Ben Affleck has labeled his flop “Gigli” a “gift” for several reasons, one of which is because it allowed him to meet someone who’s been “meaningful” in his life, Jennifer Lopez.
“The truth about that movie and what it taught me was how much everything around a movie sort of dictates the way people see it,” the 49-year-old actor shared Tuesday with Entertainment Weekly regarding the famous 2003 bomb. (RELATED: REPORT: Alex Rodriguez Is ‘Shocked’ That Jennifer Lopez Has ‘Moved On’ With Ben Affleck)
“And the studio at the time, because I had begun having this relationship with Jennifer Lopez, which was selling a lot of magazines and appeared to generate a lot of enthusiasm, they just predictably latched onto, ‘They want a romantic comedy,'” he added. “‘They want the two of them together. More of that!’ And it was just like that SNL sketch: ‘Bad Idea.'”
Ben Affleck Talks to Matt Damon About Meeting Jennifer Lopez on Gigli, Why It Was ‘Meaningful’ https://t.co/KRaRsAmoQo
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“[Gigli] didn’t work and we did five weeks of reshoots, which we knew were not gonna work,” Affleck continued. “It was a movie that didn’t work … Interestingly, I learned more about directing on that movie than anything else because Marty [Brest] is a brilliant director, really gifted. It’s not like it’s worse than all … there’s a bunch of horrible movies and in terms of losing money, I’ve had five movies — at least! — that have lost more money than Gigli has.” (RELATED: Ben Affleck Opens Up About How His Alcoholism Almost Ruined His Family)
The “Justice League” star said one of the reasons the movie flopped was because “it became a story in and of itself” with the weird name and the Jlo real-life romance making headlines, it was the “perfect storm.”
“And I remember talking to Marty the Friday it came out and I was like it’s just spectacular, it’s a tsunami, it couldn’t be worse,” the “Gone Girl” star shared. “This is as bad as it gets.”
“But if the reaction to Gigli hadn’t happened, I probably wouldn’t have ultimately decided, ‘I don’t really have any other avenue but to direct movies,’ which has turned out to be the real love of my professional life,” he added. “So in those ways, it’s a gift. And I did get to meet Jennifer, the relationship with whom has been really meaningful to me in my life.”
Ben is now linked romantically with his former fiancée, actress Jennifer Lopez, whom he got engaged to in November of 2002 before calling things off in 2004. Affleck was married to Garner from 2005-2018, and they share three kids together. Reports that he and Lopez were back together surfaced last year and the couple confirmed it in July 2021.