There is an origin story – and it has a pool in it.
In one of the more bizarre Hollywood stories to surface this award season, a longstanding anecdote about directors, actors and poolside drama has resurfaced – and it involves none other than Steven Spielberg, Ben Affleck and (indirectly) Gwyneth Paltrow.
According to screenwriter and filmmaker Mike Binder, Spielberg once pulled the plug on a potential collaboration with Affleck, not because of any professional disagreement, but because of a long‑standing personal grudge tied to a family vacation incident from years earlier.
Binder, who developed the 2006 comedy‑thriller Man About Town with Spielberg originally set to direct – recounted the bizarre tale on the One Bad Movie podcast. He says Spielberg backed out of directing the film but still supported the production with DreamWorks Pictures, as long as someone else directed and Affleck wasn’t cast in the lead.
Spielberg allegedly explained his veto with a story about a family vacation during the period when Affleck was dating Gwyneth Paltrow – Spielberg’s goddaughter. According to the anecdote, Spielberg’s young son was playing in a pool when Affleck, fully clothed, entered the pool area. The boy pushed Affleck into the water, and Affleck then picked the boy up and threw him back into the pool, leading to tears and a long‑standing irritation.
Whether this version of events is literal or exaggerated as Hollywood lore, Binder claims the Jaws and Indiana Jones director told him flat‑out: “I just don’t like to work with him.” In addition to the pool story, Spielberg cited Affleck’s box office struggles at the time and described him – in Binder’s retelling – as “cold as hell.”
Binder says he relayed Spielberg’s decision to Affleck’s team – and Affleck immediately guessed the reason, asking whether Spielberg had told Binder that he once threw Spielberg’s kid in the water.
The filmmaker then claims he tried to stand up to Spielberg and keep Affleck cast anyway, but the very next day DreamWorks dropped the project entirely. Man About Town eventually reached audiences through an independent production deal and was released straight to DVD.
Years later, Binder notes the strange Hollywood twist: when Affleck’s Argo won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2013, beating Spielberg’s Lincoln, the two men were seen hugging at the ceremony. Binder joked that Affleck quipped back, “Tonight you could throw Spielberg’s whole family in the pool and get away with it.”
