By Monica Rubalcava |
Los Angeles (USA) (EFE).- At a time marked by the Hollywood writers’ strike, actor Ben Affleck speaks in an interview with EFE about the problems of the audiovisual industry and the emergence of his production company Artists Equity , which seeks to fairly promote the talent of artists.
“The important thing is not the capital and the profits, but the human aspect,” says the interpreter, who recently released the film “Air”, the first film of the company that he leads together with his friend, the also actor Matt Damon.
support for writers
Affleck confesses to feeling empathy for the struggle of Hollywood writers, who on May 1 began an indefinite strike to demand better working conditions in the face of the changes that the entertainment industry has faced in recent years.
“It is no secret to anyone that ‘streaming’ has changed the economics of this business. One of the reasons I started this company was to try to boost the talent of artists and give them proper compensation for it,” he explains.
Although the productions in which he is currently working already have the scripts written and are in an advanced stage of the production process, he fears that the conflict will escalate and cause the same damage as other similar strikes in the past.
“Everything would be more dramatic for us if we were working on television series, but without writers we cannot develop new projects or carry out rewrites, which is dangerous for the industry,” he says.
Affleck seeks to work with family
Damon and Affleck had the first movie break of their careers in 1997, when both were still in their 20s and wrote and starred in the film “Good Will Hunting.”
The film garnered nine Academy Award nominations, giving them their first Oscar in the Best Screenplay category, and that was just the beginning of a career full of achievements for both of them.
Nearly three decades later, the actors reteamed on “Air,” coming to Prime Video on May 12, a film based on the true story of the origins of the Air Jordan footwear line.
The film portrays the challenge faced by Sonny Vaccaro (Damon), an employee of the Nike firm, who seeks to close a business deal with the then rookie basketball player Michael Jordan.
Affleck directed the film and gave life to the founder of the sports firm, Phil Knight, a man full of contrasts that allowed him to show the contradiction of the business world with humor.
“Knight was a passionate businessman who liked to break the rules, but at the same time he had to run a whole business. I thought that normally people like to make fun of bosses, so it seemed essential to give it a comical touch ”, he highlights.
“Air” was well received by the public and specialized critics, and the author of “Argo” can only attribute this success to the talent of the cast also made up of Viola Davis, Jason Bateman, Chris Tucker, among others.
But he does not stop recognizing the talent of his partner. “Matt is a brilliant actor and writer, he always makes everything better, I just hang on to the greatness of him,” he says.
Affleck will also work with his wife, actress and singer Jennifer Lopez, but this time as producer of a film dedicated to Anthony Robles, the American wrestler who was born with only one leg.
“It is always better to work with people who make you feel comfortable, whether it is your best friend or your wife, they are people you trust and who create an atmosphere of empathy at work, which is always important,” he considers.
Finally, the actor confesses that he currently chooses to work on projects that focus on the complexity of humanity, rather than thinking about the triumph that a film may or may not have.
“Maybe they are not the roles that will make you a movie star, but they are the ones that make life more interesting,” he says.
