Ben Affleck & Gavin O’Connor Reuniting For Totally Real Not Fake Movie THE HAS-BEEN
ICYMI - The Accountant is fucking bananas.
The story of a ruthless hitman whose on the spectrum nature gives him super powers, Ben Affleck and Gavin O'Connor's action movie is a fucking riot: pure B-Grade nuttiness that actually stops to have JK Simmons exhaustedly narrate a mini-movie at the midway point. It also involves a parent who raises his kids by having them fuck each other up in combat, actual montages of Affleck counting, and ends on a twist that is so goofy you see it coming from a mile away and are more surprised that they actually still go there. How a major studio like WB ever funded it will remain a mystery, but we're all the better for it. In short - love, thy name is The Accountant.
Thankfully, the movie became something of a sleeper hit in theaters (where it made $155 million globally on a budget of $44 mil) and has continued to crush it on VOD and cable, becoming a Sunday afternoon "dad's got the remote again" classic. This is good news for both O'Connor and Affleck - the latter of whom will probably lobby to get the title changed - as they're reuniting for The Has-Been.
Per Deadline, the script is penned by Brad Ingelsby - author of another "last minute Father's Day gift at Walmart" picture, Run All Night - and centers on a former basketball all-star (Affleck), who's lost his wife and family in a struggle with addiction. The baller attempts to redeem himself by becoming the coach of an ethnically mixed high school basketball team at his alma mater. While The Has-Been may sound like a Lifetime MOTW, after seeing The Accountant, I wouldn't be surprised if Affleck's character ends up killing one of the kids and free-basing over his dead body.
O'Connor is a weird artist. Almost all of his movies are decidedly middlebrow yet incredibly enjoyable, and he has a real knack with marquee movie stars. Plus, he's already made some really spectacular sports films in Miracle and Warrior (which is a straight up bro tear-jerker with one of the great Nick Nolte performances). He also helmed the pilot for what many consider one of the greatest TV shows of all time (The Americans), has doctored a movie back from disaster with Jane Got A Gun (though the end result was still pretty bad), and hinted at a bona fide crazy streak with the aforementioned trip to the action loony bin.
As for Affleck, his stock has taken quite the hit lately, as his exit as Batman has all but been officially confirmed (with recent whisperings of Matt Reeves wanting to reboot the franchise as a stand-alone series), as well as his documented personal troubles (not to mention that wild tattoo he got on his back post-divorce that makes him look like a Southie white trash samurai). In short, he kind of needs The Has-Been to be another hit, as he's slipping away from superstardom rather quickly.
No target date has been eyed, and O'Connor's still attached to Suicide Squad 2, so it might be a while before we see The Has-Been in theaters (or its announcement is a signal that he may exit that sequel). Of course, we'll keep you up to date on this lunacy as more comes in.
