A first look at actor Ben Affleck in his upcoming movie Argo has been released. Affleck, who is directing the thriller, is seen in a full beard and suited up as CIA agent Tony Mendez in the first photo to hit the web. Based on the true events of the 1979 Tehran hostage crisis, Affleck’s Mendez “creates a fake Hollywood production in order to fool Iranian terrorists into releasing a group of U.S. diplomats.” Argo, that was penned by Chris Terrio, and stars actors Alan Arkin, Taylor Schilling, Kyle Chandler, Bryan Cranston, Nelson Franklin, and Tate Donovan. The flick has been filming since early September on location in Los Angeles,…

Think about how many new movies hit the big screen a weekend. Must be a lot of films in the works at once, right? Most certainly and this edition of the Movie News Cheat Sheet is a testament to that. We’ve got a handful of casting updates including the possibility of Joseph Gordon-Levitt joining Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained as well as news that Steven Soderbergh might have finally found his Man from U.N.C.L.E., Bradley Cooper. Word also arrived that MGM might pick up Eminem’s Southpaw after the production was dropped by DreamWorks while Universal moves forward with its Battlestar Galactica feature by hiring a writer. But, of course, we’ve also…

The Town director Ben Affleck has been tapped by Warner Brothers to adapt and direct Stephen King’s The Stand according to reports from the always reliable Deadline. Although he has yet to officially accept the offer (per Collider), Affleck is apparently the newest helmer attached for the difficult task. Previously, David Yates of Harry Potter fame was rumored to be taking on The Stand with writer Steve Kloves. Meanwhile, details on whether movie heads plan to adapt The Stand into a franchise isn’t clear. Currently Affleck, who also gained notoriety for his work with Gone Baby Gone, is working on the movie Argo with writers George Clooney, Grant Heslov, and…

Title: The Company Men Writer-director: John Wells Starring: Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, Craig T. Nelson, Rosemarie DeWitt, Kevin Costner, Maria Bello, Eammon Walker ‘The Company Men’ sounds like a cut-rate, straight-to-video mobster movie starring Michael Madsen, but it’s actually (at least in this incarnation) a tale of white collar woe — an ensemble drama, with a heavy-hitter cast, from ‘ER’ creator John Wells that made its play for sociocultural relevance last December, and got lost in the holiday movie shuffle, grossing a meager $4.4 million after its platform release by the Weinstein Company sputtered and failed. So what gives? Is this downsized drama of the shrinking American…

Ben Affleck has begun casting for his upcoming directorial effort, the Tehran hostage thriller ‘Argo,’ and the first actor hired was Alan Arkin, ComingSoon is reporting. The Academy Award-winning actor will play an O.S.S. veteran and Hollywood producer Lester Siegel, who is also being described as a bookie and rabbi. ‘Argo,’ which was written by Chris Terrio, will follow the CIA as it teams up with the Canadian government to save six U.S. diplomats. They have been taken hostage by a group of Iranians in 1979 at the American embassy. The kidnappers pretended to be a film crew scouting for an upcoming Hollywood film called ‘Argo.’ The film is being…

Ben Affleck may be eyeing a role in Baz Lurhmann’s interpretation of “The Great Gatsby”, according to The Hollywood Reporter. According to the article, Affleck is interested in playing Tom Buchanan and is currently in talks about the role, but the one hitch is his acting schedule. He has already decided that his next directorial project of the political thriller “Argo” would start filming in September, but “The Great Gatsby” is planning for their principal photography to start in August. If he does join “Gatsby”, Affleck will be starring along with Leonardo DiCaprio, who is set to play Jay Gatsby, Tobey Maguire, who will play Nick Carraway, and Carey Mulligan,…

According to ScreenCrave via Entertainment Weekly, actor-turned-director Ben Affleck will direct the film “Argo”, a film set in motion by George Clooney and Grant Heslov, his producing partner. According to the sites, the film is based on an article in “Wired” Magazine about a 1979 CIA rescue operation during the occupation of the American Embassy in Tehran, where six diplomats were saved due to a convoluted scheme involving disguises a group posing as a Hollywood film crew on a location scouting job. If all goes well, this will be the first film where Affleck and Clooney will work together. Also, this will be the first film Affleck has directed since…

Title: The Company Men Directed By: John Wells Starring: Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, Maria Bello, Rosemarie DeWitt, Kevin Costner, Craig T. Nelson, Eamonn Walker Whether it’s happened to you or someone you know, job loss is a personal matter for the large majority and that makes it a testy topic to manage in a film. If it isn’t represented accurately it could be insulting, then again if it’s dealt with too precisely, it could be too much for some to handle, however, The Company Men approaches the issue quite tactfully. Not only does it deliver a respectable presentation of the hardship, but still manages to maintain a…

Warner Bros. is still trying to find a director to helm its new crime drama ‘Tales From the Gangster Squad,’ Slashfilm.com is reporting. With several directors declining to take on the project, including Ben Affleck and Darren Aronofsky, questions are rising over why they have declined to take on the film. As of now, the WB is still considering Scott Cooper, who directed this year’s Academy Award-winning film ‘Crazy Heart.’ But the studio has also brought in two new options, Ruben Fleischer, who helmed last year’s hit ‘Zombieland,’ and Jose Padilha, who directed ‘Elite Squad.’ The early contenders for the movie, which is based on the LAPD’s effort to curtail…

Ben Affleck is this weekend’s big winner. Not only did his new film The Town win big with critics, but it was a smash hit at the box office as well. It took in $23.8 million, which is above and beyond the opening weekend earnings of Affleck’s last directorial effort, Gone Baby Gone, which only accumulated $5.5 million. Of course The Town hit far more theaters than Gone Baby Gone, but comparing Gone Baby Gone’s $3,211 per theater haul to The Town’s $8,319, it’s quite clear that this is a hugely successful production for Affleck. It will earn back its $37 million production budget with ease. Easy A may not…