Moviefone Editorial

Tag: casey-affleck

  • Casey Affleck Won’t Be Presenting Best Actress At This Year’s Oscars

    Casey AffleckIf you were holding out to see how this year’s Best Actress Oscar Winner responds to Casey Affleck in her moment of triumph, it ain’t gonna happen.

    Affleck’s Best Actor win last year for “Manchester by the Sea” was clouded by news that he had settled claims of sexual harassment with two women. Brie Larson (the previous year’s Best Actress winner, who presented him with his statuette), pointedly refused to clap for him.

    Responding to the backlash against his Oscar win last year, Affleck told the Boston Globe, “I believe that any kind of mistreatment of anyone for any reason is unacceptable and abhorrent, and everyone deserves to be treated with respect in the workplace and anywhere else.” As for what he can do about the allegations, he said, “There’s really nothing I can do about it. Other than live my life the way I know I live it and to speak to what my own values are and how I try to live by them all the time.”

    In a post-Harvey Weinstein world with the #MeToo movement still in full swing, Affleck has opted to drop out of this year’s Oscars. Deadline reports that he has notified the Academy he will not be attending this year.

    According to Deadline, the actor “did not want to become a distraction from the focus that should be on the performances of the actresses in the category.”

    So if you, like some folks on Twitter, were hoping to see Frances McDormand (the Best Actress frontrunner after her Golden Globes and SAG Award wins) punch out Affleck, you’re out of luck.

    Affleck starred (mostly under a white sheet) in the 2017 film “A Ghost Story.” He’s also writing, starring, and directing in “Light of My Life,” and costarring with Robert Redford in “The Old Man and the Gun.”

    [Via Deadline]

  • Armie Hammer Releases Public Apology Statement to Casey Affleck

    Santa Barbara International Film Festival Honors Judi Dench With Annual Kirk Douglas Award For Excellence In Film - ArrivalsDid someone get a call from Casey Affleck‘s team?

    You’ll recall Armie Hammer‘s reference to an Oscars season double standard favoring Casey Affleck over Nate Parker. That’s from a recent interview the “Call Me by Your Name” star did with The Hollywood Reporter. Hammer’s very candid interview — defending Parker and questioning Best Actor winner Affleck — also included the suggestion Hammer knew who leaked information about Parker’s 1999 rape case (he was acquitted) during the awards campaign for “Birth of a Nation.”

    Hammer knew he was making serious accusations — and almost caught himself, it seemed, before diving in. THR’s reporter even added information correcting Hammer’s version of the charges against Affleck.

    89th Annual Academy Awards - BackstageBut now Hammer has issued a public apology statement, with that statement being emailed around to outlets (like ours) that wrote about Hammer’s initial THR comments.

    Here’s Hammer’s full apology statement:

    “I would like to sincerely apologize to Casey and his family for my recent comments about him in my THR interview. Without knowing the facts about the civil lawsuits at issue (which I now understand were settled), I misspoke. I conflated sexual harassment cases with a criminal case involving sexual assault charges. The cases in which Casey was involved were not criminal and instead involved civil claims from his 2010 movie ‘I’m Still Here.’ While intending to make a social comment about double standards in general, I mistakenly compared reports of prior, public civil allegations that never proceeded to trial with a criminal case that was fully tried. I understand now that this was a poor comparison, which I deeply regret making. I also didn’t mean to insinuate, nor do I believe, that Casey or anyone from his camp had anything to do with leaked information that took place during the press for ‘Birth of a Nation.’ I respect Casey’s work, and I’ve learned a valuable lesson about the need to be more accurate with disseminating information, especially in this age of instantaneous, unchecked communication. While attempting to be part of the solution, I unintentionally made myself part of the problem, for which I am truly sorry.”

    How many publicists and lawyers had to go over that statement before it was released? Armie Hammer is an off-the-cuff guy, and we like that about him, but it’s true that public figures have to be careful, especially when it comes to legal issues.

    Hammer seems to be on the Oscars campaign trail himself for 2018, aiming to be the next Best Actor after Casey Affleck.

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  • Armie Hammer Blasts Oscars’ ‘Two Standards’ for Casey Affleck and Nate Parker 

    89th Annual Academy Awards - BackstageUPDATE: Armie Hammer later issued an apology to Casey Affleck for comments he made during this Hollywood Reporter interview.

    Original post:

    Armie Hammer is still upset about the 2017 Oscars, and how “The Birth of a Nation” was treated.

    Armie Hammer is always candid. Or as he put it to The Hollywood Reporter, “I always open my mouth too much, but f*ck it.” He’s currently earning 2018 Oscars buzz for “Call Me by Your Name,” but talk about the Oscars sent the conversation down a dark road. Hammer was invited to join the Academy this year, he thinks it’s “largely because of the way the ‘Birth of a Nation’ thing was handled.”

    “Birth of a Nation” had a strong showing at Sundance, but right as 2017 Oscars season kicked off, a 1999 rape allegation against director/writer/producer/star Nate Parker resurfaced. Hammer costarred in “Birth of a Nation” as Samuel Turner, and he told THR the timing of the headlines “was orchestrated for sure.”

    On that note, he added:

    “There was another person in the industry, who had a competing film for the Academy Awards, who decided to release all of the phone records and information. I’ve been told who did it — by several people.”

    Interesting… Hammer said the way Nate Parker was treated — and sent to “directors jail” — showed a double standard when compared to Casey Affleck, who was accused of sexual misconduct and still ultimately won the Oscar.

    “Nate had the stuff in his past, which is heinous and tough to get beyond. I get that. But that was when he was 18, and now he’s in directors jail. At the same time, the guy who went and won an Academy Award has three cases of sexual assault against him.”

    Premiere Of Fox Searchlight Pictures' 'The Birth Of A Nation' - ArrivalsHere’s more of the Hollywood Reporter piece, including some clarification on their end as to Affleck’s actual charges vs. Parker’s charges:

    “I ask if he is referring to Casey Affleck, who was sued in 2010 for sexual harassment by two female crewmembers on the set of I’m Still Here and who won the 2016 best actor Oscar for Manchester by the Sea. ‘Yeah,’ he says. (Affleck, in fact, had two civil suits filed against him, both of which were settled out of court and dismissed.) ‘And [Parker] had one incident — which was heinous and atrocious — but his entire life is affected in the worst possible way. And the other guy won the highest award you can get as an actor. It just doesn’t make sense.’

    I point out the details of the Parker trial — a claim of gang rape on a heavily intoxicated woman, followed by his accuser’s suicide — are much graver than what Affleck was accused of, which involved a pattern of demeaning and lewd language and, in one instance, drunkenly climbing into bed with a woman without her consent. ‘Look,” says Hammer. ‘I’m not saying Nate should not have been in trouble. I’m saying that they got in different levels of trouble. And that’s the disparity. It’s like there are two standards for how to deal with someone who has this kind of issue in their past, you know?’”

    He’s not the only one to take issue with Casey Affleck breezing through his allegations and winning an Oscar. Brie Larson said her lack of applause spoke for itself, and others spoke even louder.

    But the 2017 Oscars was a mess across the board, and Hammer admitted he “laughed so hard” and “literally stood up off my couch and applauded — in a schadenfreude way” over the “La La Land”/”Moonlight” snafu. There’s almost no way 2018 can match 2017’s level of drama … but it can try.

    The 90th Academy Awards, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will air live on ABC Sunday, March 4, 2018.

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  • Casey Affleck Doesn’t Think Ben Affleck Will Do ‘The Batman’ Movie

    US-OSCARS-SHOWThe Batfleck rumors may be true. Casey Affleck told Boston sports radio station WEEI that he doesn’t think his older brother Ben Affleck will star in “The Batman” standalone film, following “Justice League.”

    Here’s that part of the conversation (watch the video below):

    Host Rich Keefe: “There’s a rumor. I’m sure you don’t like being asked about your brother, but there is a rumor that he is not going to be in the standalone Batman movie. I thought he was a tremendous Batman. I don’t know if you have any insight on that?”

    Casey Affleck: “Um. [Sighs.] I thought he was an OK Batman. [Everyone laughs] No, he was great. He was great. He was a hero, so he had something to channel and work with there. But he’s not gonna do that movie, I don’t think. … Is that breaking news? I was just kinda making that up.”

    Well, it’s news now! Keefe said he heard it first from Casey Affleck and he’s going to tweet that out.

    You can watch Casey say it around the 6 minute mark. He sounds serious, not like he was just making it up, but that might also just be his deadpan humor. It’s also not clear how much he knows about Ben’s Batman future.At Comic-Con last month, Ben Affleck seemed to shut down the rumors that his future as Batman was “in doubt,” saying, “Being Batman is the coolest f–ing part in any universe. I’m so thrilled to do it. It’s f–ing amazing [to] have this history of this great studio… They said to me, ‘We want you to be our Batman and I believe them.’”

    At the very least, he’ll be in “Justice League,” and he told Entertainment Weekly this Batman “is more in keeping with the canon of how Batman’s usually been portrayed” than the Bruce Wayne of “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”:

    “BvS departed a little bit from the traditional Batman. He started out with all this rage directed at Superman, because of his coworkers who had died in the fight Superman had with Zod. He was holding on to a lot of anger, in a little bit of an irrational way. Whereas this is a much more traditional Batman. He’s heroic. He does things in his own way, but he wants to save people, help people.”

    “Justice League” opens November 17th. “The Batman” — originally meant to be written, directed by, and starring Ben Affleck — is now being directed by Matt Reeves, with a new script, and starring … we’ll see what happens with it.

    [via: The Wrap]

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  • Summer Phoenix Files for Divorce From Casey Affleck

    Summer Phoenix and Casey Affleck Another Affleck is getting divorced: Summer Phoenix has filed for divorce from Casey Affleck, ET reports. The two announced their separation last year after 10 years of marriage, but now Phoenix is making the split official.

    The pair met in 1995 through her brother, Joaquin Phoenix, when Joaquin and Affleck were working on “To Die For.” They started dating in 2000 and tied the knot in 2006.

    The reason for the divorce is the usual “irreconcilable differences,” according to ET. Phoenix is seeking spousal support, as well as joint legal and physical custody of their sons, 12-year-old Indiana and 9-year-old Atticus.

    They legally separated in November 2015, although they didn’t announce their split until March 2016. (The photo above is from 2013.)

    Phoenix did not accompany Affleck to the Oscars earlier this year, where he won Best Actor for “Manchester by the Sea.” As you recall, old allegations of sexual misconduct dogged Affleck throughout awards season.

    Summer is the youngest sibling of the Phoenix family — River, Joaquin, and Liberty. As a child, she guest starred on TV shows including “Airwolf,” “Murder, She Wrote” and “Growing Pains.” Her films include “Dinner Rush,” “The Believer” and “The Laramie Project.”

  • ‘Manchester by the Sea’ Allegedly ‘Inspired’ Couple to Kill Teen Son

    MBTS_3869.CR2This is beyond appalling.

    The fact is that a 16-year-old boy from upstate New York is dead. The prosecutor’s allegation is that the parents of that teen watched the movie “Manchester by the Sea,” got inspired by the horrific plotline, murdered their adopted son with special needs, then tried to cover it up with a fire.

    Norwich, N.Y. news station WBNG reported from the transcript of the recent bail review for Heather Franklin, 33, and Ernest Franklin II, 35, charged with murder, arson, and tampering with physical evidence in the death of Jeffrey Franklin, 16.

    According to the transcript, District Attorney Joseph McBride told the judge the Franklins adopted Jeffrey, a foster child with special needs, in 2012. His needs were said to be a “handful” for the parents, in that he had “bowel issues and he had urine control issues” and that was said to put “a very big strain in the family relationship,” and Heather Franklin complained on Facebook about the strain that was putting on her.

    So, to free themselves from this burden, they allegedly killed him.

    Spoiler alert: Spoilers from the plot of “Manchester by the Sea” after this point.

    McBride continued:

    “Judge, in this particular case, the defendant and her husband, co-defendant, were at home with Jeffrey on the night of February 28th. That night, according to this defendant, she watched a movie called ‘Manchester by the Sea.’ And in that movie, Judge, the main character in that movie kills his children by an accidental fire and is told in the movie that you can’t be prosecuted for accidentally killing your children, and within two hours of that movie playing to this defendant and her husband, Jeffrey’s deceased. She inexplicably left the house, driving around Chenango County and Delaware County, and doesn’t return until the fire totally engulfs the house.”

    Heather Franklin reportedly told police she went to a couple of stores looking for a certain drug, and that’s why she wasn’t at home. Prosecutors claimed to have evidence showing she didn’t go to the aisles that had the drug in either store.

    For the husband’s part, Ernest Franklin claimed that the fire was started at his house accidentally when his wife happened to be out shopping (just like Casey Affleck’s character in “Manchester by the Sea”) and he happened to leave the dogs outside.

    As McBride put it:

    “No one else was left in the house, and [Ernest Franklin], with all due respect, was not injured in any way trying to save the alleged — the victim in this particular case. […] There was evidence at the time that the police arrived, the defendant was very calm, cool, collected and pointed to the room where Jeffrey was lying and the defendant had no physical injuries from any attempt to try to save him. It later turned out, Judge, that after the examination of the — of the victim’s body, it was determined that the victim was killed before the fire and that there were no natural causes.”

    The prosecutor alleged that, based on evidence, Jeffrey Franklin didn’t have any smoke or soot in his mouth, trachea, or bronchi, which would be present if he had died in a fire.

    According to WBNG, no trial date has been set at this point.

    You can’t blame “Manchester by the Sea” for this, but it does show how disturbed minds can find “inspiration” for their (alleged) evil deeds just about anywhere, including in a heartbreaking Oscar-winning movie.

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  • Casey Affleck Haunts Rooney Mara in ‘A Ghost Story’ Trailer

    “A Ghost Story” features a dead man haunting his wife, but this is no horror story.

    Instead, the movie — which debuted to raves at Sundance — is a contemplative, moody drama starring Oscar winner Casey Affleck as the aforementioned dead man. He dies in a car crash and then returns to watch over his wife (Rooney Mara) … wearing a white bed sheet with two eyeholes. He continues to haunt her as she grieves and tries to move on with her life.

    As reviews from Sundance have pointed out, “A Ghost Story” is not a horror movie or a thriller, nor quite a romantic drama. It defies categorization. And the movie was shot in a unique way, in a square ratio. Once Affleck’s character dies, you never see the actor (not even his eyes through the holes), nor hear him, but he is there under the sheet. An interesting choice for a newly-minted Oscar winner.

    “A Ghost Story” opens in theaters July 7.

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  • Brie Larson on Not Clapping for Casey Affleck at Oscars: ‘Speaks for Itself’

    ABC's Coverage Of The 89th Annual Academy AwardsBrie Larson’s less-than-enthusiastic presentation of the Best Actor Oscar to Casey Affleck was noted immediately on social media. Larson did not clap while the audience gave the “Manchester By the Sea” actor a standing ovation.

    Now, the actress is speaking out about her reaction. “I think that whatever it was that I did onstage kind of spoke for itself,” she told Vanity Fair at the premiere of her new movie “Kong: Skull Island.”

    “I’ve said all that I need to say about that topic.”

    Larson won an Oscar last year for portraying a sexual abuse victim and has been an advocate of sexual assault survivors. And Affleck was sued for sexual harassment by two female crew members during the filming of “I’m Still Here” (both suits were settled in 2010).

    The allegations dogged him throughout awards season, though ultimately, did not prevent him from winning the Academy Award. Affleck did not address the issue until days after the ceremony.

    “I believe that any kind of mistreatment of anyone for any reason is unacceptable and abhorrent, and everyone deserves to be treated with respect in the workplace and anywhere else,” he told the Boston Globe.

    “There’s really nothing I can do about it other than live my life the way I know I live it and to speak to what my own values are and how I try to live by them all the time.”

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  • Casey Affleck Responds to Sexual Harassment Allegations & Oscars Backlash

    89th Annual Academy Awards - BackstageDenzel Washington was in tears as Casey Affleck accepted the 2017 Oscar for Best Actor, and he was not the only one to be disappointed.

    Affleck won for “Manchester by the Sea” — and complimented Denzel right away, not that Denzel looked impressed — but some film-lovers were upset that the Academy didn’t care about Affleck’s real-life controversy with sexual harassment allegations from the set of his movie “I’m Still Here.”

    Many viewers were thrilled for Affleck, but there was also a strong backlash, part from disappointment at Denzel/Gosling/Viggo/Andrew not winning, but also in reference to Affleck’s past. A few fans decided that “Room” Oscar winner Brie Larson was making a statement when she didn’t clap after announcing Affleck as Best Actor.

    The Boston Globe asked their local boy about the allegations and the backlash. Here’s how they reported it, and his response:

    Asked about those sentiments Tuesday, Affleck paused and sighed heavily. He said both sides in the case are prohibited from commenting on the matter, and none of the people who are condemning him online know what happened.

    But, he added, “I believe that any kind of mistreatment of anyone for any reason is unacceptable and abhorrent, and everyone deserves to be treated with respect in the workplace and anywhere else.”

    “There’s really nothing I can do about it,” Affleck added wearily. “Other than live my life the way I know I live it and to speak to what my own values are and how I try to live by them all the time.”

    To be fair, Casey Affleck seems to speak “wearily” all the time, so it’s hard to know how much emphasis he’s giving any of this.

    He made “I’m Still Here” with then brother-in-law Joaquin Phoenix in 2010. Here’s how the New York Times described the resulting allegations:

    Along with the critical lambasting, there were two sexual harassment suits filed against Mr. Affleck by two women involved in the production. Magdalena Gorka, a cinematographer, said that Mr. Affleck had climbed into bed with her while she was sleeping and embraced her, and Amanda White, a producer, said that he had manhandled her after she resisted his unwanted advances. Mr. Affleck denied the claims; the cases were settled. Brian Procel, a lawyer who represented both women, said by email that neither woman would comment.

    Asked whether he felt responsibility for what happened, Mr. Affleck replied, by email, that he did not. “It was settled to the satisfaction of all. I was hurt and upset — I am sure all were — but I am over it,” he wrote. “It was an unfortunate situation — mostly for the innocent bystanders of the families of those involved.”

    When the 2017 Oscar nominations were first revealed, “Fresh Off the Boat” actress Constance Wu lashed out at Affleck’s nod, saying his inevitable win would be a nod to President Trump’s recent win after his harassment allegations and “locker room talk.”

    It’s hard to know how Academy members vote — apart from the Brutally Honest Ballots shared with the Hollywood Reporter — but they tend to separate private life from the work. Mel Gibson was also nominated this year, in a big “comeback” after making many defamatory comments over the years, including in 2010 when he was recorded on voicemail telling his ex/baby mama Oksana Grigorieva, “You look like a f*cking pig in heat, and if you get raped by a pack of n*ggers, it will be your fault.” And Roman Polanski won Best Director for “The Pianist” in 2003 even though he can’t even step foot in the United States because he fled after pleading guilty to the statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl in 1977.

    At least with Affleck the allegations were left at allegations that were settled, so there’s no chance of him being proven guilty. However, there’s also no chance of him being completely exonerated. Not that either result would likely change how anyone voted.

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  • Oscars 2017: Casey Affleck Wins Best Actor

    And the winner for Best Actor is … Casey Affleck for “Manchester By the Sea.”

    While Denzel Washington was the front-runner, Affleck surprised (nearly) everyone with his win, upsetting odds makers who’d pegged Washington as all but a sure thing. Affleck’s win is also the second Oscar to go to “Manchester by the Sea.” The movie’s writer/director, Kenneth Lonergan, won Best Original Screenplay earlier in the ceremony.

    The five Best Actor nominees at this year’s Academy Awards were Casey Affleck for “Manchester By the Sea,” Denzel Washington for “Fences,” “Andrew Garfield for “Hacksaw Ridge,” Ryan Gosling for “La La Land,” and Viggo Mortensen for “Captain Fantastic.”