Key points
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Ben Affleck recreated an iconic scene from Good Will Hunting to promote his new movie.
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The homage features Kerry Washington filling in for Matt Damon’s Will.
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Animals hits Netflix on Oct. 9.
Ben Affleck‘s new movie just dropped a wicked smart promo.
The Argo star and director teamed up with Kerry Washington for a video promoting their new film, Animals, and recreated one of the most iconic Good Will Huntingscenes in the process.
In the video, posted to Washington’s TikTok page, Affleck sits at a table, filling the role of Clark — the pretentious Harvard student (Scott William Winters) who hits on Skylar (Minnie Driver).
Washington mimes the dialogue and movements of Will Hunting (Matt Damon) in the video, pounding on a window and asking Affleck, “Do you like apples?”
Affleck, mimicking Clark, responds, “Yeah.”
Washington then slams a square piece of paper on the window and mouths, “Well I got her number. How do you like them apples?”
In the original version of the scene, Damon’s character shows off Skylar’s digits written on the back of a napkin. However, in the video, Washington’s paper reads: “Animals October 9th Netflix.”
In Good Will Hunting, Affleck played Chuckie Sullivan, Will’s best friend, opposite Damon, his real-life BFF. The Accountant star originally intended for his new kidnapping drama, Animals — which he also directed — to be a reunion with Damon, whom he previously directed in 2023’s Air.
“I had such a joyful, amazing experience working with [Damon] on Air,” Affleck said in a recent interview withEntertainment Weekly. “It was just automatic. We had the best time of our lives, really.”
However, Affleck nixed the project before reviving it further down the line, and by the time the project was back on the rails, Damon was busy filming Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. “He chose a smaller director and a smaller film and a smaller role for his career, and I think he’s gonna suffer for it. He’ll regret this choice,” Affleck joked.
The Batman v. Superman actor elected to replace Damon by taking on the lead role himself, and enlisted Washington to play the protagonist’s wife. Affleck’s real-life ex-wife, Jennifer Garner, departed the project after Damon’s exit.
“She’s very polished, but she’s also very warm,” Affleck said. “I thought,Oh my God, she’s amazing for this.”
Washington told EW that she was immediately drawn to the ideas at the heart of the film. “I really loved when he shared with me the themes that he wanted to explore,” she said, noting that she appreciated the “horrible dynamic” of the lead characters’ marriage.
“It was exciting to see the journey of their marriage through this traumatic unfolding of events,” she explained. “There are certain couples where, when tragedy strikes, or there’s a crisis at hand, it either moves them closer together or breaks them apart.”
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Animals will be available theatrically in select cities and streaming on Netflix on Oct. 9.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
