Free Republic

On Friday night, Bill Maher hosted atheist author Sam Harris, actor Ben Affleck, former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele, and New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof to discuss Maher’s rant last week in which he discussed the violence of radical Islam and the prevalence of belief in radical Islam. Harris sided with Maher; Maher defended his comments.

When Jennifer Garner told a Detroit radio station that she and her husband Ben Affleck would spend the summer in Detroit while Affleck was working on the Batman-Superman blockbuster, it made national news. MLive gushed: "If you love trying to track down celebrities in Detroit, then you'll want to be on the lookout in the coming months for one of Hollywood's biggest power couples." What wasn't reported is that Michigan taxpayers could pay part of the rent for the Hollywood power couple's stay in the state. Affleck has made $10 million or more eight times for acting in a movie,...

Ben Affleck arrives for his Playboy Interview beaming after dropping off his kids for their first day of school. For Affleck and wife Jennifer Garner, it is the familiar ordeal of dodging the cameras of 20 paparazzi who have followed every step taken by son Samuel and daughters Violet and Seraphina ... Playboy sent Michael Fleming, who last interviewed Quentin Tarantino, to catch up with Affleck. Reports Fleming: “We met right after his Batman announcement elicited hostility he hadn’t seen since the Bennifer days. A more mature Affleck doesn’t care. After his career overhaul, who’s to doubt him when he...

It's official! Ben Affleck has been cast as Bruce Wayne/Batman in Zack Snyder's still untitled Batman/Superman sequel to this past summer's Man of Steel. The announcement was made today by Greg Silverman, President, Creative Development and Worldwide Production, and Sue Kroll, President, Worldwide Marketing and International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures. The studio has slated the film to open worldwide on July 17, 2015. Last month’s surprise announcement of the new movie featuring both Superman and Batman created a wave of excitement and immediately fueled discussion and debate—among fans as well as in the media—about who would put on the cape...

Argo director Ben Affleck may be one of Hollywood's leading liberals, but he could take the extra step and enter politics in the not too distant future. That's the opinion of his wife, actor Jennifer Garner, who suggested Affleck's future career direction in a forthcoming interview in Allure magazine.

"Argo" was the best drama winner at Sunday's Golden Globe Awards, beating out the Civil War epic "Lincoln," which had emerged as an awards-season favorite. The Iran hostage thriller also claimed the directing prize for Ben Affleck, a prize that normally bodes well for an Academy Award win -- except he missed out on an Oscar nomination this time. Affleck is now in an unusual position during Hollywood's long awards season, taking home the top filmmaking trophy at the second-highest film honors knowing he does not have a shot at an Oscar. 48 PHOTOS Golden Globes 2013 show highlights And...

Ben Affleck has been off the radar for a while, coming out of his married-with-kidslife only for bigger films (and maybe to cheat!). We all thought he was taking time off to prepare for his political career, but he’s reportedly nixed it amidst fear of all his scandals which would be stirred up in the campaign process! The father of three has a dark past, which he isn’t eager to put back on the radar! An insider reported his decision to National Enquirer, print edition January 21, 2013. “The real reason he’s decided not to run for US Senate” is...

Oscar-winning Cambridge native Ben Affleck -- who played a congressman in the 2009 political thriller “State of Play” -- isn't ruling out a real-life run for office in the pending Massachusetts race to fill Sen. John Kerry's seat but downplayed the idea in an interview aired today. In a segment airing today on CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” a coy Affleck, 40, tells host Bob Schieffer with a nervous laugh, “Well, for one thing, the state of Massachusetts currently has two extraordinary senators, so there is no vacancy,” when pressed by Schieffer on whether he’ll run for fellow Democrat Kerry’s...

Radar Online is reporting that a bunch of Hollywood’s elite are being sued in connection with their participation in high-stakes poker games. The civil complaint alleges that the money won by said Hollywood elite was actually money stolen by a hedge-fund manager from his clients to pay off his enormous gambling debts. According to the report, Toby “Spider-Man” Maguire was the big winner making $1,000,000 a month in winnings. Interesting. Maybe the next time Maguire is in D.C. for a photo-op with President Obama, he can explain to the president why he’s exempt from paying his fair share of taxes...

(Actor to testify before the House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health and Human Rights on the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo. Of all the philanthropic endeavors Ben Affleck makes time for, perhaps none are as close to his heart as his work in one of the most troubled places on earth, the Democratic Republic of Congo. “The more I traveled, the more I was struck about it, the more I fell in love with the people, the more I was horrified by what was happening. And the more I did, I started to develop this idea of partnering with the...

Hollywood actor Ben Affleck is so determined to get the best seat at Tuesday's Presidential Inauguration, he's contemplating camping out in Washington D.C. The Barack Obama supporter is just one of a number of stars flocking to the U.S. capital to see the Democrat sworn in as the 44th president. And he's prepared to fight for the best position with the estimated two million Americans expected to boost the city's population for the big day. Affleck says, "I'm going to camp out. I'll bring a tent - and a heater!"

Pretty funny One quibble: I've never seen Olby's guests push back as much as these do. Usually, Wolffe and the gang dive right into the crazy. But high marks overall, and long overdue.

SARAH Palin's life reads like an Oscar-worthy script: moose-hunting former beauty queen-cum-hockey mum who could be a heartbeat away from scoring the US presidency. But Hollywood is having none of it. Politics and movies have always mixed - from Joe Kennedy and silent-films siren Gloria Swanson to son John F. Kennedy and bombshell Marilyn Monroe, to the McCarthyism that swept through back lots to blackball artists over real or imagined Communist sympathies. Hollywood is liberal and right now there is no love for the conservative Alaskan Governor who made history last month by becoming the first woman on the Republican...

Ben Affleck, Kanye West, Scarlett Johansson among Denver-bound starsBY JO PIAZZA DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Sunday, July 20th 2008, 1:07 AM The stars will come out to see Barack Obama accept the Democratic nomination. Denver is about to become Tinseltown - for a week. A-list Hollywood hotshots and music industry titans are set to descend on the Rocky Mountain city for next month's Democratic National Convention, where political rock star Barack Obama will officially claim the party's crown. "We are expecting lots of people to be here, big names, small names and everyday American names," convention spokesman Damon Jones said....

Jennifer Garner says husband Ben Affleck is "too brainy" for her. The 'Juno' actress claims Ben is so intelligent she has to read newspapers every day just to hold a conversation with him. She said: "Ben really is such a sharp, intelligent guy. Sometimes I think, 'Oh gosh, I'd better read the paper so I can talk to my husband!' " Although she accepts her spouse is a very intelligent man, Jennifer insists she can hold her own with him because he's not as smart as he thinks. The 35-year-old star added: "I can hold my own with him though....

“Gone, Baby, Gone” director Ben Affleck, who tried mightily - but unsuccessfully - to get Sen. John Kerry elected to the White House, said he expects ex-Gov. Mitt Romney to be the Republican nominee in 2008. Chatting about the upcoming presidential race on the season finale of “Real Time with Bill Maher,” the Cambridge homey said he thinks the GOP will end up with Romney because the ex-gov looks good, has nice hair - and the Republicans really don’t have anyone else. “He says he doesn’t like abortion and he’s all clean-cut and he looks like a Ken doll,” said...

If the death of television's iconic Man of Steel George Reeves was indeed the start of "The Superman Curse," then in an odd sort of way, that curse is a blessing for Ben Affleck. Affleck is back in a big way as Reeves in "Hollywoodland," a sharp, sophisticated noir thriller that's easily one of the best films of the year. True, Affleck doesn't play the lead in this fascinating film -- he's third billed behind Adrien Brody and Diane Lane -- but his presence in Superman's famed blue tights gives him enough boost to take him, well, up, up and...

...some others had heard that Ben has also been talking to Paramount about possibly playing a lead role ina new Star Trek film from J.J. Abrams. Apparently Abrams is coming down to visit the set in a few weeks, to visit Michelle Monaghan, whom he directed in Mission: Impossible 3, so that might add some more fuel to the fire. If it comes off, he's apparently playing the hero. Don't know if that's Captain Kirk or some other protagonist...but that's the gist of it.

<p>Robert Redford says he has made plenty of sacrifices — including occasionally stalling his film career — to ensure that the Sundance Film Festival would survive and thrive. But, he adds, "it was all worth it."</p> <p>The 68-year-old actor, filmmaker and environmental activist said his 45-year show-business career has suffered a bit here and there, but these days he has enough trust in the festival's leadership that he can relax his grasp on the event and begin to, in his words, "breathe again."</p>

Hollywood actor Ben Affleck is reportedly considering a run for the U.S. Senate from Virginia. Affleck is a Boston native with no real ties to Virginia. Affleck also represents the northeastern brand of liberalism, which may not appeal to many Virginians. Nevertheless, Affleck says he is confident he could handle such a role. “I’m from Massachusetts where we’ve got Kennedy and Kerry, two of the greatest senators in American history,” said Affleck. “Everything I know about politics, I learned from listening to them. Kerry is the absolute master of the nuanced policy straddle. And no one attacks the character of...