It's been a few years since Ben Affleck stepped behind the camera to direct, and he's now zeroing in on a new movie. The Big Goodbye is ripe with potential, telling the complicated behind-the-scenes story of how Chinatown was made.
Affleck is also on to adapt Sam Wasson's book, which charts how the 1974 film noir classic starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway was wrangled to screens. From Roman Polanski’s directing and Robert Towne’s Oscar-winning script to the twist ending that shook filmgoers to their core, Chinatown joined the long list of films to make their mark during the 1970s. Looming over the story of the classic movie is the imminent eclipse of the ’70s filmmaker-friendly studios as they gave way to the corporate Hollywood of today.
Portions will certainly be trickier than others – how, for example, to portray Polanski in all his controversial sides? Before he can even consider working on that issue and the movie, he'll be promoting new thriller Deep Water and working on Ridley Scott's The Last Duel in August.