Have you directed a short film? More importantly have you directed a bad short film? Like really, really bad? Because Ben Affleck did, and his latest film is nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards this weekend. And lest you think I’m piling on, here’s what Affleck had to say about his 1993 debut short, I Killed My Lesbian Wife, Hung Her On a Meathook & Now I Have a Three-Picture Deal at Disney, when The Playlist caught up with him:
“It’s horrible. It’s atrocious. I knew I wanted to be a director, and I did a couple of short films, and this is the only one that haunts me. I’m not proud of it. It looks like it was made by someone who has no prospects, no promise.”
It’s not very good, in fact it’s kind of a drag to watch, though I do appreciate the 90s cheese on display (both Lisa Bonet and Leeza Gibbons get namedrops). But it’s all proof that honing one’s craft can pay off mightily in the long run. Affleck’s assembled one of the more reliable directing track records of recent times. Knowing that he started with this mess of a short film actually makes his progression as a filmmaker all the more impressive. So, if you’re brave, feel free to enjoy I Killed My Lesbian Wife, Hung Her On a Meathook & Now I Have a Three-Picture Deal at Disney in its entirety: