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PEOPLE & ARTS                           Saturday 24 december 2016
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                What’s the story with Ben Affleck? ‘Live by Night,’ he hopes



            JAKE COYLE                                                                             should  be  limited  to  that  saying they want to have a
             AP Film Writer                                                                        genre.”                      good script for their movie?
            NEW  YORK  (AP)  —  When                                                               Affleck and his family were  We’re  making  the  movie.
            Ben  Affleck’s  “Argo”  won                                                            preparing  to  soon  head  We’re  going  ahead  with
            best picture four years ago,                                                           to  Montana  to  celebrate  it.  We’re  just  working  on
            it  was  an  unquestionable                                                            Christmas  with  his  brother,  the script to make it good.
            high point in a career that                                                            Casey,  and  his  family.  It’s  like  the  most  famous
            has seesawed with ups and                                                              It’s  been  an  especially  unmade movie in history.”
            downs. As he, clutching the                                                            busy  year  for  both.  Casey  “We also want good actors.
            Oscar,  spoke  emotionally                                                             is   enjoying   the   most  We want good stages,” he
            of   “getting   back   up”                                                             acclaim  of  his  career  for  said. “It boggles the mind.”
            after    being    knocked                                                              “Manchester  by  the  Sea,”  After      the      critical
            down,  Affleck  seemed  to                                                             while Ben has run up more  lashing    of   “Batman    v
            be  leaving  the  turbulence                                                           than  $1.7  billion  in  box  Superman”  and  “Suicide
            behind.                                                                                office,  starring  in  “Batman  Squad,”   Affleck   would
            But  the  roller  coaster  soon                                                        v  Superman:  Dawn  of  have  good  reason  to
            enough     started   rolling                                                           Justice,”  making  a  cameo  emphasize the script stage
            again.    Though     many      In  this  Sept.  30,  2016  photo,  Ben  Affleck  poses  at  The  Four   in “Suicide Squad” and top-  of his “Batman” film, which
            expected  him  to  continue   Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles.                            lining  the  bean-counter  he  calls  an  “exhilarating”
            on  the  path  of  prestige                                           Associated Press  thriller “The Accountant.”  challenge,  “like  jumping
            filmmaker,  he,  with  just  a   that day.”               to  make  a  classic  Warners   But            concern  out of an airplane.” He has
            touch  of  fanfare,  took  on   Now,  Affleck  is  hoping  to  picture.”               that Affleck’s caped duties  written  or  co-written  all  his
            the  high-pressure  role  of   flip  the  script  again.  He’s  It’s  easily  Affleck’s  most   might overshadow “Live By  films except “Argo,” and, of
            Batman,  a  bid  to  secure   releasing   his   directorial  ambitious  film  yet,  one  he   Night” was especially acute  course,  first  won  an  Oscar
            his  place  on  the  A-list   follow-up   to    “Argo,”  grants  he  couldn’t  have    on  a  recent  December  for  penning  “Good  Will
            and  wow  his  four-year-    an  adaption  of  Dennis  tackled earlier. It has lavish   afternoon.  He  had  just  Hunting” with Matt Damon.
            old  son.  And  after  splitting   Lehane’s crime novel “Live  period  sets  and  costumes,   conducted a wide-ranging  Lehane,  the  celebrated
            with   his   wife,   Jennifer   By  Night.”  It’s  the  story  of  a lengthy car chase and an   Times Talk about his career,  crime   noir   novelist,
            Garner,    Affleck   again   a  Prohibition  era  gangster  epic  sweep  compelled  by   but  the  headline-grabbing  said Affleck is orderly, “no-
            found  himself  a  tabloid   (Affleck)  who  decamps  a clash of American ideals       takeaway  was  that  he  muss,  no-fuss”  in  talking
            regular.                     from  Boston  to  Tampa’s  that  resonates  particularly   said  wouldn’t  direct  the  over  the  screenplays  of
            “This  business  tends  to   Ybor City to create a rum-   post-election.   He    just   planned       stand-alone  “Gone  Girl”  and  “Live  by
            exaggerate     highs   and   running  empire.  It’s  his  hopes his side job in Warner   “Batman”  film  until  the  Night” — even if there were
            lows,”  Affleck  said  in  an   fourth  film  as  a  director  Bros.’  DC  Comics  universe   script was good enough.  understandable delays.
            interview  over  coffee  at   and  second  adaptation  doesn’t overshadow it.          “That  generated  30  stories  “I  think  he  thought,  ‘I’m
            a  Manhattan  restaurant     of  Lehane,  whose  “Gone  “They’re  saying  you  have    about ‘Ben Affleck’s taking  just going to go direct this’
            overlooking  Central  Park.   Baby   Gone”     was   his  to  have  x,  y  and  z  to   his  time  with  Batman.’  Of  (after ‘Argo’) and then he
            “I’ve  had  legitimate  lows,   directorial debut in 2007.  make money in the movie    course  I  am!”  Affleck  said  got  the  offer  to  do  ‘Gone
            movies I didn’t like, and I’m   “When  I  had  the  success  business,”   Affleck   said.   incredulously.  “You  take  Girl,’”  Lehane  said.  “And
            very proud of the movies I   of  ‘Argo,’  I  kind  of  got  to  “You’ve   got   to   have   your  time  with  any  movie.  then he was like, ‘OK, now
            directed and so on. But you   leverage that,” said Affleck,  somebody   wearing    a   It’s   no   different   than  I’m  ready  to  direct  this.’
            become a cast member in      who  was  sent  the  book  cape,  for  example.  While    anything else but because  And  then  he  got  the  offer
            a  soap  opera  that  you’re   by  Leonardo  DiCaprio.  “It  I  have  nothing  against   it’s ‘Batman’ and it has that  to  do  Batman.  As  he  said
            not  writing.  You  get  the   was  sort  of  pick  what  you  movies  with  people  with   level  of  attention  on  the  to  me  at  the  time,  in  the
            script  every  day  and  you   want to do and this is what  capes  on  --  I’m  a  big  fan   Internet. What could be less  grandest  understatement,
            find  out  what  your  role  is                                                        newsworthy than a person  ‘A guy’s got to eat.’”
                                         I  wanted  to  do.  I  wanted  of capes -- I don’t think we

            Rockettes’ owners say attendance

            at inauguration is a choice



            MARK KENNEDY                 But  Madison  Square  Gar-   lieved  attendance  was
             AP Entertainment Writer     den  Co.,  which  employs  mandatory,          including
            NEW YORK (AP) — The Ra-      the dancers, said Friday no  Julissa Sabino, a performer
            dio  City  Rockettes  will  be  dancers  are  being  com-  who  is  part  of  the  union,
            dancing  at  President-elect  pelled to attend the event.  who  tweeted  that  the  is-
            Donald  Trump’s  inaugura-   “For a Rockette to be con-   sue “breaks my heart” and
            tion  next  month,  but  not  sidered  for  an  event,  they  urged  supporters  to  “help
            everyone is kicking up their  must voluntarily sign up and  these ladies.”
            heels at the booking.        are  never  told  they  have  Autumn  Withers,  a  former
            One  of  the  famed  danc-   to  perform  at  a  particular  Rockette, supported a boy-
            ers  took  to  Instagram  to  event,  including  the  inau-  cott,  saying  “take  a  knee,    In this Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2005, file photo, the Rockettes per-
            say she was “embarrassed  gural,”  the  company  said  ladies!”                        form during the Celebration of Freedom Concert on the Ellipse,
            and  disappointed”  by  the  in a statement.              The American Guild of Va-    with the White House in the background in Washington.
            gig,  triggering  calls  for  a    “It  is  always  their  choice.  riety  Artists,  which  repre-                              Associated Press
            boycott by some on social  In  fact,  for  the  coming  in-  sents the Rockettes, has not  year-round  and  also  ap-  have  previously  appeared
            media. Critics have posted  auguration,  we  had  more  publicly  responded.  Many  pear in a summer show that  in  Super  Bowl  halftime
            the phone numbers of the  Rockettes  request  to  par-    Rockettes  —  there  are  80  debuted this year.          shows, Macy’s Thanksgiving
            dancers’  union  and  the  ticipate than we have slots  women  employed  for  the  The  Rockettes,  who  have  Day  parades  and  George
            Rockettes’  employer  to  available.”                     Christmas  show,  split  into  performed  at  Radio  City  W.  Bush’s  inaugurations  in
            urge complaints.             Many on social media be-     two casts — are employed  Music  Hall  since  the  1930s,  2001 and 2005.q
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