Ben Affleck to direct and star in remake of 'Witness For the Prosecution'

Image from BBC

By Darian Scalamoni

            Ben Affleck had some troubles for a while in Hollywood in the early 2000s after some absolute bombs at the box office and critical failures, but it wasn’t until he went behind the camera that his luck started to change. Affleck directed three fantastic films in a row with Gone Baby Gone, The Town and then Argo which won Best Picture at the Academy Awards in 2013. Deadline is reporting that Affleck will tackle an Agatha Christie story as he’s set to direct a remake of Witness For the Prosecution.

            Along with Affleck directing, he’ll also star in the film about a man who comes under suspicion when a woman who left him his fortune is found murdered. The original film was released in 1957 and was nominated for 6 Oscars and was directed by Billy Wilder (Some Like It Hot, Sunset Boulevard). The film will also be produced by long time collaborator and best friend of Affleck’s, Matt Damon.

            This sounds like a very interesting film to remake and I trust Affleck due to his past experiences as a director. It could be quite a while until he gets started on this film though as the next project on his slate is his Batman movie he’s starring in and directing. In addition to that, his latest film, Live by Night is expected to be released later this year or early next year for an Oscar push. Affleck stars in that film alongside Zoe Saldana, Elle Fanning, Sienna Miller, Brendan Gleeson, Chris Cooper and Scott Eastwood.