The Ben Affleck movie Quentin Tarantino called “phoney”
Quentin Tarantino has never really been one to mince his words. The director, who has often shared some choice words on the state of Hollywood, once decided to focus his attention and executed his judgement on one actor in particular.
In the past, Tarantino has taken shots at what he called the “Marvel-isation of Hollywood”. Criticising serial films that ultimately create movie stars who can never live up to the characters they play, he said: “You have all these actors who have become famous playing these characters, but they’re not movie stars. Captain America is the star”.
While controversial at the time, Captain America actor himself, Chris Evans, actually agreed with the director. “You know, he’s right. The character is the star. You’re there, but you don’t feel the burden of it,” he told GQ.
But other victims of Tarantino’s cinematic opinion haven’t been quite so forgiving. While promoting his 2015 film The Hateful Eight, Tarantino used one interview with New York Magazine to rant about the state of the film industry. His main gripe? The number of attractive actors in Hollywood.
The director singled out Ben Affleck’s 2010 crime drama The Town, criticising it for having too many attractive people. Comparing it to David O. Russell’s movies The Fighter and American Hustle, he said those had staying power but were being ignored for vanity.
“Next to The Fighter, it just couldn’t hold up because everybody in The Town is beyond gorgeous,” Tarantino said. He appears to compliment Affleck through gritted teeth, stating: “Ben Affleck is the one who gets away with it because his Boston accent is so good”.
But his main issue of appearance endures, as Tarantino adds: “But the crook is absolutely gorgeous. The bank teller is absolutely gorgeous. The FBI guy is absolutely gorgeous. The town whore, Blake Lively, is absolutely gorgeous. Jeremy Renner is the least gorgeous guy, and he’s pretty fucking good-looking.”
His final thoughts, comparing the two films, are damning. Tarantino continues: “Then, if you look at ‘The Fighter,’ and you look at those sisters, they’re just so magnificent. When you see David O. Russell cast those sisters, and you see Ben Affleck cast Blake Lively, you can’t compare the two movies.”
Stabbing the knife in a little further, his rant ended, “One just shows how phoney the other is.”
Despite Affleck starring in so many respected and beloved movies, including Good Will Hunting, Shakespeare In Love and Argo, that wasn’t enough to save him from Tarantino’s judgement.
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