Kevin Smith says that he was not a fan of Chasing Amy star Ben Affleck ad-libbing in the film and revealed an instance regarding the film’s marketing that caused the pair to clash. Chasing Amy is Smith’s third film and was released in 1997. In the film, Affleck plays a comic book artist named Holden McNeil, who falls in love with a lesbian named Alyssa Jones (Joey Lauren Adams).
While speaking with EW, Smith talked about how Affleck loves to ad lib, and did so many times while filming Chasing Amy. Smith, who was also the screenwriter of the film, then told the actor to just stick to the lines that were written for Holden in the script. Smith also joked about how he told Affleck to save his ideas for his own script, and how he later did, and won an Oscar for it for Good Will Hunting. Smith’s full quote about Affleck’s ad-libbing can be found below:
“Ben Affleck loves to ad-lib and he ad-libbed like crazy on [Chasing Amy]. I said, ‘Look dude, I can’t stand it. You’re always ad-libbing. Like, don’t do it, don’t make up dialogue. Just do the script as written. If you really want to make up s— and say things, save all that s—, put it in your own f—ing script one day. And he did, and he won an Oscar.”
Smith also shared that Affleck was not a fan of the movie’s poster, which is just a black and white image of Adams’ Alyssa Jones. According to Smith, Affleck did not like how he was not featured on the poster, despite how Holden is the main character of the film. Smith then told Affleck that the reason Adams was on the poster was because the movie was called Chasing Amy, despite how Adams’ character is actually named Alyssa.
The title of the film is a reference to a girl that Silent Bob (played by Smith himself) talks about in a monologue to Affleck later in the movie. Although Affleck didn’t get to appear on the Chasing Amy poster, Smith said that the next poster to feature Affleck was Good Will Hunting, which was also released in 1997.
What Sticking To Smith’s Script Meant For Chasing Amy
Smith Has A Very Distinct Writing Style
As Smith’s third film after 1994’s Clerks and 1995’s Mallrats, the filmmaker’s style would have been one of the big draws of Chasing Amy. Just like his other two films, Chasing Amy uses Smith’s distinct dirty humor. Smith also brings heavy dramatic and heartfelt moments to his films. Chasing Amy allowed Smith to focus more on drama than his other two films, and showed what else he can bring as a filmmaker. This has led to Chasing Amy continually being considered one of Smith’s best movies.
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Our Take On Smith Having Affleck Stick To Chasing Amy’s Script
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Since Chasing Amy has been celebrated as one of the highlights of Smith’s career, it was the right choice to keep the film in his style. As the third film in Smith’s View Askewniverse, sticking to Smith’s script also gives the universe consistency that was established in his first two movies. Smith and Affleck have also gone back to revisit Holden McNeil since Chasing Amy. Affleck later reprised the role in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) and Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2019).
In addition to Good Will Hunting, Affleck went on to co-write the screenplays for Gone Baby Gone (2007) and The Town (2010), which he also directed. While Affleck didn’t appear on the poster of Chasing Amy, the film’s DVD and Blu-ray cover does feature him, as well as Adams, Smith, Jason Lee, and Jason Mewes.
Source: EW
