Posted by Banky Fan at cache-dk08.proxy.aol.com on August 11, 2003 at 23:40:48:
...in full swing, baby!
From CNN:
Affleck says 'Gigli' wasn't good
LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) --A perfect storm of tabloid stories, negative Internet buzz, and a just plain bad movie led to the spectacular failure of "Gigli," starring Hollywood's hottest couple, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, the actor said Monday.
The much-hyped movie "wasn't good and we got buried," Affleck told reporters at an interview for the upcoming film, "The Battle of Shaker Heights."
"I think there is good work in it, scene by scene," he said. "I think the acting is good -- it's a different character for me. But I don't think ultimately the movie held up as a whole."
The film, featuring Affleck and Lopez as underworld figures who become romantically involved, was roundly panned by critics and bombed at the box office, pulling in a disappointing $3.8 million in its first weekend earlier this month.
"You can put scenes together and sometimes they just don't work," he added. "I think there was a certain amount of Schadenfreude, a certain amount of a critical slam dunk contest that it turned into, like some (critic) was saying, 'I have been saving up this one turn of phrase all summer.' But that's part of the deal."
He skirted questions about whether his recent visit to a Vancouver strip club in July had affected his planned wedding to Lopez.
"You can tell your news editors that you are too big for that kind of stuff, that you are better than that, that you rise above it," he laughed, as video cameras documented the media briefing for the HBO series "Project Greenlight."
Project Greenlight began in 2000 as an online screenplay competition sponsored by Affleck and his boyhood friend and "Good Will Hunting" co-star, actor Matt Damon. The winners get $1 million to make their films.
"The Battle of Shaker Heights" is the next film to be made under the project, which has been chronicled on the successful HBO series of the same name.
Affleck said he was not worried about critical reception for "Jersey Girl," another upcoming film that pairs him with Lopez. "I think 'Jersey Girl' is a really good movie," he said. "Jen is only in it for about 10 minutes, so it's not really like a 'Me-and-Jen' movie. In fact, probably after the towering success of 'Gigli,' I suspect Miramax will find a way to sell it as other than a 'Me-and-Jen' movie."