s] straight to United Airlines video standup bit. So that guy had to look around and go ‘Who’s below me that I can sh*t on?’ and he picked me. He did a whole bit about me that I saw on United Airlines and I [thought] ‘This is it, it really doesn’t get much worse than this.’ That was where I found myself when I thought ‘hey I want to take up directing,’ which is for people that are taken seriously. That became my mantra ‘I’m just going to work harder than everybody else…’ My wife was really instrumental and helpful in me doing a lot of that work because I was just so focused [on it] and it was harder to balance family and all that.
Is it true you almost directed the Star Wars movie?
It wouldn’t be polite to talk about the jobs you turned down but I did have a lot of offers. Forks in the road that are like legitimate different paths.On Deflategate
Deflategate is the ultimate bullsh*t f’ing outrage, of sports ever… They gave [Brady] a suspension for a quarter of a regular season, which would be the equivalent of suspending a baseball player for 40 f’ing days, which is what they do when you get busted taking steroids. By the way if the NFL had a real test for steroids and HGH there would be no f’ing NFL. What they did was suspend Tom Brady for four days for not giving them his f’ing cell phone and for having a friend who called himself ‘The Deflater.’ If I got in trouble for all the things that my friends called themselves, I would be finished… I would have never give an organization as leak prone as the NFL my f’ing cell phone so you can just look though my emails and listen to my voice mail? So first thing they’re going to do is leak this sh*t. Maybe it’s funny lovely sex messages from his wife… Maybe Tom Brady is so f’ing classy and such a f’ing gentleman that he doesn’t want people to know… his real opinion of some of his coworkers… They’re not the FBI, this isn’t a f’ing federal subpoena.
[From Any Given Wednesday with Bill Simmons]
Then Affleck mentioned Eli Manning’s football piece in the NY Times and they talked about the footballs possibly losing air because they went from a warm to a cold air environment. He called Deflategate a “conspiracy of people within the NFL” to smear Brady and both of them agreed that NFL head Roger Goodell was abusing his authority. I don’t have a dog in this fight except to talk about Affleck. He was understandable until he got started on Deflategate and that’s when he started swearing excessively and slurring a bit. Before then he was maintaining well and he wasn’t visibly drunk. Again, he probably wishes he had skipped the booze before the show but since it was probably taped at night that may not have been an option for him. I don’t think he spends his nights sober, is what I’m saying.
Update: This was taped at 11 AM, according to TMZ.
Here’s the clip. There’s a lot of swearing so it’s NSFW for that reason.
Here’s Affleck at the airport 6-19 and on the set of Live By Night yesterday. He’s also shown in LA scouting for locations on 6-20. Photos credit: FameFlynet and WENN
He didn’t seem drunk to me but he sure did sound like a f**cking lunatic. what a mouth on this one. he looks bloated and busted. he’s a mess.
He seems drunk to me… But I think he is talking funny because all the Botox won’t allow him to move his mouth properly!
He looked tanked to me.
Do people use Botox around their mouth? I thought it was for forehead wrinkles. He can move his forehead (a little). Whatever is happening around his mouth is weird. It’s like he just got out of dental surgery.
Yes,my mam had some botox on her lips to get rid of those little wrinkles from smoking too much and too long.
That was not Just booze….
He sounds drunk to me. The host went on record to say that Ben wasn’t drunk but when I see the clip, he is slurring his words.
BTW – Ben is right on all counts in his interview IMO. He was/is uncool and can’t act. But I think he’s a fantastic director.
@ Birdix: More around the mouth than forehead, actually. Anywhere there are wrinkles. Take a look at recent pix of Simon Cowell, Sarah Jessica Parker and Jennifer Westfeldt among others.
He seemed drunk to me. He had slurred speech and sounded a bit crazy. It doesn’t help that he looks terrible. A combo of botox and booze. I feel bad for his kids.
The way he was screaming with outrage–it seemed bizarre and put-on, like he doesn’t really believe it himself but he has to do this because he wants to stay all hugged up to Tom Brady’s n-ts.
My son says he acts coked up…very frenetic…
totally agree!
This is actually sad to watch.
Ben Affleck is well read, witty, sardonic and I’ll always remember how gorgeous he was in Armageddon. Now he looks botoxed, bloated and his eyes seem so vacant.
Even sadder Affleck’s father, Tim, was also an alcoholic of the worst way.
I came to say the same thing. I think it’s gross that anyone would take glee in it. He is legit one of the most intellectually intelligent people in Hollywood. He’s funny, he’s a talented writer and director. He’s a loyal friend. This was really hard to watch.
And Idk what he’s done to his face, but… can it ever go back to the way it was? If he stopped getting injections, is it too far gone even then to look normal again?
I don’t agree with your comment on him being one of the most intellectually intelligent people in Hollywood or funny.
As for his face if he stops messing with it now it will go back to normal, but if he continues to get work on it then it will never go back to normal. Just like Kim Kardashian, Meg Ryan, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Mackey Rourke…. they can never get their original faces back because of the years of messing with.
You have to be kidding. Do you know there are super smart Ivy League educated people in Hollywood? Or are you just talking about movie stars? Even then, he doesn’t come close to one of the smartest celebrities.
Ivy League and “intellectually intelligent” are not necessary one and the same thing. There are plenty of academics with very limited tunnel vision intelligence. They are also perfectly capable of being alcoholics.
I agree Mathilde. As someone who did benefit from a university education, I am very aware that there are lots of smart people whose circumstances didn’t enable them to go to university. My mother would be one of them. And lots of threads here been criticising Hiddles for being well educated but not emotionally mature or whatever the jargon is. Not that I necessarily agree with that. But Ben has proven he’s a talented guy, and and hope he don’t waste it.
It’s like, a bit of an ask to believe that someone who is like, well-read and witty would like, speak like this.
It’s little wonder the rest of the world thinks Americans are illiterate morons when we’ve got supposedly educated people who speak this way representing us in public.
Ben Affleck dropped out of a not so great college. This Ben is a Hollywood intellectual narrative…well, most have barely a high school education.
I watched the YouTube video – he is tanked.
Slurred speech.
His face is bloated.
He sounds more like a New England Towny than an Intellectual.
Add this to his failed attempt holding his own in political debate with out resorting to a temper tantrum (Bill Maher) or his unethical whitewash of his ancestral history (Finding Your Roots) — Jen is pathetic by proxy with her “He [Ben} is the smartest man in the room” … Hollywood’s collective I.Q. is lower on the spectrum than I thought.
You both sound pretty snobby. Again, being articulate is not necessarily correlated with intellect. There are plenty of very bright people who aren’t particularly fluent when they speak. And there are plenty of BS merchants who are all mouth and no trousers; they talk the talk but there isn’t much substance there. Don’t confuse the two.
He is also a good director but he he did his best work when he was with his wife. she have kept him grounded and that is gone? We’ll see if he ends up in the Marlon Brando zone.
All I can focus on is how his face isn’t moving. He needs to cool it with the Botox.
And Patriots bros need to shut up. It’s just a bunch of white dudes whining how their pretend best friend and hero Tom Brady has is SO HARD in this world.
????
You know, there are black people that are Pats fans, too.
patriots fans are not just white dudes
I agree, they cry about Brady being suspended for four games at the BEGINNING of the season when it means NADA. If Goodell really wanted to make an example of the team, he would have suspended him for the last four games, when it really counts. But, he is close with the Pats owner, Robert Kraft, so this explains a lot. In my opinion Bellicheat should be suspended and thrown out of the league, all together.
As for Affleck, while I did not watch the video, the stills are enough for me to ask, what the heck is doing to his face? He needs to stop, he looks weird.
Um, you seriously think that Goodell and Kraft are “close”?
I’m really hoping you’re just kidding….
No, I am not, and I am NOT the only NFL fan that feels this way.
Here are just a few of the MANY articles found, not including tons of pictures of the Comish at Kraft’s house over the years, attending parties and social events.
I have nothing but love for the city of Boston, however, Pats fans will always make excuses for their duplicitous coach and team. Sorry…
Also, I am not a Jets fan. Although, I see why they despise the two headed snake Belichick.
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/robert-kraft-behind-roger-goodell-300m-salary-report-article-1.2092554
http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2015/1/26/7909353/roger-goodells-nfl-commissioner-favoritism-robert-kraft
http://cover32.com/2015/05/19/report-roger-goodell-and-robert-kraft-rekindle-friendship-like-high-school-girls/
Uhm, LeeAnnStinks, suspensions are usually served in the first game after the punishment is issued. The Commissioner can’t just decide: “well, I’ve decided to suspend you for a game and today may be September 1 but you will serve the suspension on the day of the Super Bowl, if your team makes the Super Bowl. If the appeal decisions (there have now been two with a possible third in the future), had come down in the middle of the season or the end of the season, the next four games would have been the suspension games.
Thanks for that info lilacflowers, duly noted.
Not sure what you all are seeing. His face looks puffy but moves just fine to me. As for his rant, I’ve seen more passion during Summer Slam and more heated arguments about GOT.
Don’t understand people acting like they’ve never seen anyone yell, get really loud and cuss a blue streak when they’re really passionate about a topic.
I’m from the “rest of the world” and I don’t see anything wrong or over the top with how he speaks. He may have had a few or maybe he has a bad tooth, and he is definitely going through personal issues, but none of these disqualify him from having an opinion.
Odd that on a sports show he’s talking/they’re asking about his movie career.
That new hair in the front is all I can see.
It’s not really a sports show. He branched out into The Ringer as his new company and they cover all different subjects. Sports, pop culture, movies, tv, etc
Not going to lie his response to deflategate gave me life, I was cracking up when I saw this on Twitter late last night. I loved every minute of it. That’s exactly how many of us in New England (who are Pats fans) feel about the whole situation, swears and all. 😉
Ha ha ha ha!!!! I agree with you. I loved this and was cackling. He is still SUCH a Bostonian. This should be fun to come back to later and read the responses of people clutching their pearls.
Why am I the only one who can see what’s going on here?!
I’m glad you guys are getting smiles about deflategate (I’m in Austin so I don’t give a tinker’s fart) but Ben is fighting a serious demon here, and he’s actually a wonderful person.
Please please please think of the people who love you, Ben. Mostly work your ass off to love yourself. You have to realize you’re being tricked mentally and spiritually. I’m sorry, I will not back down on this.
Thank you. I don’t see the big deal, this is how guys talk especially when it comes to sports that they are passionate about. I swear this celebrities cannot win, if they are themselves people talk, if they are not themselves people say they are fake.
Couldn’t agree with you more, Cynthia.
If I were a celebrity I’d move to Antarctica. Otherwise I’d need a Xanax everyday. People getting in my personal space and trying to take my picture? I would be arrested for sure. It’s just the way I am.
I’ve NEVER seen the draw of being a celebrity. I love acting too, which sucks. The whole industry out there is a nightmare.
Well you know I’m with Ben and you guys on this.
The pearl-clutching has already begun 😉
I have sat in the back of courtrooms waiting for proceedings to begin and listened to women attorneys give the exact same rant about Deflategate. Goodell wanted the phone to look at pictures of Giselle and other personal info. Affleck was even calmer than most locals on the issue and didn’t get into the science as much as some do.
Seriously. I have veins popping out of my forehead when I talk about Deflategate. Ben was calm by comparison.
Word!!!!
They would have been leaking gossip for years. Slow down in the news? Let’s leak another tidbit from Brady’s phone.
I also do not at all believe that the phone would have resulted in easing up on the suspension. He was always going to stick to it, the phone was just more headline grabbing stuff to cover up for having zero evidence(which the NFL admitted in a court of law, told a judge they had no proof but could still punish him)
I agree a bit with Ben (I’m not being bias because I like him). He went on to say that NFL players are physically abusing their wives and girlfriends but the only thing they are concerned about are a few ounces of air out of a ball. Something a lot of posters had said on C/B. I don’t mind the language because a lot of us talk like that when it comes to discussing sports. It was like two guys at a bar talking sports.
So true. And Goodell hands out lesser punishment to the wife beaters unless people like Simmons call him on it. Don’t get me started on the Pittsburgh QB and the sexual assault charges, which earned the same punishment as Brady refusing to give Goodell his phone.
My husband HATES the Pats and still thinks they got a raw deal on this one and that deflategate was absolute BS. He openly believes their coach is a cheater, cheater but not for this.
You arE my people! I loved every second of this interview! Hahahahaha
Let me tell you, my ex does not drink. But if you talk about the deflategate he will sound like Ben Affleck. Hahahaha
💚 Great Bostonian, Ben is 💚
lol a guy after my own heart.
Right?!
A Uber driver here in Houston asked me if I was a Pats fan and I said yes. Then, he went on and on criticizing Brady and I said: excuse me, I don’t want to talk about sports because I am too passionate and I sound irrational.
We just gave a good laugh and changed topics.
Coming here to say the same – I don’t need a single drop of booze to get ALL F IN FIRED UP about “Deflategate” and The GOAT TB #12.
I’m fired up about it just by typing Deflategate. WHO WANTS SOME?!?!?!
He’s looking bloaty in that top photo.
I read that first part and the bell goes off. Ben has such a low self esteem. He is still hurt by the perception that people had of him in his career. And it seems that he is trying to change the minds of those people. Trying to prove he is not what they thought he was. It is clear it is still there. He has such vivid memory of jokes made about him and you can see it still hurts.
he has all this success; family and he is still trying to prove people that had a negative view of him wrong. He should measure himself by himself and not strangers. But it says a lot about who he is and how he moves through his life
I agree with him having low self esteem.
I think that depends on your opinion of him and his work. I’ve never seen anything special about him. He and Matt Damon had great success at a young age co-writing Good Will Hunting , which is certainly commendable. Other than that? I’ve always found him to be a pretty terrible actor, and have never found him to be the least bit attractive. He did make a string of crappy movies. Plus, he’s known to be a drinker, a gambler and a womanizer, so there is that.
So if he’s looking at all of that and saying, “hmmm……..I wonder why people don’t think more highly of me? Well, I’ll just be a director, and then they’ll have to respect me!!” That just doesn’t sound like low self-esteem to me. It sounds more like a complete lack of self-awareness. Plus, it sounds like Jen Garner gave him a bit of kick in the seat of the pants and motivated him. She’s the ambitious one!
@TM
that to me is Low Self Esteem. When you try to change yourself to become what you think will bring respect from people that shouldn’t really matter.
Have you watched Gone Baby Gone, The Town or Argo? Most of us have never done anything half as good in our careers. I’m not overlooking some aspects of his personal life but he is talented.
It must be hard to be a public laughingstock. Even if he was, at the time, more successful than 99% of the population. And when you are young those experiences can haunt you. Seems ridiculous that he hasn’t moved on, yet I can understand it.
Oh I can understand it as well. But I think he needs to either talk to someone or move on. Because I think all of this influences how he behaves in his personal life especially.
Funny, him calling out “my wife” as instrumental. He’s said that same thing in past interviews, but seems odd given their current situation …. whatever it may be. They just seem like a massive mess.
I will never get this guy’s appeal.
Me either – dont’ think he’s handsome, don’t think he’s built well, he has a lateral lisp he’s fought with forever (spitter!), and now he’s bloated and botoxed to the hilt.
I thought he was suppose to be sober now becuase you know, it was the drinking that made him do all that stupid stuff – cheating, gambling, not being there for his family. Hmmm….
Me, either, Sissy. He’s not the least bit attractive physically or personality-wise.
I read somewhere else that it was filmed at 11am. That puts a different spin on it, doesn’t it?
And he keeps referring to her as his wife….just sayin.
Not really. If you are a seriously heavy drinker and you drink a huge amount the night before, you can still be drunk in the morning. Anyways, Lainey thinks he isn’t drunk but taking prescription meds, so the time of day would not be relevant.
oh gosh his plastic surgery looks terrible
Wow, he went full Renee Zellweger with that eyelid job of his. He should ask for a refund.
I agree, if that is what it is, as I cannot figure out what he did to his face. Is it nips and tucks, botox, or both? No matter, something definitely looks “off.”
This was taped in the late AM, per Simmons’ twitter and TMZ. Ben seems heavily botoxed and if he can’t move his mouth properly, when he gets upset he’s going to slur. Did he have a few? Who knows. It’s a bad look and Warner Bros PR is probably still trying to figure out what to do about this. If he WAS truly drunk that early in the day… hmmmm Jen needs to get those kids away from him. I can’t even imagine what it must be like to live with a person like this. WTF is wrong with him?
And she is CERTAINLY going to file now, this is truly humiliating.
I agree 100% !!!!!!!
Ok I will find the source and update that, thanks for that!
Angry, angry man. Not a good look.
I really cannot tell if he’s on something or it is the Botex. Either way not good; but given that he’s been to rehab I do not think being “somewhat tipsy” (if that’s it) should be brushed off.
What irks me is the lack of self-awareness. Yeah, you made a couple of bad movies, but you still walked away with millions. “It really doesn’t get much worse than this.” ORLY? He acts as if he was a child soldier in Sierra Leone. Trust me Ben, it gets worse. Have some perspective for crying out loud.
Meh…we all use hyperbole in our lives. I’m sure he realizes that he doesn’t have it as bad as a child soldier. However, it’s still a bit much even if he’s simply talking about his contemporaries in Hollywood—he did not have it nearly as bad from the public/media as the several stars who had sex scandals, Robert Downey Jr., Lilo before she truly did deserve the vitriol, female stars getting lambasted over plastic surgery, etc. While he was a “joke” to some, in the end he was a straight white guy who got razzed over his tabloid persona…..he wasn’t slut shamed or body shamed and he didn’t have to deal with people making jokes about his personal struggles with drugs.
He is truly delusional or something. I was over on his IMDB page and his trivia section has some of the reported salaries that he’s received for those “terrible” movies. He made more than $100million dollars in salary alone and that list STOPS AT 2006. 2006!!! (He earned $12.5 mil for Gigli!!?!) How much more has he earned in the last decade? He is enormously wealthy, has two Oscars, had a nice wife and some nice kids and had/has multiple homes… and all he seems to focus on is how he was mocked YEARS ago. He is the type who will never be satisfied or content in life. Never. It will just be more, more, more.
Yep, he acted in flops and attracted the media (especially online gossip blogs during the J-Lo era) yet he was still allowed to do a 180 in his career. Many women would not even get the opportunity to open their mouths to ask as nobody would give a crap. Yet he gets jobs handed to him on a platter and he’s still crying about the time when people didn’t like him that much and didn’t take him ‘seriously’. Dude, maybe stop being self-destructive and you wouldn’t have gone through those periods? It’s not the public’s fault he made a fool of himself and it sure as hell didn’t hurt your career THAT much. It only took him family life and 1 professional succes to get on top again. Things that he is ruining now as he always does. I think he likes to crawl back up after mistakes/failures, seriously…
Affleck doesn’t appear drunk to me just nuts.
Herron is making a comeback. It’s really not funny. PLEASE NOBODY TRY OPIATES OR OPIODS! I had an Rx, I took them without getting addicted, even when I didn’t need it, but nobody else I know of could manage it.
This is why I made a comment the other day I think it can happen to anyone. Under the right circumstances. Yes it can. It’s not like other drugs. The withdrawal is worse than childbirth.
I think his face is just pulled so tight…or his cheeks are filled too much, so that would be my guess for his speech being messed up.
I don’t understand how anyone can think THIS looks better than wrinkles. I’ll take wrinkles over those L.A. faces any day.
did you see “Escape from LA”, the sequel to “Escape from New York”?
there’s a great bit about the “Surgeon General of Beverly Hills”, a “disfigured” Bruce Campbell who, along with his fellow-plastic surgery addicted followers, kidnap people to use for their body parts to maintain themselves. the way they look? CREEPY, and your post (“L.A. faces”) reminded me of that scene. I agree with you completely.
That sounds awful. And awesome. I may have to watch it.
well, it’s just one scene in the movie, but it’s CREEPY AS HELL.
if you’re a fan of the NY one (which was great), it’s worth watching the LA one. not nearly as good, but fun and watchable. and it has Pam Grier!
here’s a still of Bruce Campbell…it’s from the side but you can still see the special effects make up.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116225/mediaviewer/rm3941374208
Hahahahahaaaa! Oohhh he wouldn’t even stand out in L.A., would he?
He Looks All Types of Angry Drunk Baked Ham
He looks a bit like Sean Penn tbh. I do feel a bit bad for him…I know he’s a mess in his personal life but supposedly he’s quite nice otherwise Didn’t Effie Brown say something nice about him too after she rightfully shaded Matt Damon for his idiocy?
*That said…if the dude wasn’t a straight, privileged white man his career would be over. My sympathy only goes so far.
Halle Berry and Eddie Murphy ,Sandra Bullock and a few others have had many flops but they still have careers. Don’t make it about straight, privileged white men. That’s not gonna fly.
Well both Halle Berry and Eddie Murphy barely act anymore and Sandra Bullock’s career also take a smoke before she was able to build it back up.
I don’t know what world you’re living in but Berry and Murphy are not in-demand.
Bullock only recently had a flop (i.e. Our Brand is Crisis) but she had a string of hits prior (i.e. Blind Side, the Heat, Gravity) so she’ll be fine.
And yes Affleck being a SWM was giving more chances than most.
@Icant I don’t know what career also take a smoke means.
@Nik Berry and Murphy still have careers which was my point. Their names still carry weight despite their flops. Berry had a tv show produced because she has cachet.
@fingerbanger
I ment slop not smoke, I’m on my phone so autocorrect is a b*tch. Lol
Imagine an actress behaving like he has for the past year, and still have studios, rabid fanboys and media defend them and treat them as if they are the next Spielberg or Scorsese.
She would be crucified!
And she would never be able to live it down. IT would be brought up for years.
A la Lohan?
Patrick Whitesell ( one of the most powerful hollywood agents) is his best friend with Matt Damon and WB’s boss loves him since always .
Hahaha…”I would never give someone my cell phone!” LOL. Yeah, God knows how many sordid texts with nannies and the like are on that thing. Guard that phone Ben!
MTE. God only knows what was on his phone about his own indiscretions let alone Ben’s. Let’s not forget Ben’s nanny mistress was on Tommy’s private jet.
So true and I wonder how many of Ben mistresses have been on Tom’s private jet.
Except NO, it wasn’t Tom’s private jet–it was Ben’s private jet.
He definitely seems tipsy but the Patriots and tom Brady are a passionate topic amongst Boston sports fans so I understand why he acted like a nutcase
Tipsy? He’s loaded. I’ve been around enough to know. This is not just Botox, unfortunately. I’m extremely surprised people think that.
Geez, this mess. Ben always seems to step it in, doesn’t he? The nanny, Finding Your Roots-gate, getting thrown out of casinos for card counting, ranting on not one but TWO hbo talkshows… all self-created. He is a PR nightmare. On the upside, if he is just tired and ranting and the slurring is caused by Botox injections, he may never get them again. He needs to let his face go back to normal. I don’t understand why he’s doing this in the first place. He did not ever look old or wrinkly to begin with!
My entire news feed is freaking out saying Batfleck is in Nova Scotia right now. I guess CBC has reached out to his publicist to confirm. He’s apparently in Halifax at the moment – that’s twice he’s been in Nova Scotia recently. I wonder why – it’s not like we tend to have many big celebs visiting – though I know some do have property up here.
Oh Snap. Lainey has insinuated numerous times that he had/has a mistress up there
Visiting his Canadian gf again?
Perhaps his dermatologist/plastic surgeon Doctor lives here
His face continues to give me nighmares. Why, Ben why???
‘Roid rage + booze + exhaustion + a passionate opinion about something = Ben Affleck last night. JESUS. Why didn’t his publicist insist that they film that again? Because they filmed it at 11AM on Tuesday. They had time. Bill Simmons will never get this amount of press again, he is smiling this morning.
His reaction confirms to me that Jen did change the locks. His people can deny all they want…but what Mother would allow him around fearing an outburst like this!
Yeah I saw that his rep issued a quick denial to Gossip Cop. YEAH RIGHT. His rep has trouble telling the whole truth.
Mess. The fact that this was taped at 11AM is even more worrying.
IMO this is even more proof the divorce is still on. He does NOT look like a changed man and a man who won his estranged wife back. And I think people are looking too much into the wife comment, he was talking about his past and they’re technically not exes yet.
His face. He looks like an old drunk in the top pic. Wouldn’t have even known it was him.
Ugh. You poor Pats. The persecution [complex] is mind boggling.
I say a photo op with Jen and the kids in 3…2..1… that’s his M.O. bring out his props to fix his Public Image.
So this is what Ben’s been doing when hiding out in LA getting some Botox and getting drunk in hotels.
I hope not. That would confirm for me that she and Ben use their innocent kids as PR props. It’s one thing to try to project a positive family image to try to win an Oscar, it’s another to use them to erase the image of a drunk, ranting lunatic on tv. I hope that she’s better than that and that she is going to file soon. He is a disaster and she cannot save him.
Lol really you need that to confirm it. They’ve been doing it for years, when Ben messes up
He bring out the wife and Kids for a happy family photo op.
Here are just some examples of it when things went down with the nanny, the incident where he and the TV show lied about his family history with owning slaves, we he made what people said was a disrespectful comment about Jane at some award show, cheating scandals in the past and so on and so forth. After every one of these incidents a day or two later there was always a happy family photo up to follow.
@Icant Well, he’s never appeared drunk on tv before. This is a new low and I hope she doesn’t go along with whatever image repair he and his people are plotting.
Our 11AM is probably 10PM in Ben’s world.
You still are, Ben, you still are. A tiger can’t change its stripes and a d-bag can’t change his cool.
Dear Ben…Please take a look a Johnny Depp…you do not want to turn into THAT! Get thee to rehab and fast!!!!!
That’s what I was thinking. The road to Depp-ville is not a pretty one.
I so agree.
I can’t hate him. I’ve tried but I can’t. I have a soft spot.
Two Patriot homers in an echo chamber BOY THAT’S MUST SEE TV IS THIS NESN?!
Kill me.
You love it! 😉
Respectfully as a Dolphins fan, I’d rather watch that movie with him and Jennifer Lopez on loop for a day than ever listen to Bill Simmons. LOL
More than that, his bloated and botoxy face is bugging me.
Dude is aging badly– and he deserves it. George Orwell said you get the face you deserve at 50. Methinks Ben already has it–but how close is he to 50? Probably closer than we all think.
Dude complains about having been a laughingstock and mocked but like, all of his problems are his own making. No one made him email Henry Louis Gates Jr. and pressure him into violating ethical standards and cover up his ancestor who was a slave. No one made him date his kids’ nanny. No one forced him into a casino, count cards, get caught and get thrown out. No one made him go on this show all drunk and pill’d up and rant like a loon. How worried is Warner Bros right now?
Oh dear. I have a bit of soft spot for him, even knowing that he is a douche. When he was filming a movie in our area, he came into the place I worked and was really nice. He sat there for 3 or 4 hours chatting with all of us staff and the customers. Ben was discussing hockey, football, movies and life in the area with everyone and was extremely knowledgeable and articulate. He had a couple of drinks, nothing over the top, with people, took pictures, had dinner, signed napkins and took a few calls from people’s friends/spouses on cell phones. It’s kind of sad having seen that there can be a nice side to him to know that the rest of the time he is so out of control. Around here, he has some sympathy just because he was so nice to everyone who met him while they were in town. I also bumped into him in Vancouver once and he actually remembered me from that time and was happy to take a quick picture and ask about town and the other people he remembered from here.
The Deflategate portion though? I have seen people here (I’m in the Great White North) who have gone more ballistic over the issue than Ben did here. One of my friends is a Brady fan, so I have fun sending him over the edge just to watch. Ben’s reaction seems pretty tame compared to some I’ve witnessed.
Which movie was he filming in your town, out of curiosity?
Same. He filmed in my hood and went out of his way to befriend the locals. He organized meetings so we would be kept in the loop about parking bans and potential road closures and hired a bunch of old and colorful townies as extras, which pretty much made their entire lives.
Contrast that against when Ryan Reynolds and crew were filming R.I.P.D. in my hood a year or so later. They were incredibly disorganized and didn’t bother to inform us of where they were filming so some of us came home to road blocks, towed cars, etc. Basically acted like a bunch of arrogant aholes.
People just love to hate Affleck. It is what it is.
*shrugs*
@Kitten
Johnny Depp’s also had a great reputation we people he worked with, locals and fans. You even defended his nice-guy attitude and look what happened with him.
It may not love to hate maybe it’s that people see things that you’re not others aren’t just like with Johnny.
@Kitten, I changed jobs between the filming of The Town and RIPD, and both used buildings I was working in. RIPD actually “transformed” several of the store fronts in the area. They filmed on the streets on either side of our office building and used our building as a prep location of some sort on the weekends. The companies in the building were not told about the shooting and several of my co-workers had trouble accessing the streets around the building (Franklin and Milk) on the weekend mornings they were filming and my manager had to argue her way into the building with building security arguing on her behalf with the film crew so she could prep for a trial. Affleck used the whole basement of the building I was working in at the time and the alley behind it. We were given notices that it was happening and the hours that shooting would be occurring. They posted the hours they wanted the alley area closed off for all to see in the elevator but also let it be known that they would be happy to meet with workers in the building down in the basement at certain times or that people could watch out in the alley at certain times. Everyone had nice things to say about meeting Affleck, Renner and Jon Hamm. Scorsese used the same alley for a scene in the Departed but did so really late at night.
@ Ican’t
I too amazed that people haven’t learned anything from the Johnny Depp situation.
Like you said Johnny had a great reputation and visited sick kids in the hospital that didn’t mean he didn’t go home a beat his wife. Just because Ben was nice to the locals doesn’t mean what the other posters said is untrue and that everyone is just picking on poor Ben.
@Kitten
Funny I’ve read your last remark use on other sites by Johnny defenders.
I just can’t get that upset about this interview. Who did he offend or harm? He was passionate about a sports drama that involved a friend of his. If he has issues with substances, I wish him the best with that. But I just don’t quite understand the amount of outrage about this interview.
Well that’s because you’re a reasonable person. 😉
Ya become anyone who has a different or sees things differently is unreasonable😒
I’m sure if another actor had a different opinion on Tom you would think differently. 😆
What a sweetheart
He definately had a few. Not drunk, but he was at that point when you’re drinking when somebody talks about something any you get more animated and more loud when it’s something you’re interested in. Yeah, I’d still hit it, but he needs to de-bloat and finish his mid-life crisis first.
Blind Gossip is saying he’s a cokehead and an alcoholic. They’ve been saying so for a while now. I’m changing my opinion. When I first read this article, I figured he was boozed up and I questioned that because he blamed alcohol for his bad behavior. Now, I do beleive he is/was both boozed up and coked up. Get your sh!t together and stop acting like a frat boy.
Appearing on tv drunk/high/whatever is more than frat boy behavior IMO. He needs rehab and other professional help.
His people have announced via GC that Ben was not drunk…how many believe that?! The majority of people that actually watched the HBO interview agree he was ‘under the influence’ of something other than his passion for the topic. The consensus seems to be coke and several noted they thought Simmons was high also. Interesting?..
Hope he is sober enough to file today…please!
Only meant frat boy in the sense that he’s so immature and selfish. He’s been to rehab before. I have little sympathy for those who are clearly self-destructive and there are children involved. He has the means and access for any help available, but he chooses to do what he wants. His kids will suffer bc of his antics. But him? His frozen face is his only punishment. Blind Gossip said they’re looking into what’s going on with the ‘frozen.” Looking forward to their assessment. I can’t beleive some people are willing to excuse this guy’s slurring as botox-induced – like it’s because he can’t move his lips. Give me break!
What’s going on with his face? OMG.
Just watched last night’s interview, the part before the rant, where he talks about his climb out of the lowest part of his career. Why is a man who has said for a year already that he is getting divorced, and who was supposedly separated for months before that, referring to “his wife” as in his wife now in an interview. He could have said “Jen was helpful” or “my then wife was helpful.” (Or not mention her at all.)
The media constantly refers to them as exes. Apparently Affleck does not see it that way. He speaks about her as his wife period. No divorce happening here. How many days before they put the rings back on?
I wouldn’t be surprised if that happens. I sort of think Jen likes it when he screws up like this because it puts him more in a position of need and her more in a position of control and she gets to be “the fixer.” But that’s just my opinion, and I know others don’t agree. That said, their relationship just looks so deeply dysfunctional at this point, and has for such a long time, I don’t know how they’d recover from it.
Still no denial from GC on the Michael
Vartan stories. Maybe Jen wants that out there even if not true.
It’s strange. Makes one wonder if it’s PR, or if they are such an off-on relationship his view changes daily (or hourly).
Dream on! they are getiing divorced. Garner just switched from WME and Patrick Whitesell (she and ben had the same talent agents) to CAA. They are slowly separating everything.
Did they get a group discount?😀
I think she is just looking to get better roles.
@Mary – I saw that too. Whitesell also represents casey and matt so it seems like family thing. Interesting timing….
@Mary…thank you, I also agree that her move is another step towards an announcement of divorce! Just hope WB can keep him sober long enough to file, please! Then get the man child into rehab for God’s sake!
Or maybe she’s trying to revamp her career? She hasn’t exactly chosen (or been cast in) any A-list movies in a very long time (except the bit part in DBJ – and she was pretty unremarkable in that.)
She will be in good company such as JJ Abrams and Reese Witherspoon. They are being repped by CAA.
I don’t think that Patrick Whitesell was representing her well, but at the same time I think she was focused on being a mom and may have turned down roles after she had Violet. Now at 44 and considered old in Hollywood, about to be divorced from one of WME most profitable stars, Jen didn’t stand a chance, she had to cut ties, Patrick never had her best interests anyway, he will always have Ben’s. This might be a good move for her.
He looks so old…and he’s not old. He has aged a lot in past year.
Ben just “defended” himself on Twitter. Actually really funny whe you read it.
As far as their relationship – let them be. We don’t know what goes on behind the mansion doors. If it works for them (her being the fixer), so what. They have kids, they love the kids, he needs her, she needs him. Live and let live! (Or file or reconcile)
“We Boston fans have always been known for our subtlety” LOL
I just went and read it. Not a big fan of Ben but that is a funny response.
He never refutes that he was drinking or drugging though… just tries to make it about the f bombs. Yeah nice try, lush. And also, he says in the second tweet “hope you get to see the full interview.” They filmed a 30 minute interview but we only got like 7 minutes or something. HBO is supposed to post the other 20 minutes tomorrow. My guess? It’s even worse and Warner Bros is going to bury it.
My question is how many time we had to hear it from him he got a carrier turn around after gilie and his j.lo era. He just doesn’t know how to not complain about it I guess. Lols
Boston fat Elvis
LOL!!!!
He was on something…and that mouth of his. I’m sure he said f*** at least 20 times or close to it. There are better ways to get your point across than to sound like he is trying to pretend he is in a Martin Scorsese movie. (BTW: I think Martin is a blooming brilliant director however, I can do without the loads of swearing in his movies)
It is a ripoff of Bale’s rant .
Many times I’ve seen Ben on shows like Bill Maher where he is debating passionate topics but never have I seen him in a frenzied, manic state like this. He is clearly under the influence of a little somethin somethin. And frankly he looks like fresh hell. Ben. Baby. WTH are you doing to yourself!?
Ben ‘paunchy face’ Affleck
Yoooo…. his face really doesn’t move I thought you guys were exaggerating 😂😂😂
Tf happened to his face? This always happens once the wives kick these types out, their lives totally unravel because someone else has been in charge and the newly single men can’t cope.
I still can’t understand why he’s considered A list. It baffles me.
I NEVER understood his appeal or success. But hollywood is a craphoot. Also he is so textbook midlife crisis right now
In the top picture, he looks so much like the Doug Stanhope or Something Man, was he defending Johnny Depp against women who connive against trashed pirates?
I wonder if it’s even something like Adderall and then alcohol for the comedown? He’s soooooo intense ….
Also agree that he’s botoxing. Maybe sculpted or other filler too
Wait , he turned down directing Star Wars?
He looks like shit. Needs to get off the sauce.
During an interview with Barbara Walters Ben was asked about his parents divorce and how he felt at that time. His reply ” it was a relief “.
Hopefully he can remember this response. His children that he loves so much are certainly entitled to the same relief! Enough with the drama Ben, pull up your big boy pants and file!!
He is under the influence of something. He is on something. That interview is embarrassing. Not only that his ‘work’ is terrible. If it isn’t work, it is bloat.
I hate Bill Simmons. And, deflategate is stupid but let it go people. The Pats against the world. Let it go man. Goddell has no reason to be anti the Pats. The NFL Is a joke, a PR disaster, he needs a clean team, clean players.
I have to admit I have done a lot of cocaine in my life.
And THIS man has done a lot of cocaine in the hours preceding this interview.