Steven Spielberg Allegedly Shaded Ben Affleck's 'Thing' With Jennifer Lopez & Called Him 'Cold As Hell' After Actor Made The Director's Young Son Cry!
by Perez Hilton · Perez HiltonWhat do you get when you cross an angry Steven Spielberg with a meme-worthy Ben Affleck? A direct-to-DVD movie!
During a recent appearance on Stephen Baldwin’s One Bad Movie podcast, filmmaker Mike Binder detailed a contentious relationship between the Oscar winners. He recalled a conversation in the mid 2000s where Steven proposed working together:
“He said, ‘We gotta do something together. I want you to write something for me.’ At the time, we both lived up in the Palisades, and we were talking about power and struggles.”
So, Binder came up with the idea for Man About Town — a story about a hotshot Hollywood agent and the way his work interferes with his personal life. The filmmaker revealed Steven was originally going to direct the flick, but eventually switched gears to a producorial role through DreamWorks. Binder stepped into the directorial chair and called up Ben to discuss starring in the film:
“We make a deal that he’s gonna do it, we shake hands, he’ll do it.”
However, that agreement became a MAJOR conflict for Steven:
“I call Steven, Steven says, ‘No. Can’t do it with him.’”
Uhhh, what?? Why? Well, according to Steven, Ben was coming off a box office bomb at the time AND was wrapped up in controversy with Jennifer Lopez. Binder recalled Steven saying:
“We just bombed a movie with him, he’s got that whole J.Lo thing going on now, and I have other problems with him.’”
Before their whirlwind marriage and divorce in recent years, Ben first began dating J.Lo in 2002 and proposed that same year. However, after a TON of scrutiny, the pair split up in 2004 — and EVERYONE was talking about it. We guess Steven didn’t want to deal with any of that stink! But there was another reason…
Binder went on to recite a story Steven told him about a time Ben allegedly mistreated his son at a family pool party:
“My son was a little boy, he was playing in the pool, and he got out of the pool, and Ben came in fully dressed, and my son pushed Ben into the pool. And Ben got really mad at him, and he came out of the pool and picked him up and threw him back into the pool, and made my son cry.”
Binder said he pushed back, questioning what the personal qualm had to do with a professional relationship:
“I said, ‘OK, what does this have to do with anything?’ He says, ‘I just don’t like to work with him. Plus his last two movies bombed. Find somebody else. Anyone but him. He’s cold as hell.’ I said, ‘OK, Steven.”
Yikes! What a tough situation!
So, Binder had to break the news to Ben. And the Daredevil actor had a gut feeling as to why Steven didn’t want to work with him:
“Ben calls me up, he says, ‘Did Steven Spielberg tell you I threw his kid in the water? Is that what happened? Is that why I’m not in your movie?’ I said, ‘No, he didn’t say’ — ‘Yes he did! He told you I threw his kid in the water. That’s why I’m not in the movie.’”
Ultimately Ben DID star in the film, and Steven did NOT produce. Instead, it was produced by Sunlight Productions and completely missed a theatrical release, going straight to DVD in early 2007.
Years later, both Ben and Steven were nominated for Best Director at the 2013 Academy Awards. Ben for Argo and Steven for Lincoln — and Ben ended up taking the prize! It was on that night the pair seemingly laid their feud to rest:
“He beats Spielberg, and he’s at the Academy Awards, and they’re hugging. And I text him, I’m watching on the air, I go, ‘Ben, tonight you could throw Spielberg’s whole family in the pool and get away with it.’ About an hour later, the phone rings, it’s Affleck at the Academy [Awards]. He goes, ‘That made me laugh so f**king hard.”
Binder added:
“I love both these guys, and they’re both smarter than me, but they both kinda acted like idiots, and so did I. They were great guys, but at the same time, a**holes. They were like everybody else. Steven Spielberg is a genius and a great guy, but he can be an a**hole. And Ben Affleck is a great guy, and he can be a bigger a**hole. But by the same token, both of ’em can go, ‘Yeah, I can be an a**hole.’”
Ha! Hear him talk more about it (below):
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