Ben Affleck has been at the top of his game for a few years now, and during that time he has won one or two awards, but it seems that on two occasions the soon-to-be-former Batman actor promised his friend and fellow filmmaker Kevin Smith that he would thank him in his acceptance speech only to forget both times. Affleck and Smith first worked together on Mallrats back in 1995 when Smith hired the actor to play Shannon in the movie, and since then the pair have collaborated on numerous other films. It seems that despite their friendship, Affleck just couldn’t manage to remember to thank Smith when picking up his Oscars.
Affleck recently sat down with Matt Damon to talk to Entertainment Weekly, and as you would expect at one point the subject turned to Good Will Hunting, a movie that they wrote and starred in together to great acclaim. During the interview, Damon commented that the film was not always destined to be a hit or even get made, as while trying to get the movie produced Affleck and Damon were having no luck and the script was “dead in the water.”
However, thanks to Affleck showing the script to Smith, who then put it in front of Harvey Weinstein, the film went into production and to show his thanks Affleck promised to thank Smith if he ever won an Academy Award. However, things didn’t go to plan.
Damon: “Kevin also saved Good Will Hunting. This is not a small side note. He is the reason Good Will Hunting got made. We were dead in the water, all the offers had evaporated.”
Affleck: “I promised him I would thank him if we ever got an Oscar and promptly forgot. And then I told him, 'If I ever win again I swear to God I'm going to thank you.' Forgot again. “
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The second time Affleck forgot to include his thanks to Smith came when he won a Best Picture for Argo, a movie he starred in, produced and directed. In 2012 when Affleck won his second Oscar, he hadn’t worked with Smith for six years since appearing in Clerks II, and in actuality, the pair would not join forces again until 2019. So in a way it was not surprising that Affleck would forget to thank Smith among the many names that were to be mentioned in the short time winners are now given to make their speech and move on.
After falling out for a long while, Smith reached out to Affleck following his well-publicized heart attack. Affleck agreed to appear in Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, and their reunion ended with one of the best scenes in the movie, and cemented their friendship once again. It therefore stands to reason that among the many ideas Smith still has to work on in the future, there is no reason to think that they will not collaborate again, and if the chance should arise for Affleck to pick up his third Academy Award, perhaps this time he may remember to give that small bit of thanks that Smith has been expecting for over two decades.