Ben Affleck Knew the Internet Would Hate Him as Batman
On Jimmy Fallon's show last night Ben Affleck spoke out for the first time about being cast as Batman, and revealed that at least he was prepped by Hollywood execs for the Internet outrage.
.On Jimmy Fallon's show last night Ben Affleck spoke out for the first time about being cast as Batman, and revealed that at least he was prepped by Hollywood execs for the Internet outrage.
Yes, the fury of fanboys is so potent (and completely predictable) that people from the movie studios are now telling everyone cast in a major role that the Internet Rage Reflex will kick in and there will be more scorn than praise. Warner Bros. honchos coached Affleck on how to handle the insults the Internet would invariably throw his way upon learning that he would play the Caped Crusader in the upcoming Man of Steel sequel. "They said, listen, we want to talk to you because people go through this process and it's a little, you know, it can be trying," he explained. "I said, 'What do you mean?' They said we want to show you some of the reactions that past people who have been cast have gotten like on the Internet and stuff."
Affleck, being naive, thought he could deal with it, but when the first comment he saw was "NOOOOOOOOO" he conceded to angry forces of the Web saying, "we're going to be Luddites for a while." That's probably for the best. Twitter erupted following the news last month, and one petition to remove Affleck from the role has upwards of 93,000 supporters. If the man who starred in Gigli and Jersey Girl in the same year and endured the indignation of Bennifer couldn't handle it, how do you think all the other upcoming actors cope?
And it seems like this is going to now be part of the standard media training for any big Hollywood star. Just weeks after Charlie Hunnam and Dakota Johnson got blasted for their roles in Fifty Shades of Grey these don't seem to be exceptions anymore but just part of the way every major project is rolled out. Poor actors. Not only do they have to deal with the years of rejection from not getting roles, now they have to cry to studio-sponsored therapist about the rejection they face after they actually get a part.