Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez at the Los Angeles premiere ofThis Is Me … Now: A Love Storyon Feb. 13, 2024; Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker and Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan “Ben” Kenobi inStar Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope(1977).Photo:John Salangsang/Shutterstock; Lucasfilm/Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock
John Salangsang/Shutterstock; Lucasfilm/Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock
Jennifer LopezandBen Affleckare one with The Force.
Dave Meyers, the director of Lopez’s musical filmThis Is Me … Now: A Love Storycompared the couple’s collaboration style to that ofStar Wars' Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi — with veteran movie director Affleck, 51, chiming in with some good advice as Lopez, 54, produced, co-wrote and starred in the ambitious project.
“They work pretty similar to how I think they are as a couple,” Meyers, 51, told PEOPLE at the film’s premiere on Tuesday night in Los Angeles. “I made a funny joke that Jen is likeReturn of the JediLuke Skywalker, and Ben’s like Obi-Wan. It was really beautiful to watch how she would listen to the things that he would say.”
“We were there in their kitchen, in his office late at night, and it was just really nice to see that he cared and always was supportive,” he added.
Meyers explained that Affleck had felt “a little” trepidation “at first” over having “all their personal stuff out there” for the film, but he eventually made it work — and even helped the process go along more smoothly.
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Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez at the Los Angeles premiere ofThis Is Me … Now: A Love Storyon Feb. 13, 2024.Lionel Hahn/WireImage
Lionel Hahn/WireImage
“… it’s [Jennifer’s] way to love,” the director said. “I think [Ben] saw that and supported it, and gave us good advice and tried to help connect the dots in getting it out there.
He added, “I hope I get a chance to thank him down the line for time spent. It was an honor.”
This Is Me … Now: A Love Storyis a musical and visual reimagining of the life events that inspired Lopez’s upcoming albumThis Is Me … Now, which serves as a sequel to 2002’sThis Is Me … Then.
Meyers shared at apress conferencefor the film on Thursday that Lopez and Affleck’s romance inspired much of the direction of the film, which delved deep into what the “Love Don’t Cost a Thing” singer felt during their relationship. He noted one scene in particular that showed Lopez as a construction worker at a heart factory, which explored her emotions.
“Metaphorically, it is true,” Meyers said. “That stemmed from her telling me the pain that she’s been in, specifically the pain that she went through when she broke up with Ben the first time. There was a lot of honesty that was shared in that first meeting, and so the heart factory became sort of a Titanic-level meltdown, which was a metaphor for what she was giving me as far as her truth.”
The project — which includes cameos from stars likeTrevor NoahandJane Fonda— has been a long time in the making for Lopez, who said at the press conference that herreal-life love storywith Affleck gave her thepush she needed to get it done.
“I was like, ‘I don’t write, I don’t do this.’ He was like, ‘You do, you write, you direct, you produce, you choreograph, you do all the things,’ ” sherecalled her husband telling her. “ ‘Start stepping into that, start owning a little bit of who you are.’ ”
“Intimate and empowering, the documentary offers unflinching access to Jennifer’s most personal moments as she works hard to reclaim her narrative through the making ofThis Is Me … Now,” the synopsis adds. “From interviews with her inner circle, including producing partners and longtime collaborators, to candid home moments, this is a vulnerable portrait of an icon who put it all on the line and discovered a newfound determination in self-acceptance and love.”
This Is Me … Now: A Love Storypremieres Friday on Prime Video.
source: people.com
