Ben Affleck On ‘Chasing Money:’ ‘You’ll Miss Out On A Lot Of Things’
Ben Affleck knows a thing or two about chasing money after being in the entertainment industry for over 30 years. In a new interview with CBS News alongside Matt Damon, the actor talked about how he felt invincible at 25 years old. “You know, that’s the curse of being 25, is you think you have it all figured out.” Expanding on the topic of life lessons, the Gone Girl actor added, “Frankly, one of the lessons of growing older is, it’s not all about money. It’s not the most important thing. You spend your life chasing money, you might end up with a lot of money, but you’ll probably miss out on a lot of things.”
Affleck, now 50, says money hasn’t given him any “more happiness that I had. In fact, that’s the beautiful thing about this, is the happiness was being able to be here every day in Los Angeles with my children around, see them every day. Have them come visit the set. Work with my best friend. There’s nothing more that I want in my life. I thought, ‘Well, this is it. This is what I’ve always wanted,’ you know?”
Elsewhere in the interview, Affleck and Damon spoke about their new production company called Artists Equity, which gives people on the film crew a bigger cut of the profits. Damon said that’s where the name of the company comes from. “The idea is that we’re pulling a bunch of people above the line who traditionally aren’t. And they stand to do a lot better financially than they’ve ever done on movies before.”
With their new film, Air, it is their company’s first offering, with more to come soon. “We’re just getting rolling on working again with Amazon, to do the story of a wrestler named Anthony Robles, who was born with one leg and won a National Championship for Arizona State,” Affleck revealed.
When asked who will be leading the film, Affleck teased that him and Damon “always hire the very best performers. And in this case, I can say every single person that’s been cast so far I think is the very absolute best choice.” CBS Reporter Tracy Smith teased back, “You’re dancing around that Jennifer Lopez is also in this movie?”
The actor and director replied, “Yes, I believe Jennifer Lopez may be doing that movie. Can’t make it look like she’s doing it as a favor to me, but actually she is.”
Speaking more about working with his wife and best friend, Affleck said, “What fun, what a joy to do something with her, see her be great, go to work with your wife, go to work with your best friend.” He adds, “Because ultimately, your work becomes the lion’s share of what defines your life, in terms of the time you spend. And if you don’t like who you’re working with, and if you have difficulty or trouble at work, I think it’s one of the things that can really cause depression, anxiety and pain for people. And conversely, [if] you love the people at work, you probably have a pretty good life, you know?”