There are quite a few perks to movie stardom, among them the ability to command an audience on whatever subject you please. Another thing, you can flirt with nearly anyone you want, as a pretty blonde journalist discovered after asking Ben Affleck about pre-production meetings he had with Pearl Harbor survivors. Ben Affleck
Meetings with war
veterans influenced
his portrayal
By Scott Vogel
Star-Bulletin"First of all, I just want to say hello and welcome you," he said to the woman in the back row, flashing a matinee- idol grin that sent a ripple of nervous twittering through the crowd of journalists. But then, in another flash, he was back on message. "We tried as hard as we possibly could to incorporate all the stories. In fact, a lot of the dialogue in the script is culled from interviews with real people," he said.
"You know the line where he says, 'Golly, I didn't know the Japs were sore at us'? That was a line from one of the survivors. It was so aw-shucks. It's hard to even imagine in this very sarcastic, ironic, newsbitey age that people would actually say that. There's a line I say to Kate's character about how 'I can hit a running rabbit with a three-dollar pistol' that I got from one of the flying aces."During the following few minutes, a span of time when it was impossible to forget that Affleck is among the most lucid of contemporary celebrities, he spoke fluidly about "Pearl Harbor" and the enormous sense responsibility that the cast and crew felt during filming. Then he remembered a piece of unfinished business. "And you can come back any time," he said, again to the blonde in the back. Was this a stunt or an overture? With Ben Affleck, you're never sure.
Another example: a recent magazine report suggesting that Affleck might be interested in a political career. "I have no plans to run for Congress, so you can all relax -- the government is currently safe," he joked, just before perorating on his fantasy of a wider range of people seeking public office. "I would like to see music teachers and archaeologists and sailors and educators." And then came the inevitable undercutting. "And movie stars. We need more movie stars in government," he said, his voice exuding mock-gravity.
It was a line delivered so subtly it was bound to be missed by some members of the press corps.
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