Ben Affleck’s been drafted for another tour of duty with “Armageddon” director Michael Bay and producer Jerry Bruckheimer.
Ben Affleck in “Reindeer Games” According to today’s Hollywood Reporter, the highly recruited star has signed up for the wartime adventure “Pearl Harbor,” said to carry the most expensive (budgeted) price tag in Hollywood history.
Affleck’s on board with previously announced co-star Cuba Gooding Jr. Both are honorably mentioned as Bruckheimer’s personal pals. Affleck helped the producer’s “Armageddon” cross the $200 million mark at the domestic box office. Gooding Jr. crosschecks Bruck regularly as a member of the power player’s hockey league. (Tom Cruise is another distinguished sideline sub.)
Gene Hackman, a Bruckheimer alum from “Enemy of the State” and “Crimson Tide,” could be the next patriot to enlist.
Even with its hefty price tag, the production does call for a few budgetary casting restrictions. Consider the case of Affleck. While the actor’s final cut is sure to be more than standard sailor pay, he’ll receive no money upfront. Instead, Team Bruckheimer will funnel the big bucks toward buying the ammo needed to fully re-create the Dec. 7, 1941, early-morning naval base bombing that goaded the United States into World War II.
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007’S NEW DRINK: Pierce Brosnan will put down his gun and shaken martini to produce and star in “Blood and Champagne,” a period romance about real-life war photographer Robert Capa, trade paper reports say. The screenplay by David Bernath and Alex Kershaw tracks an 18-month period in the lenser’s controversial life.
