Variety and the majority of the other movie sites running this story all seem to solely be focusing on Ben Affleck‘s involvement in Mike Judge’s Extract, but quite frankly I was enamored enough with Affleck’s Gone Baby Gone that I now know I don’t want to see ol’ Ben in front of the camera as much as I want to see him behind it, at least not as much anymore, but a Judge comedy may get him back to those good ol’ Kevin Smith days.
His work on Good Will Hunting with Matt Damon was phenomenal, his directing on Gone Baby Gone was kick ass, and as an actor I will always remember him solely from Chasing Amy, Dogma, Mallrats and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. A lot of people rag on Affleck for films like Reindeer Games and Daredevil, but his contributions to the film world have been far greater than so many hacks that don’t get near as much criticism. Hell, critics ragged on Gigli just because it was an easy target, but it wasn’t even the worst movie that opened that month back in 2003.
Affleck will be co-starring in Extract with Jason Bateman set to star. Bateman will play a flower extract factory owner who’s dealing with workplace problems and a streak of bad luck, including his wife’s affair with a gigolo. Affleck will play an ambulance-chasing lawyer with Clifton Collins Jr. also joining the cast as a factory worker who loses a body part in a freak accident and is now due for a huge settlement. Mila Kunis and Kristen Wiig are also aboard. Yup, it’s a quality cast considering Judge’s last flick, Idiocracy, got no love from Fox as it was quietly tossed onto DVD and never heard from again. However, to be fair to Fox, it wasn’t all that great despite the love some onliners have for it. A’ight is what I would call it.
Extract begins filming this coming Monday in Los Angeles from Judge’s script. Miramax will distribute.
Affleck’s last major flick was Hollywoodland back in 2006, which earned him some critical attention and he already finished work on State of Play and He’s Just Not That Into You, both set to bow in 2009.
