It was 2007’s Gone Baby Gone (94% on Rotten Tomatoes) that announced Ben Affleck‘s talent as a director to the world. The pulsating crime drama found its way onto many top 10 lists for the year and remains a must-watch movie for any film fan. Despite all its achievements and success, that didn’t stop Morgan Freeman from calling out Affleck during the production.
Appearing on the Still Here Hollywood Podcast, Titus Welliver, who played Lionel McCready in Gone Baby Gone, revealed an interesting story about Freeman and Affleck. Welliver explained how he didn’t have many scenes to shoot, but he still chose to hang around on set to see the masters of their craft, like Freeman, in action. “Morgan and I are sort of from the same school,” he said. “It’s like one or two takes; we’re not taking runs at it. That’s probably why I could never work with David Fincher. I’m not a multitake guy.”
One day, Welliver made his way over to watch Freeman shoot his scene. “So it’s take one, [and] Ben’s like, ‘Cut. Print. Yeah, let’s go again,'” Welliver said. “One take. Two takes. Third take, he’s like, ‘That was great, Morgan. Yeah, let’s go again.’ Morgan just said, ‘And why are we going again? Was there a light stand in my shot? If there wasn’t, I think we need to move on.’ And I turned to Ben and I went, ‘Yeah, when Morgan Freeman says move on, you move the f*** on.'”
Welliver laughed about the incident but credited Affleck for how Gone Baby Gone turned out. “Ben’s made a lot of great films, but I still hold that film as a great piece of cinema,” he said. “It’s an incredibly good film, and it’s all Ben. Obviously the performances [are great], but Ben works from a way [that] he has the entire film in his head when he comes in. And I knew it wasn’t a fluke, because when we started The Town, it was the same thing.”
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In a 2007 interview with The Hollywood Interview, Freeman revealed that he didn’t expect Gone Baby Gone to do as well as it did. “I just didn’t expect it: little movie, terrific performances,” he said. “It was a solid script. The story’s different, very different story. I really think if you give people something different, off the beaten path, they’ll want to hear what you have to say.”
In terms of the experience of working with Affleck, Freeman said, “It’s different, but everybody is different. Everybody has their own approach to things. You want to think that because an actor is now directing that their approach would now be more ‘on your side,’ so to speak. I’m more of a hands-off person and Ben is very hands-on. But the proof is in the pudding, no matter what.”
Freeman is entirely correct here. The proof shows that Gone Baby Gone is a remarkable film, with terrific direction and outstanding performances.
Gone Baby Gone is currently streaming on Paramount+ in the US. It’s also available through Fubo and MGM+, Amazon Video, Apple TV and Fandango at Home.
Gone Baby Gone |
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Two Boston area detectives investigate a little girl's kidnapping, which ultimately turns into a crisis both professionally and personally. |
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| Studio: Miramax Films, The Ladd Company, LivePlanet, Distributed by Miramax Films |
| Running Time: 114 minutes |
| Release Date: October 19, 2007 |
| Cast: Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, John Ashton, Amy Ryan, Amy Madigan, Titus Welliver |
| Director: Ben Affleck |
| Writers: Ben Affleck, Aaron Stockard, Based on Gone, Baby, Gone by Dennis Lehane |
| Genre: Crime, Thriller, Cop Drama, Mystery |
| Box Office: $34.6 million |
