Ben Affleck recently opened up about his relationship with his longtime best friend, Matt Damon.
The then-up-and-coming actors wrote and starred in the 1997 movie Good Will Hunting. They were nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the 70th Academy Awards, and it helped launch their careers.
In a recent interview on The Drew Barrymore Show, the actor was asked by Barrymore about whether the pair shared a bank account and rented a house in Los Angeles where they wrote the hit movie.
He confirmed that they shared a bank account and said he thought that it was normal as struggling actors trying to make it in show business.
Affleck also said the pair shared an expensive house in the “expensive” Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, where they wrote the film.
“When we sold Good Will Hunting, I was like, ‘We are now rich for life. My needs are over. I will never have to work again. I’m rich, forever,'” he recalled.
He revealed that they sold the movie for $600,000, split it in half, and ended up with $300,000 each.
“The agents got $30,000. So we had $270,000. And we paid about $160,000 in taxes,” Affleck explained. “We had $110,000. We each bought $55,000 Jeep Cherokees,” he said, getting a laugh from the audience, continuing:
“And then had $55,000 left, which, naturally, we decided to rent a $5,000 a month party house on Glencoe Way by the Hollywood Bowl, and we were broke in six months.”
Drew Barrymore heaps praise on Ben Affleck and Matt Damon for their Artists Equity production company
In the same interview, Barrymore praised their “unprecedented company,” explaining that with Artists Equity, a production company Affleck launched with Damon in 2022, everyone in the production of a movie benefits from the film’s financial success.
The 50-year-old actor went on to praise the talent behind the camera that does not get the credit they deserve for their contributions to filmmaking.
The Batman actor said it was not fair that he earned money for movies that failed to succeed at the box office. He continued that the production team should get the lion’s share of the profits.
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon secure at least $100 million in funding for Artists Equity
According to the New York Times, Damon and Affleck secured $100 million in funding to launch the company, which aims to share profit with artists from writers, costume designers, editors, and directors.
According to the outlet, the two actors also used their own money to add capital to the project, and Affleck agreed to work exclusively for the company while Damon will produce exclusively.
Artists Equity expects to launch three projects in 2023 with a goal of five flicks per year.
The first film, Air, was released earlier this month and is about a sneaker salesman who convinced Michael Jordan to make a deal with Nike in the 1980s, resulting in Air Jordans.