Ben Affleck often prefers to live a private life, however, in recent press, he’s been opening up about his battles with alcoholism and other personal topics. The actor has been keeping himself busy by starring in back-to-back movies.
His most recent flick The Last Duel — which he produced and starred in — flopped at the box office, prompting him to reevaluate his thoughts on the movie theater industry.
Ben Affleck thinks going to the movies is a hassle
Opening up about his most recent experience going to the movie theater to Los Angeles Times, Affleck shared that his last outing was to see the 2021 comedy-drama Licorice Pizza and he realized that the entire process was a “hassle.”
Warming up to the controversial topic Affleck first explained that times are changing. He called the recent shift to streaming, especially among the coronavirus pandemic, is a “big adjustment.”
The star said, “It’s terrifying and liberating, because it’s the Wild West, and nobody really knows what [or] how this is going to work out. It’s a big adjustment.”
Given his industry experience, he gave some deeper insight on the topic. “Everybody I talk to in this business is having versions of the same conversation, which is, ‘Where are people going to watch movies? What kind of movies can be released in theaters? Is this COVID? Is this viewing trends?’ I don’t know what the answers are. But there are opportunities,” he continued.
Affleck went on to break down why he’s turned off of the movie theater experience. The 49-year-old said, “I’m convinced that there’s a segment of the audience now that is done with movie theaters. It’s just too much of a hassle: You have to pay for parking, pay for this and that. I went out and saw Licorice Pizza, and it was amazing. But I hate to say I’m part of that generation — I like to be asleep by 9:30.”
Affleck on playing Batman in The Flash
In the same interview, Affleck addressed the reprisal of his Batman character in the upcoming The Flash movie. He opened up about how Justice League cemented the end of his interest in starring in superhero flicks. Calling his experience in the movie “bad”, he said, “It was really Justice League that was the nadir for me. That was a bad experience because of a confluence of things: my own life, my divorce, being away too much, the competing agendas and then [director] Zack [Snyder]’s personal tragedy and the reshooting.”
Continuing to detail the experience. He added, “It was awful. It was everything that I didn’t like about this. That became the moment where I said, ‘I’m not doing this anymore.’ It’s not even about, like, Justice League was so bad. Because it could have been anything.”
In another conversation with Herard Sun, the actor teased his role in The Flash which will bring him and Michael Keaton back as their superhero character. “I have never said this – this is hot off the presses – but maybe my favorite scenes in terms of Batman and the interpretation of Batman that I have done, were in the Flash movie,” Affleck shared. “I hope they maintain the integrity of what we did because I thought it was great and really interesting, different, but not in a way that is incongruent with the character.”
The Flash is set to premiere on November 4, 2022.