Following the news that Ben Affleck has stepped down from directing The Batman there are quite a few think pieces about how this possibly happened and what it means for the DC Universe and for Affleck’s career. One detail that I didn’t know is that the original script, co-written by Affleck and DC comic’s Geoff Johns, is being rewritten by Chris Terrio, who wrote the script for Batman vs. Superman and Argo. This explains Affleck’s conflicting statements about the completion of the script and it also sounds like a recipe for disaster given how dark, long and poorly-received BvS was. This also begs the question as to who is going to direct, will it be Zack Snyder again and are we in for another doozy? Have they all learned from their mistakes and are they ready to change course or are they committed to telling this story the exact same way with their same vision? I guess it doesn’t really matter in the scheme of things. The standalone Batman movie is going to make bank regardless, some people will like it (just like BvS) and a lot of us won’t get it. There’s also Justice League and Wonder Woman coming out and it’s possible that they’re waiting to see how those films are received by audiences and critics.
So with all that in mind and the fact that Live By Night bombed, these issues have to be weighing heavily on Ben Affleck. He did what a lot of celebrities do when they’re struggling with personal and PR issues – he did charity work. That’s actually quite wonderful and an admirable way to handle it. Reaching out to people has got to make such a difference both for them and for the person doing the work. Affleck went to Children’s Hospital LA yesterday and visited with patients. So far all I could find was this one Instagram photo of Affleck’s visit but look at how happy he is! You can barely see the little girl and her mom from the glare in this photo but it’s still so sweet.
More of this please! More celebrities making bets involving visiting sick kids no matter who “wins,” more celebrities stepping out of their comfort zones and more of us, overall, reaching out to people in our communities. The more we give back, the more we listen, the more we organize and meet with friends, the better. Thanks Ben.
Here’s a photo of the little girl Ben met, Amara, with a signed Batman figure from him.
Here’s another picture of Amara in the hospital and you can learn more on her mom’s Instagram and on Amara’s GoFundMe page:
Thanks to all of you for an incredible night! #LiveByNight pic.twitter.com/qFVhFGZRxJ
— Ben Affleck (@BenAffleck) January 13, 2017
Photos credit: Fame (they’re from 1-22-17) Instagram/lala_lisa87 and Twitter/Ben Affleck
This is really sweet.
He always looks happ(ier)when he is walking alone.
True! When he’s with Jen he looks so tense, like she sucks the oxygen out of his space
This is nice. Good for him.
I think what is really nice is that he did this without PR fanfare. I have to think this grounds him. A few professional failures, but sees what is important in life and perhaps grateful for the healthy children he has.
Taking a page out of the Taylor Swift and Mrs. Affleck’s handbook of good PR. Most families these days are connected to social media so if a celebrity shows up to visit them it WILL get posted on Facebook/Instagram/Twitter etc. The celebrity’s PR firm doesn’t have to lift a finger to announce her/his good deed.
The positive: As a hospital volunteer myself, I am glad he did it no matter his motives. It made this little girl’s day and hopefully lifted her spirit to face surgery and the recovery fight. At this point I will even give Drump thanks if he would visit a children’s hospital and donate money since he is taking away Ombacare. I encourage everyone to consider volunteering in your community, you will be surprised how much joy you provide.
He shaved recently. I was wondering why he looked so different in the hospital photo. The beard really makes a difference.
How cute is that kid?
That’s all I’ve got.
I noticed the one caption mentioned Tricare. That’s the military health coverage system–closest thing to socialized, one payer we have. They can make you jump through some hurdles but you’ve got coverage. And she won’t lose it. I don’t know how much they’re out of pocket (so the gofundme) but hopefully Tricare is picking up a good chunk if not most.
Whatever he needs to do to feel better about himself, I guess. I’m a firm believer in what you put out in the universe comes back to you, Ben did some bad things and hurt women, not just Jen, but treated women in his life badly. Live By Night’s massive and embarrassing failure happened for a reason, I mean it’s failure was colossal, the worse in his career second only to Gigli. Things are going bad for him for a reason, he knows that. Visiting these sick kids is a start but I think he did it more to convince himself that he isn’t a bad person.
I’m curious about what happens next with Ben. He has no scheduled jobs coming up. Things have been quiet on the Jennifer front – we’re due another People update.
He has A Witness for the Prosecution slated for 2018 – directing and acting.
I think the lack of stories from People and US, etc. is telling. They were printing “are they/aren’t they” stories multiple times a week for the past year, and then it suddenly stopped. My guess is it’s deliberate. Neither one covered the sober coach – of course. These outlets are celeb mouthpieces so they’re probably holding back for a reason – maybe a larger story. Yes, Gossip Cop has stopped adding its typical comment that the divorce isn’t off, but they also stopped denying the many stories that came out a few months ago when Jen was seen crying and In Touch and others reported that Ben was done with the arrangement and wanted to move on. I think Ben/Jen’s teams aren’t saying or implying anything at all right now, and I think this is why we’re not seeing the People and US stories anymore.
I don’t think Witness for the Presecution is a sure thing. It was reported that Ben was in talks to do it but it’s not in active pre-production yet. He also has a Revolutionary War film in development.
The last we heard from People Magazine was on December 23: “It’s almost like they are back to being the family they were a few years ago.” GossipCop is also leaning towards a reconciliation; this is nothing like their radio silence just before the divorce announcement. Ben praised Jennifer effusively during the LbN press tour and has spending time with his family in recent weeks. We know for sure that he was at church and took them ice skating, but has generally avoided cameras more than Jennifer. All of that said — I’m surprised that Jennifer and Ben haven’t been photographed together yet in 2017.
I don’t think the detox nurse is *that* big of a story. Gossip followers have known for 20 years that he’s an alcoholic. The Boston Globe were one of the few publications to publish the story and their readers were overwhelmingly in support of him.
However, I do have a feeling that a story is coming soon. I hope it’s good news and not a bombshell.
Yeah, and I always kind of snickered at that comment, “back to the family they were a few years ago.” which is laughable since we now know it was nowhere near what it seemed from the outside. Reports were out from US/People after the split that they had decided to split multiple times previously, including right before she got pregnant with the third but then they decided to wait because of that. The few years after that led up to the split news. She/the kids were not with him in Detroit the summer he filmed BvS (I’m sure they visited, but they didn’t live there as originally planned.) There were big rumors of trouble then too. So I take these “family they were before” statements with a grain of salt since it’s pretty much out here that their marriage was deeply troubled from nearly the very beginning. I also don’t know that I see his statements in Europe recently as proof of anything. I read them all and they seemed more like past tense and the words of someone who will always care deeply about the mother of their children. That same People article said Jen denies they are back together. But I guess we all pick and choose how to interpret these stories based on our own biases, so who knows.
The reports said they’d had rough patches previously but that divorce/ splitting up was never an option until it was. Neither People nor US Weekly reported that she unexpectedly got pregnant with Sam. The children’s birthdates suggest they were planned to be almost exactly three years apart. A report did say that they came back from a marital rough patch at around that time.
In 2014, Jennifer and the kids visited Detroit a few times and Ben flew back to LA a lot. Their summer living in Detroit was most likely cancelled because Ben confessed that he’d been unfaithful (as reported in People). I had started to wonder about them after the Oscars in 2014. I’m not suggesting their marriage was idyllic until then but there was no affection between them in photos between Oscars and October 2014 (aside from the Ice Bucket video). That was very unusual for them. They seemed to give it another go when he got back to LA in October but it went strangely quiet again in 2015 until divorce announcement (aside from Washington trip).
Yes, US did report that. Their marriage has been on the rocks for ages. There was another article I read that said, after initially being attracted to the bad boy in him, Jen realized very quickly after they got married how difficult it was going to be with Ben.
Out of laziness, I’m not going to try to find that one, but here’s the DM article referencing the US Mag piece that talked about their previous planned divorce that was interrupted by their third pregnancy. It also says, “It hadn’t been working for ages” and also that Ben ultimately stayed in it longer than he wanted for the idea of family and the kids, etc. Of course, this all changed when he took a massive public hit with the unexpected nanny scandal.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3146030/Ben-Affleck-Jennifer-Garner-divorced-three-years-ago-held-son-Sam-born-seeking-couples-therapy.html
I think People/UsWeekly have simply lost interest, there’s just not much to talk about with these two. I don’t think it’s that deep.
I do find it odd that they haven’t been pictured together at all lately. They were consistently seen on school/coffee runs before Christmas, plus they were fully aware that these pap strolls would fuel rumors and they obviously didn’t care. What’s the problem now?
I honestly think that with these 2 we are never going to know. I think they were papped together a lot in oct and nov – probably because of the 2 movies Ben had to promote. Now that he is done, Ben has basically gone under cover. Jen still gets photographed a lot. But not everyday like in the past.
I listened to a wtf podcast with Casey affleck and it was very illuminating. Talked a lot about how people try to control their own narrative because if you don’t do men e else (tabloids ) will do it for you. Also talked a lot about growing up with a drunk for a Dad – truly heartbreaking. But he was so refreshingly honest about his marriage situation – said we are separated, Summer lives 1 block away, kids go back and forth. They knew each other since they were 21 – long run, but grew apart – how he really relies on her for advice – hopes to remain friends. Very clear that they are not together (especially since he has a public girlfriend) but they are amicable. Very believable. These two never give a clear interview like that. So it keeps everyone guessing.
As far as a story in the works, don’t know. I’ve been watching this for a year and a half and just when you think something is moving in one direction or the other it does not. There was a poster who said she saw a now deleted tweet with a pic of Ben with another woman in cabo San Lucas. Is that the story? Is there going to be an oscars story? Jen is sporting a new necklace with about 12 diamonds at the neck – is there a story there? She is always wearing bulky sweaters – is that the story. Totally don’t know. And I’m thinking we never will.
If Ben were being photographed to help promote movies, he would have been very visible in December and January, but wasn’t.
I’m wondering about Cabo too. If there was a picture (strange no one shared it), its counter to everything else we’ve heard and seen. I’d be shocked that they wouldn’t finalise divorce before being in public places with someone new. He’s been careless and stupid before (nanny pics) but I’d have thought he’d have learned his lesson.
Don’t think she’s pregnant. After Sam, they both said they were done.
I noticed the necklace too. Ben went to Barneys New York just before Montana.
She’ll be 45 in a few months, so I’d be shocked if she’s pregnant. It’s literally miraculous without a donor egg at that age, And there still seems to be quite a bit of instability/turmoil with Ben’s own issues, so I don’t think she would bring that upon herself. As the US Mag story above pointed out, they were already talking divorce before Sam came along and tried to hold it together because of that. A BI said the same thing about them before they announced her pregnancy with Sam. So their relationship has been tenuous at best since at least 2011 – why bring a “fifth” child into the picture now.
The necklace she was wearing walking beside James Corden? Not clear that those are diamonds to me – looks gold, but I can’t tell. I’m sure someone will respond that they are absolutely 100% diamonds! 🙂
I’ve seen the necklace a few different times (she generally is not on her way to the gym when she wears it). And I’m not saying 100% – but it appears to be diamonds – or similar type gem (why would she wear anything less)
I agree with you on the pregnancy stuff with regard to Jen- though it’s not quite as rare as you make it out – I happen to know sisters who had babies in their 40’s without assistance. 45 is statistically zero fertility – but especially with people who have had
children before – it’s not totally unusual.
So is Ben in Houston for the Super Bowl today?
Also, is Jen contracted to do any movies soon? I had read she was doing voices for lama lama and amusement park, but have not seen anything on other movie roles.
Also her last two movies she shot in 2016 don’t seem to be going anywhere.
Not sure where Ben is. Maybe he’ll go to Matt’s house to watch it, as he’s mentioned spending regular Sundays watching the games there. As for Jen, I don’t know. Of course I have no idea, but I don’t get a great feeling about the Tribes movie. The lead actor dropped out early on and was replaced and it just kind of looks like it will be another bust, based on the storyline and early shots from the set (last year.) And I’m not even sure it was picked up by anyone yet? Thought it was slated for last year but seems it was pushed out?
Jimmy Kimmel’s Super Bowl party is another possibility. Ben went with Matt a couple of years ago.
I think Jen’s “career” is pretty much over at 45 yrs old, she’s not even in the conversation for the prime roles, she never was, I think there may have been a moment after she did Juno that she had opportunities but she didn’t capitalize on them because she was either pregnant or Ben was working. Sounds like that Tribes movie will go straight to DVD or on demand. She needs to re-brand herself if she wants to stay in show business, another TV show, cooking show, mom show. Or she’ll just be a regular mom and be happy with that.
I was the one who saw the pic of Ben in Cabo with another woman, the twitter account has since gone private, she might have been getting bombarded with questions or a tabloid got a hold of her for an exclusive. But she said it was Ben and it did look like him even if it was taken from afar, his broad shoulders and big head are kind of a giveaway.
Ben has been quoted showering Jen with a lot praise as a mother and as someone that he still admires and respects, it’s too bad his actions behind the scenes don’t match what he’s saying.
Kate – was the photo taken in a restaurant or on a beach or what? You mentioned earlier that there was a woman with him?
Strange. You’d have to think he’d know that random people might take his picture in Cabo, which appears to have happened. Wonder if his people contacted that person to take it down – kind of like that Miami uber sighting with a woman last summer that was mysteriously deleted (from Miami Herald gossip blog) after it got wider pickup.
That whole Miami uber thing was a little crazy – 1stly why would Ben ever use an uber? And I think it was disputed which weekend it was – 1 weekend he was fan photoed in London and the next weekend Jen was in the states at the Miami airport the same day. So the whole story was a little fishy. This Cabo story does not seem to have made the same rounds.. Though a picture is worth a thousand words. If a tabloid picked it up .. I imagine we will see it in the national inquirer next week. But if he is with someone new..why is it a big deal..,they are after all officially separated and getting a divorce.
Right, there were disputes about the dates. The Uber one was posted in a well-known gossip blog in the Miami Herald, so it got broader notice while the random Twitter sighting didn’t. i agree – I don’t think either one would be a big deal if true since they separated/announced intent to divorce. I guess Ben might still want to try to keep things on the DL though – especially if not in a serious relationship – so that it’s not splashed all over the news for the kids sake.
The Miami Uber thing: it was more telling to me that it got deleted without a word. No retraction, either. Personally I think he was there and it was a real item. He muscled his way to getting it yanked.
Another thing: some people who post fan pics with celebs don’t seem to mind random people asking questions, but others do. Back in Oct I saw a pic of Ben at the pumpkin patch. A fan took the photo from about 10 feet away, he was just standing there watching something, and there was no one else of note in the pic. I saw some random account ask a couple of questions about the pic, like who was he with, etc — and then a few hours later I looked again and the pic was gone plus the person had changed her account name. Some people get freaked out by that type of thing. So I’m not surprised if a Cabo pic existed and was deleted.
Casey’s gf isn’t that public. I think he’s hiding her, actually. Getting caught by the paps months ago doesn’t count IMO. He doesn’t take her on the red carpet to the big events and even told his wife “I love you” in one of his speeches. He seems to have taken PR advice from Ben’s team on this one.
That necklace with the stones is NOT new. Pics of her wearing it in mid-2015.
Good on him, and I hope Amara gets better!
I don’t know whether the Batman movie looks like such a good thing but it ultimately won’t matter if it was good or not because it’s a Batman movie and will still make stupid money no matter what it’s like – look at BvS.
Why would Warner Bros expend the effort on making a good movie that’ll earn a billion $ when even a crappy one will gross close to 900 million? Effort is for losers. Or Marvel.
Why doesn’t he get photographed anymore? Makes me wonder if someone finally got his own place.
That would explain a lot.
I think when takes the kids to school now – he pulls up to the front and drops them off (doesn’t park and walk). I think the photogs are not allowed that close to the school.
If that were happening, they would still follow him and photograph him doing other stuff. They aren’t getting him going anywhere or doing anything. The first pic we’ve had in a while was a fan photo from the hospital. The paps didn’t catch him driving to/from? If that woman hadn’t posted that pic we wouldn’t have known about that at all.
Ben had breakfast at the Brentwood Country Mart last week which is their local coffee spot. But if he has moved out, his new place would be in the same area for the kids. However, he has always moved more undercover than Jennifer.
There were almost daily pics of them for awhile there though and I think it’s bc he was able to be followed coming out of their cul-de-sac. True, he seems to be able to sneak in and out of town easily but he’s always been papped regularly before. The paps know where to find celebs anyways and the Brentwood County Mart is one of them so I don’t think that’s special. Their church parking lot is another regular spot. He doesn’t get papped doing the school run or anything anymore, is the point that I was trying to make.
And there they are – at church. Two cars but Ben’s mom is there too. Looks like Ben still has the phoenix back tattoo (which was noted in a few media stories to be absent in LBN even though he claimed it was for a role at that time.) I guess Jennifer is still taking umbrage! 🙂
Where do you see this posted – I can’t find it. Btw according to Casey – his mom lives with him in LA most of the time😀
Yeah, I listened to the podcast. The pics were up on Zimbio but are now gone.
Podcast? There are a few pics on zimbio of Jen meeting Reese Witherspoon at karate. The caption says Ben was there but he is not in the pics.
I guess Ben did not go to Houston after all.
Casey’s comment about his mom was in the wtf podcast. The church pics from Zimbio are are now on DM. I rarely comment on her fashion, but ugh – those shoes make her look like a nun!
Agree on the shoes – I have a feeling she needs orthopedic shoes and wears them when she is not “working”. Some of the DM pics look like they were taken by the Karate place. So seems both cars went from church to karate. I wonder if he really has moved out and is coming from somewhere else or this 2 car thing is more of a decoy for the paps. From a video now posted it looks like they all came and left church together but in 2 different cars.
Last week only Jen and Sera were at church (or so it looked) – so could be Ben was in Mexico – but it appeared that 2 of the kids stayed home.
They probably needed two cars with Ben’s mom there – for everyone to be able to wear seatbelts. 🙂 I have to say, I am really surprised that more media aren’t picking up the fact that that tattoo is clearly permanent (and not for a movie, as he claimed) This is why I take most of what these two say publicly with a grain of salt.
He looked Mario Lopez (and the camera, and the audience) and said that the tattoo was “fake for a movie.” It’s really creepy how smoothly and easily he lied. That’s why I just laugh at these obvious, huge declarations that he makes about Jen to the press and the stans who take them seriously. He seems like a pathological liar to me, I’d bet that he genuinely means about 10% of what he says.
Both Jennifer’s had slammed that tattoo in the press. I think he was really embarrassed about what was obviously a bad decision. When Mario asked that question he gave him the fake for a movie choice. And he ran with it. I think the media will pick up on it more in the next 24 hours. Those pics are truly embarrassing.
That said he lies about a lot of stuff, most recently on jimmy kimmel where he said he will definitely be directing batman.
@M this agree 100%
Poor poor Ben affleck, 1st LBN bombs at the box office, then he backs out of batman, now Brady and the Pats are lookin really down and out.
Welp.
The back tattoo seems less extensive than it appeared during the filming of LBN
It is interesting though. Except for church on two Sundays (where they also arrived separately), these two haven’t been photographed together at all since getting back from Montana. No coffee or school runs with Sam together. Another pic of Jen out yesterday with Sam. Yes, they could be doing separate school runs, but it’s still a huge departure from being seen doing these things together around the time of The Accountant and early LBN press tours in the Fall – to now not at all.
Yesterday was actually the first time they were photographed in 2017 together. Before the film promotions they were photoed 1 or 2 x a week doing the coffee run after school drop off. My gut here is that the days that Jen is not papped in the morning (like yesterday – I think those photos are in the afternoon – Sera and a nanny are also in them) – either both of them or just Ben – are dropping the girls off right in front of the school and then not doing the coffee run. And yes – I think it’s a purposeful move.
There are more videos and pics from Sunday now – from the karate parking lot – showing Ben leaving with all the kids and his mom. Jen was filmed leaving by herself when she met Reese. I’ve got to think this all happened before the Super Bowl – which starts I think at 3:30 on the west coast. So good for Ben – spent the day with his kids before partying up with the pats.
There is an article out there that he talks about meditating now – maybe he really is trying to find an inner peace and quit his vices.
Meditating… trying to quit smoking… trying to quit drinking… trying to quit all the women. Same drivel, different year. He will literally tell the press anything to get a good soundbite. None of it is ever true. This has been going on for ages.
Also they may have arrived in2 cars Sunday – but video shows them all going into church together.
My theory is that Ben is in a serious relationship now and is ready to move on and WILL file divorce some time this year, that’s why he doesn’t have a problem taking his new gf to Cabo on a weekend when he could be spending it with his kids that I don’t think he see’s all that much anyway. I also believe that he no longer lives in the family home, paparazzi just haven’t figured it out yet. There is a reason why Jen makes it a point to look sullen and serious the few times she is with Ben, in other pics with her friend or her kids she’s smiling and laughing but with Ben she’s has zero expression on her face, she knows where she stands in his life so why pretend she’s happy when she’s with him. All of these empty accolades that Ben showers on Jen in the press, it’s for his benefit not hers, “oh Jen and I are cool, I respect her and admire her yadayada she’s the best mom in the world” Why?? What does he expect to get out of that? Being associated with each other in marriage didn’t help either of their career’s and Ben needs to start separating his identity from her’s , he should start by not referring to her as “my wife” especially if he’s dating someone.
why this mysterious missing pic was never been published just by anyone? usually various tumblr immediately publish everything about Ben. It would be a real scoop! strange, very strange
Just seems like there’s zero between them anymore – and I don’t think it’s just because paps are there. It seems like they’re beating a dead horse. I know kids are involved but that’s true for so many others – look at Casey and his ex. He lives a block away for the kids, and they’re making it amicable and being open and honest about it. I think Ben is afraid of what will happen to him without the safety net and also the image Garner lends him (stable.) And I think by nature, she’s an enabler/fixer/guilter/controller, so they could be locked in a kind of dysfunctional limbo. That is one of my many psychoanalyses. 🙂 I think this old article says a lot about their personalities, and it’s possible not much has changed. And even though it’s ROL, they were actually first to accurately report on the coming of the official split and a lot of details around it. https://www.google.com/amp/radaronline.com/celebrity-news/jennifer-garner-ben-affleck-divorce-details/amp/
I’ll be the 1st to say I have no idea what is going on with these 2. I do feel they are controllng the narrative. What I have noticed over the last couple of months – that when they know they are being papped together they are extremely stiff. Much more so than in the months following the divorce announcement (once nanny gate cleared).
The following link – shows them relaxed (and yes I know this was last May)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BP0sO2vAzlR/
They may not be a couple but I have to think they are more relaxed in each other’s company than the church photos from last Sunday – after all these people supposedly live together, and definitely vacation together for long periods of time.
Like I said before, they had no problem being pictured together just a few months ago. Why would they deliberately avoid it all of a sudden? For what purpose? I don’t think these 2 are that calculated, but I do think they’re constantly on and off. Poor kids.
Oh of course. I don’t think there’s any doubt they’re in each other’s lives and always will be. I just don’t really see any couple chemistry there. To me, they seem more like a brother/sister or like she’s more of a mom-figure. But then, I’ve always thought they were an odd match from the time of their whirlwind dating to pregnancy to marriage.
So not much coming up for these two. I don’t believe either one has a movie filming or a promotion on the horizon. So if they are to file for divorce , I would think now would be the time.
@jojo – one of the most interesting things in the old rol article is that Laura Wasser is quoted talking about the 10 year marriage rule in CA.
Will they go to Montana again presidents week?
Will they both be at the oscars ? Vanity fair party?