A swimming pool incident is now facing all the blame for a major Hollywood fallout that lasted for years. Filmmaker Mike Binder has opened up a family vacation incident involving Steven Spielberg’s young son and Ben Affleck, who was dating Gwyneth Paltrow at the time. The unfortunate memory later affected a major movie decision.
Yes, the two Hollywood biggies have had a feud, leading to not collaborating on screen, and the real reason is finally clear.
A Pool Incident Led To The Fallout Between Steven Spielberg And Ben Affleck
Filmmaker Mike Binder said the fallout traces back to a family vacation from years earlier, when Ben Affleck was dating Spielberg’s goddaughter, Gwyneth Paltrow. During that trip, Spielberg’s young son and Affleck were both near a swimming pool. His son pushed Affleck into the pool while Affleck was fully dressed. But it didn’t end there.
Related: 25 Famous On-Set Feuds Between Actors and Directors
Spielberg claimed Affleck became angry, climbed out of the pool, picked up his son, and threw him back into the water, which made the child cry. According to Binder, Spielberg never forgot that. Even though the incident happened years before any movie discussions, it clearly stayed with him.
When Spielberg asked Binder to write a script for a possible collaboration after liking his earlier film, ‘The Upside of Anger‘, both were eager to do something together. At the time, the project began moving ahead at DreamWorks.
Spielberg was initially expected to direct, but later stepped back and agreed that Binder would direct instead. Everything seemed to be in place, and the movie was getting ready to move forward. Casting then became the next step, and that’s when the old pool incident came back all of a sudden.
When Spielberg “Refused” To Work With Affleck
Binder met Affleck, who wanted to work with him after seeing ‘The Upside of Anger‘. Binder said they agreed that Affleck would star in the movie and shook hands on the deal. When Binder told Spielberg about the casting, Spielberg refused to move forward with Affleck attached. Spielberg mentioned Affleck’s box office failures and his media image at the time, but then brought up the real issue.
In case you missed it: Sean Connery Refused To Do Famous James Bond Scene Due To A Real-Life Fear
Spielberg then explained the pool incident again and said he didn’t want to work with Affleck because of it. Binder said he was confused about how something from so long ago could affect the movie. But Spielberg stood firm and asked him to find someone else. He agreed to Spielberg’s request and informed Affleck’s agents, and immediately, Affleck knew what had happened.
Binder recalled Affleck calling him and saying Spielberg had already told him about the pool incident, which is why he was being pushed out. He still wanted Affleck in the role, but DreamWorks dropped the project the very next day. Binder later took the movie elsewhere and directed it himself, and admitted the film didn’t turn out well.
