Beaks here...
Three days after breathlessly reporting that Warner Bros. had chosen Ben Affleck to direct the big-screen adaptation of Stephen King's THE STAND, Deadline's Mike Fleming is now reporting that Ben Affleck has chosen to direct a biopic about notorious Boston mobster Whitey Bulger starring his pal Matt Damon and brutha Casey Affleck. And since Affleck actually went on the record for Fleming's latest article, I'd place my money on the untitled Bulger biopic being the director's next film after the currently-in-production (and potentially awesome) ARGO.
This is not to say Affleck isn't holding out for a bigger payday or budget on THE STAND. I mean, now that he knows he's the studio choice, he does have some leverage. There's no reason to rush into the Bulger film (which will be written by BOARDWALK EMPIRE creator and former SOPRANOS writer Terence Winter), but THE STAND will almost certainly be a huge production and, depending on how they attack the story, could take Affleck off the market for a few years.
It'll be interesting to see how this plays out over the coming weeks/months. Unless they're going to seriously rework the last act of THE STAND, I'm much more excited for the Whitey Bulger flick. And even if they do rework THE STAND... honsetly, give me Bulger.
