'This Movie Was Deeply Personal For Him': Director Gavin O'Connor On Ben Affleck & 'The Way Back'
(CBS Local)-- Director Gavin O'Connor is no stranger to sports movies.
O'Connor directed "Miracle" in 2004 with Kurt Russell and the boxing movie "Warrior" in 2011. The filmmaker debuts his new movie "The Way Back" on March 6, starring Ben Affleck. This is the second time the two are working together after O'Connor and Affleck did "The Accountant" in 2016.
In this movie, Affleck plays a former high school basketball star who deals with alcoholism, grief, and trauma. The film also features household names like Janina Gavankar, Michaela Watkins, Glynn Turman, and Al Madrigal. "The Way Back" also introduces a host of young actors as the basketball players on the high school team that Affleck's character Jack Cunningham coaches.
O'Connor is excited for moviegoers to see Affleck peel back the layers.
"This movie was such a personal experience for him," said O'Connor in an interview with CBS Local's DJ Sixsmith. "We were dealing with the parallels of what's happening in Ben's own life... confronting his own addictions and alcoholism and loss and how to confront the demons in his life. It was a different experience because it was deeply, deeply personal. It required Ben to be incredibly courageous and brave and willing to shed the skin and to open up the box of demons and let the audience see my real heart."
While O'Connor has made sports movies before, he believes they are still a huge challenge to pull off for a number of reasons.
"I guess getting the sports right and making sure it feels accurate and real," said O'Connor. "I've done hockey, fighting, and now basketball. It's all choreography. My approach is that we have to deconstruct the choreography. Once it's all put up, I was always trying to deconstruct it to make it feel real and not choreographed. That's a tricky thing to do."
