Below, are short summaries, and potential release dates (ALWAYS subject to change!) of many of Ben's films. For those that we have seen, we have provided a rating. Please note: We may include films that Ben is "unofficially" committed to, yet has not signed on for.
| A = | Loved It, Loved It, Loved It! |
| B = | A Good, Enjoyable Viewing Experience |
| C = | Could've Been Better, Could've Been Worse |
| D = | Don't Bother - Nothing Special At All About This One |
| F = | Dreadful, Dreadful, Dreadful! |
- A jewish teenager receives a football scholarship to attend a yuppie, anti-semetic prep school. Ben has very small role as one of Frasier's classmates, Chesty.
(Also stars Brendan Fraser, Chris O'Donnell, Matt Damon, Amy Locane)
DAZED AND CONFUSED [Our Grade: B]
- It's the 1970's, school is getting out for the summer and it's time for the juniors to celebrate their passage into senior status. So, how do they do it? By terrorizing next year's freshmen and drinking enough alcohol and smoking enough pot for a small army. Ben plays O'Bannon, the epitome of every testosterone pumped and hyperactive high school bully you've ever had the displeasure to meet.
(Also stars Jason London, Joey Lauren Adams, Matthew McConaughey, Milla Jovovich)
MALLRATS [Our Grade: C+]
- Follows the antics of various characters hanging out in the local mall. Ben has only a small role.
(Also stars Shannon Doherty, Jason Lee, Jason London, Claire Forlani)
GLORY DAZE [Our Grade: D]
- Centers on five slackers in Santa Cruz, getting ready to graduate from college, but preferring to sit at home and drink beer instead of prepare for the future. This was Ben's first starring role. See it just to get a load of his hair - a mowhawk!
(Also stars French Stewart, Alyssa Milano)
CHASING AMY [Our Grade: A-]
- Once again Ben and director Kevin Smith join forces in the story of Holden (Ben), a regular old guy who meets a great girl named Alyssa (Adams) and finds himself attracted to her. There's just one catch - she's a lesbian. Holden and Alyssa become good friends, but the question still remains:Will boy get girl? You gotta love the car speech, and hilarious discussions.
(Also stars Joey Lauren Adams, Jason Lee, Dwight Ewell)
GOING ALL THE WAY [Our Grade: B-]
- Ben plays Gunnar, a young man who befriends Sonny (Jeremy Davies) after the Korean War. Gunnar teaches Sonny his philosophy on life: Peach pie is good, but you don't want it at everymeal, everyday, for the rest of your life. Do you get the drift of the movie?
(Also stars Jeremy Davies, Rose McGowan, Amy Locane)
GOOD WILL HUNTING [Our Grade: A]
- Affleck wrote this screenplay with Damon, his best friend, for which they won both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe. Damon stars as Will, an emotionally confused genius who's headed the wrong way in life. Everyone in Will's life thinks they know what's best for Will, but it's Chuckie (Ben) and Will's psychaitrist (Williams) who try to help Will make his own decision.
(Also stars Matt Damon, Minnie Driver, Robin Williams)
PHANTOMS [Our Grade: D+]
- Ben stars as Sheriff Bryce Hammond in this thriller about two sisters who return to town to find everyone either dead or missing. Yes, there's something evil underground.... or something like that. Definitely not Ben's best film, but you still might want to check it out.
(Also stars Rose McGowan, Joanna Going, Liev Schreiber, Peter O'Toole)
ARMAGEDDON [Our Grade: B-]
- An asteroid is headed toward earth, ready to destroy it. Can Ben and Bruce save the earth from destruction? What do you think?
(Also stars Bruce Willis, Liv Tyler, Will Patton, Billy Bob Thornton, Steve Buscemi)
SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE [Our Grade: A]
- A young Will Shakespeare, out of ideas and short on cash, meets his ideal woman and is inspired to write one of his most famous and romantic plays - Romeo & Juliet. A magnificently original film which delivers fantastic performances from the entire cast. Ben is hilarious as a pompous actor who must take a smaller part in the play.
(Also stars Joseph Fiennes, Gwyneth Paltrow, Geoffrey Rush, Judi Dench)
200 CIGARETTES [Our Grade: C+]
- An ensemble cast chronicles the events in the lives of certain individuals on New Year's Eve, 1982 as they all try to make their way to a party. Ben plays a bartender encountered along the way.
(Also stars Casey Affleck, Janeane Garofalo, Courtney Love, Christina Ricci, Martha Plimpton, Paul Rudd, Gabby Hoffman)
FORCES OF NATURE [Our Grade: B]
- Ben plays a traveller, on his way to his wedding, but sidelined by an airplance "accident". Now with Bullock, he must decide between the woman he's pledged his heart to and this new woman who has swept him off his feet.
(Also stars Sandra Bullock, Maura Tierney)
DOGMA [Our Grade: B+]
- Ben (Bartelby) and Matt are two renegade angels, trying to get back into Heaven. Of course, if they get back into Heaven, it means the end of the world. Directed by Kevin Smith.
(Also stars Linda Fiorentino, Salma Hayek, Matt Damon, Jason Lee)
BOILER ROOM [Our Grade: B]
- Ben plays the head recruiter at a stock brokering firm.
(Also stars Nia Long, Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel, Jamie Kennedy, Scott Caan, Nicky Katt, Ron Rifkin, Tom Everett Scott, Dennis Farina)
REINDEER GAMES [Our Grade: D+]
- Ben plays a freshly paroled ex-con trying to get his life back on track, when he's drawn into a casino robbery staged around the holidays.
(Also stars Gary Sinise, Charlize Theron)
DADDY & THEM [Opening Date: Summer 2000]
- When an uncle (Varney) is charged with murder, the event reverberates throughout a poor Arkansas family, including a struggling musician (Thornton) and his wife (Dern), her mother (Ladd), her sister (Preston), and his father (Griffith).
(Also stars Laura Dern, Andy Griffith, Kelly Preston, Billy Bob Thornton, Jim Varney, Diane Ladd)
BOUNCE [Opening Date: October 13, 2000]
- Ben plays a womanizer who gives up his seat on an airplane to another man who wants badly to get home to his wife. After the plane crashes, Affleck's character resolves to check up on the dead man's widow (Paltrow).THE THIRD WHEEL [Opening Date: Spring 2001]
(Also stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Natasha Henstridge, Jennifer Grey, Tony Goldwyn, David Paymer)
- Michael (Affleck) sets up his buddy Stanley (Wilson) with a beautiful girl, Diana (Richards), but something unexpected turns up. Stanley accidentally hits a homeless guy (Lacopo) with his car, and ends up with him "tagging along" for the rest of the night... including the date. Ben has a rather small role. Matt Damon's role is a near-cameo as Diana's ex-boyfriend. This marks the debut film for Matt Damon and Ben's Pearl Street production banner.PEARL HARBOR [Opening Date: May 23, 2001]
(Also stars Luke Wilson, Denise Richards, Jay Lacopo)
- Based upon the events that happened at the Pearl Harbor naval base on the morning of December 7th, 1941; including both the time before it, and the events that followed. Set against the setting of the raid on Pearl Harbor, this is the tale of two brothers (Ben and Hartnett); one an aviator in the U.S. Army Air Corps, and the other in the British Royal Air Force (American pilots were recruited by them before the U.S. entered WWII); who find themselves in love with the same woman. The emphasis on the film is said to really be on the love stories; with history the amazing and tragic backdrop. The latest from producer, Jerry Bruckheimer and director, Michael Bay (the fellas who brought us Armageddon, The Rock and Bad Boys).
(Also stars Josh Hartnett, Cuba Gooding Jr., Gene Hackman, Kate Beckinsale, Tom Sizemore)
OTHER POSSIBLE PROJECTS COMING DOWN THE PIKE:
THE DREYFUS AFFAIR: Currently being developed by Ben, with director Betty Thomas. Based on the novel by Peter Lefcourt; Affleck would play a happily married shortstop with kids and a dalmatian, who falls in love with his black second baseman. Wesley Snipes has long been suggested for the latter role. THE UGLY TRUTH: A romantically challenged woman receives lessons in love from a sloppily dressed, sexist television personality. Gwyneth is a possible co-star. Barry Sonnenfeld would direct. HALFWAY HOUSE: Currently being written by Ben and Matt. A drama in which Matt plays a patient, and Ben a counselor in a facility for the mentally impaired. Would also star Matt Damon. LIKE A ROCK: Currently being written by Ben and Matt. Ben would star.
NOTABLE TELEVISION APPEARANCES:
The Voyage of the Mimi Hands of A Stranger Daddy Against the Grain Lifestories: Families in Crisis Almost Home
TIDBIT: Ben also directed "I Killed My Lesbian Wife, Hung Her on a Meat Hook, and Now I Have a Three-Picture Deal at Disney" in 1996.
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