Venice 2010: Ben Affleck “The Town”
Yesterday at the Lido competition has been shown a new Ben Affleck film "The Town". Director told reporters about his movie, and then competitive program continued with a bloody "Thirteen murderers" Takashi Miike and bestseller "La solitudine dei numeri primi".
The picture of Ben Affleck "The Town" - the second directorial work of Hollywood actor. As in his first film, the action develops in Boston. According to statistics in his suburb of Charlestown is the maximum number of robberies of banks (over 300 per year) than in other U.S. cities.
"Previously, in Charlestown were located jails, so that relatives of criminals moved closer to them, settled in Boston, and when the inmates are in prison, they stayed with families in Boston - Ben explained at a press conference. - I made a movie about how a person gets stuck in an unpleasant place for him and wants to change his lifeâ€.
Somehow, this story echoes the lives of the Affleck, who started as an actor, and then moved to directing.
At the heart of a thriller - a book of Chuck Hogan's "Beyond Sherwood Forest". Published in 2004, it has won the prestigious Hammett Prize from the International Association of Authors. Therefore, the film got in sight of producer Graham King, who bought the film rights.
The main character is Doug McRae (Ben Affleck) is not like a typical burglar. Rather, his friend Jem (Jeremy Renner) likes a thug, but Doug is another. He never shot at people and generally happy to be tied, but the genes do not allow: his father (Chris Cooper) was a criminal and is serving a life sentence. During a robbery, Doug and his partners were taken hostage employee of the bank Claire (Rebecca Hall). It turns out that the girl lives in Charlestown - in the same area of Boston, where are based robbers. Jem psyches and tells Doug to deal with Claire. Instead, Doug starts a relationship with her, since Claire has no idea that this charming man - the same thug in a mask, holding it on the foreheads of a few days ago.
Over time, Doug decides finally to leave the predatory business and wants to leave the town with Claire. However, the Feds, led by agent Frawley (John Ham) step of the recent robberies, and Jamie begins to doubt in his friend. To engage with the criminal past is not so easy. Doug needs to make a choice: betray his friends, or lose the woman he loves.
At the fest, Affleck quite seriously answered questions. For his second film, he approached no less responsible.
"We had a lot of research. We went to the jail, talked with prisoners, met with FBI agents. And then began to build what we have learned, in the architecture of the plot".
By the way, Affleck changed the final: "I thought it would be better".
Producer grew up in Cambridge, not far from Charlestown and throughout his life believed that the reputation of Boston suburb is exaggerated.
"It turned out that everything is really so, so we are even more interested."
Affleck believes that the casting is one of the major successes of his project.
About Rebecca Hall he said: "She is very beautiful and yet she has some sort of earthiness".
Nominated for an Oscar for "The Hurt Locker" Jeremy Renner has received from the director's only one warning: "Jeremy, do not let us down". "Well, I tried!" - Renner replied curtly to the question "how did you work with Ben."
Star of TV series "Mad Man" John Ham tried to move away from his hero Don Drape director of advertising agency, working in the 60's.
"After the first season, I received 60 scripts a year, where the action comes at a time or hero worked advertisers, - Said Ham. - Nobody wants to be an actor of one role, even if this was a very good role".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWxEKnf3Krk