Why Ben Affleck Got Shunned By Steven Spielberg

Reports claim Spielberg was not happy with Affleck after he allegedly made his son cry by pushing him into a swimming pool, despite the young boy doing the same to the actor for the first time.

It is still unclear what the current status of Ben Affleck and Steven Spielberg’s relationship is, but the duo is yet to work on any project together.

Spielberg may not be on good terms with Affleck, as the actor’s behavior allegedly left him speechless.

Director Mike Bender appeared on Stephen Baldwin’s “One Bad movie” podcast, where he explained that the situation stemmed from an embarrassing experience one of the director’s sons had in the early 2000s.

At the time, the “Accountant 2” actor was dating Spielberg’s granddaughter, Gwyneth Paltrow, with whom he starred in “Shakespeare in Love” and “Bounce” before they split in 2000.

He would later join his then-girlfriend for a sweet family reunion. However, what seemed to disgust Spielberg was the film star’s reaction to his child.

“My son was a little kid, and he was playing in the pool, and he got out of the pool, and Ben came in fully clothed, and my son pushed Ben into the pool,” Spielberg reportedly told Bender. New York Post.

Spielberg added: “Ben got so angry at him, he got out of the pool and picked him up and threw him back into the pool, which made my son cry.” “I don’t like working with him. Plus, his last two films flopped. Find someone else. Anyone but him. He’s cold as hell.”

The rancor allegedly escalated into the work environment, with Spielberg blacklisting Affleck at the time.

Bender indicated that he was developing the film “Man About Town”, and Spielberg expressed interest in directing the project.

Spielberg reportedly told him: “We have to do something together.” “I want you to write me something.”

According to the news outlet, the screenplay tells the story of a real-life invasion of Spielberg’s home. Everything was going well until Affleck decided to sign.

“We made an agreement that he would do it, and then we would shake hands, and he would do it,” Bender said of Affleck.

Spielberg reportedly said: “No. I can’t do that with him.” “We just bombed a movie with him, he’s got the whole J. Lo thing going on right now, and I have other issues with him.”

Given the timeline of the allegations, it’s likely that the movie Bender was referring to is “Gigli,” a 2003 romantic comedy in which Affleck starred with his then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez, which became a box office hit after their first romance made headlines.

Bender then informed Affleck of the decision to move forward without him, but suspected that his situation with Spielberg had led to it.

“Ben called me and said, ‘Did Steven Spielberg tell you that I threw his baby in the water? Is that what happened? Is that why I won’t be in your movie?'”

“I said, ‘No,’ he didn’t say, ‘Yes, he did it!'” he recalled. He told you I threw his baby into the water. That’s why I’m not in the movie.”

Binder recalled that he had to call Spielberg again to inform him that Affleck would make it, but realized the next day that Spielberg’s film studio, DreamWorks, had dropped the film.

Affleck eventually became an Oscar-winning director, taking home the award in 2013 after his film “Argo” beat out Spielberg’s “Lincoln.”