Ben Affleckadmits his $5.8 million-grossing 1998 horror movie with Peter O’Toole was “utter garbage,” but says there was an upside too, like getting paid $100,000. TheOscar-winningGood Will Huntingmarked the kicking-off point for Affleck’s rise as a star, but his career journey in the coming years would not always be a smooth one, either critically or at the box office.
Affleck did find his way into some acclaimed films in the years after winning a writing Oscar along with Matt Damon forGood Will Hunting. He played a supporting role in the Oscar-winningShakespeare In Love, re-teamed with Damon for the Kevin Smith comedyDogmaand joined the ensemble financial thrillerBoiler Room. Unfortunately, he also accepted roles in the critically-panned suspense filmReindeer Games, the much-maligned big-budget epicPearl Harborand, most famously of all, the massive bombGigli.
Affleck Thinks The Horror Movie Phantoms Was Garbage, Despite Starring Film Legend O’Toole
It Grossed Only $5.8 Million
1998’sPhantomsprovided an ascending Affleck with an early horror vehicle, as well as a chance to share the screen with multiple-Oscar-nominee O’Toole, but the resulting film was a bomb. Adapted by horror novelist Dean Koontz from his own novel, the movie casts Affleck as a sheriff investigating mysterious goings-on in a sleepy Colorado town, alongside the likes of O’Toole, Rose McGowan, Liev Schreiber and Joanna Going.
Called upon to discuss every movie he’s ever been in for a recentGQvideo piece, Affleck briefly touched onPhantoms, joking that he was “the bomb” in the movie, then relating that he did come to like some of the people he worked with on the film, including the great O’Toole:
“I was the bomb at Phantoms. Everyone knows that. Peter O’Toole, by the way. Peter O’Toole signed my Lawrence of Arabia poster. That’s out there on Phantoms. Nicky Katt, Liev Schreiber, I loved doing that movie … Well, no, I didn’t love doing that movie, but I like those people.
Affleck then called the movie “utter garbage” but did manage to tick off a few positive things about the experience of making it, including getting stoned with his famed co-star:
The movie was a sewer monster movie, let’s face it, and I was a sheriff in Colorado. I was, like, 20 years old. It’s totally absurd. The movie was utter garbage but I did get to ski. I made, like, $100,000, so I was like, ‘I’m set for life, I’m retiring.’ And I met Peter O’Toole and, like, got stoned with Peter O’Toole. I was like, ‘What else happens in my life that tops this? Nothing’.
Our Take On Affleck Calling Phantoms Garbage
Critics Agree With The Star’s Assessment
Affleck sounds like he had a good time makingPhantoms, but few critics had much fun watching it, as evidenced by its 9% fresh rating onRotten Tomatoes. Audiences were similarly unimpressed, as the movie limped to a $5.9 million gross after opening in 9th place with $3 million its first weekend (in 3rd that weekend was Affleck’s ownGood Will Hunting, which grossed $8.5 million on its way to a $138 million box office run).
For Affleck to be so brutally honest aboutPhantomsisn’t really a surprise, given the star’s many prior statements denigrating his own films. OfGiglihe once toldVariety, “the less said about it the better.” His superhero turn inDaredevilis also a sore subject for Affleck, who said “Daredevil I didn’t like at all.” The star famously took down theMichael Bay sci-fi epicArmageddonin a brutally honest DVD commentary that has gone on to become legendary.
Koontz’s novelPhantomsincluded numerous H.P. Lovecraft references that, for some reason, do not show up in the film
An Affleck DVD commentary forPhantomscould be similarly entertaining, though it’s possible the star doesn’t have much more to say beyond his brief comments toGQ, which may have sufficiently conveyed how little he thinks of the 1998 horror film, despite the many highlights he experienced while shooting it. Thankfully, Affleck went on to thrive in his career afterward, hitting many box office and critical heights in the years afterPhantomsflamed out. Affleck continues enjoying success to this day, and is able to look back on his failures with refreshing honesty and humor.
