5 Reasons Ben Affleck Belongs on the Typewriter

Over the years we have seen Mr. Affleck develop greatly as a filmmaker and storyteller. He has a knack for picking good, hard hitting stories that he knows he can tell well and that can be delivered with force on the screen. His true talent, though, is his skill of screenwriting and showing, not telling.  

5. He Can Capture a Voice

Affleck, whether people believed it or not back in the 90’s, had a talent for capturing certain voices, Boston to be specific. Alongside Damon, he helped bring the Good Will Hunting rat pack to the screen successfully with genuine grit and honesty. 

4. He Understands Adaptation

Fellow Bostonian and Lehane fan, Affleck understands how to craft a novel into a working screenplay – a task that is beyond challenging. To do this, one must know the source material backwards and forwards, while also having confidence of where to insert creative touches. Another challenge with this is where to correctly include beats. A screenplay’s adaptation beats might be different than that of the source material’s. 

3. His Sequences are Commanding and Crisp

A hugely important aspect of an expert screenwriter, knowing how to construct applicable, yet creative sequences is something that takes some writers years to develop. Affleck’s understanding of this translation from paper to screen is a ten out of ten, and he seems to be getting better at it. 

2. His Attachments are Calculated

I specifically reference The Town here because this was not originally supposed to be an Affleck project. But once he decided to take it on it was done with precision and meticulous wordsmithing. And in the end, he owned it. 

1. He Knows Pacing and Tension

At the end of the day, it’s about moving the story forward and keeping the audience engaged in both the story and characters. Mr. Affleck’s real writing talent is being able to produce a screenplay that ups the ante at each Act’s turn.