Report: Affleck Has Image Trouble

By Stephen M. Silverman

Friday November 21, 2003 01:40 PM EST

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Is Ben Affleck the new Kevin Costner?

The Wall Street Journal assesses the current state of Affleck's career in Friday's editions, and the picture isn't rosy -- given reports that Paramount faces an uphill battle selling Affleck's latest film, director John Woo's sci-fi action thriller "Paycheck," which opens Christmas Day.

The Journal blames Affleck's problems on his movie collaboration with off-again, on-again fiancee Jennifer Lopez in "Gigli"; the bad publicity of no less than five dozen National Enquirer stories in the past three years; and, in the Journal's observation, the fact that he's gone from hot hunk to hot potato.

"It certainly looks like he has some image-fixing to do," Henry Shafer, of the research service Marketing Evaluations Inc., tells the paper.

Citing statistics from Shafer's firm, the Journal reports that Affleck has an 82 percent recognition factor among members of the public, up from 75 percent last year. But the percentage of people who don't like him has also risen, from 12 percent to 18 percent, says a survey.

"It's not about his work anymore," former Disney and Columbia marketing chief Robert Levin tells the paper. "It's about the other sideshows in his life." Regarding Paramount's job to sell "Paycheck," Levin says, "The studio is in a difficult place."

"There is absolutely no backlash," counters Paramount's Robert Friedman. He adds that Affleck, 31, is prepared to do a press junket and the TV talk-show rounds for the new movie, though industry observers suggest that more than likely, the questions will be focused less on "Paycheck" and more on "Gigli" and J.Lo.

And while Affleck is not featured prominently in the trailer for "Paycheck," Affleck's agent, Patrick Whitesell, says, "Ben is going to be around for a long time. It's hard to kill a movie star."