While his acting career may have been on the skids, Ben Affleck has become one of the hottest directors in Hollywood thanks to the likes of Argo and The Town. He’s had several films on the go as his potential next project, but he’s now confirmed that Live by Night, which he signed up for last October, will be his next project. He’s also dropped out of the film Focus.
Affleck told MTV, “Basically I’m doing a movie called Live by Night and I’m trying to meet this schedule in order to do it, in order to meet the back end so that I can have it released at the right time, and I just hadn’t gotten enough writing done and it became clear that if I took that job and was in Buenos Aires for three months [to do Focus], I was going to miss the deadline. I had to choose between getting the movie out when I want to or doing this one, so reluctantly I chose the [former]. But I love those guys, I love Kristen (Stewart), I was really excited to work with her, I think the movie is going to be fabulous, and I’m sure they’ll find a great guy for it.”
Focus, written by Crazy Stupid Love directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, is about a con man who takes a young thief (Kristen Stewart) under his wing, although he falls for her and the relationship crumbles. Years later, they meet up again and begin to complicate each others lives even further.
Live by Night meanwhile reunites Ben Affleck with author Dennis Lehane. Ben Affleck’s directorial debut, Gone Baby Gone, was adapted from the Boston novelist’s book. This new movie centres on the son of a police chief who takes to a life of crime.