Ben Affleck Named Filmmaker Of The Year 2012 By GQ Magazine


Director Ben Affleck has been selected as Filmmaker of the Year 2012 by GQ Magazine.

Affleck, who is quickly transitioning from Hollywood actor to in-demand director, has been selected by the publication for his work on the critically acclaimed motion picture Argo. According to Internet Movie Database, the film tells the true story of a mission to “extract six fugitive American diplomatic personnel out of revolutionary Iran.”

During the magazine’s interview with Affleck, the actor-turned-director explained that his past choices still come back to haunt him from time-to-time. The Good While Hunting co-star dished on the backlash he’s received from the press in the past.

“What was that guy’s name who killed his wife and dumped her off the side of a boat? Peterson. I remember thinking he actually gets slightly better treatment than I do in the press,” Ben Affleck explained.

He added, “I was the guy. I was the designated person to loathe.”

Following the mountains of negative press he received around the time he was dating Jennifer Lopez, the actor decided to shift gears a bit. He removed himself from the prying eyes of the paparazzi, married Jennifer Garner, and settled into a quiet life.

Instead of starring in more movies, Affleck decided to shift his focus to filmmaking. His first venture was Gone Baby Gone starring his kid brother Casey Affleck. The director delivered his sophomore feature The Town in 2010 to rave reviews. However, it would be Argo that ultimately established the filmmaker as a force to be reckoned with.

“The first movie, just about performances,” Affleck said in a recent interview with the New York Times ” ‘The Town,’ I learned how to work broader material, develop tension, direct bigger scenes, action sequences. ‘Argo,’ I experimented with film stock, widened the scope of my geography. It’s a period movie, which is also a stretch but not outside my understanding.”

The director explained that he’s not sure where he’s headed next in regards to filmmaking. Although he’s not the biggest fan of big-budget spectacle films, he said he wouldn’t rule out the idea entirely.

“I would do a special-effects movie, maybe. I have nothing against that kind of thing. What Ridley Scott did with ‘Alien’ and ‘Blade Runner’ — I would love to try something like that, if it had the tone of what I’m making now,” he remarked.

Be sure to swing by the GQ Magazine website for their full retrospective on Ben Affleck. Do you think he is the right choice for Filmmaker of the Year 2012?

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