Ben Affleck Directing ‘Chinatown’ Behind-the Scenes Story ‘Big Goodbye’

Deadline reports that Ben Affleck will write and direct an adaptation of the best-selling Sam Wasson book “The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood” for Paramount. The book tells the true behind-the-scenes story of the making of the 1974 classic movie “Chinatown,” directed by Roman Polanski and starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway.

“Chinatown” follows private investigator Jake Gittes (played by Nicholson) who is hired by Evelyn Mulwray (played by Dunaway) in 1930s Los Angeles to collect evidence on her husband’s extramarital affairs. Jake then finds himself caught up in a whirlwind of murder, deceit, and corruption.

The film is considered a landmark classic of 1970s cinema and is a staple for neo-noir detective fans. “Chinatown” was nominated for 11 Oscars at the 47th Academy Awards, for which it won Best Original Screenplay.

Affleck, a known film history buff, decided to take on the movie following the passing of former Paramount CEO Robert Evans last October. Evans not only had a significant hand in the production of “Chinatown” but other Hollywood classic such as “Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather.”

“Big Goodbye” will mark the fifth directorial outing for Affleck and his first since 2016’s “Live by Night.” Earlier this year, the actor turned director starred in Gavin O’Connor’s “The Way Back” and will be seen opposite Ana de Armas in the psychological thriller “Deep Water” later this year.

There is currently no release date however production is scheduled to begin in 2021.