Affleck, Damon Launch Indie Banner for Emerging Filmmakers
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are opening a new lane for emerging directors. Their company, Artists Equity, has launched Artists Equity Independent Pictures, a banner dedicated to independent films from new filmmakers. Variety exclusively revealed the launch on Oct. 7.
Day-to-day work on the new slate will be led by Jennifer Westin, senior vice-president of creative affairs and production. She will work under the guidance of Amy Baer, Artists Equity's president of film and television. Affleck serves as chief executive, with Damon as chief content officer.
The banner is backed by an independent theatrical film fund. That means money set aside for films intended to play in cinemas. No budget figures were disclosed.
An early title is 'A Woman in the Sun'. It is the directing debut of Julia Cox, the screenwriter of 'Nyad'. The cast includes Renée Zellweger, Sissy Spacek and Mia Threapleton.
Another is 'Downriver', from director Sam Jones and writer Carl Hiaasen. Artists Equity is producing alongside Seth Caplan, Dori Rath, Joseph Restaino of Hungry Bull Productions and Michael London of Groundswell Productions. Executive producers include William P. Foley II, Douglas K. Ammerman, Castille Landon, William Crawford Shippey and Tony Stopperan.
The launch comes with a full calendar at the parent company. The thriller 'Animals', directed by and starring Affleck, reaches Netflix on Oct. 9. Affleck co-wrote it with Connor O. McIntyre and Billy Ray. The cast includes Steven Yeun, Kerry Washington and Gillian Anderson.
Next is 'Free Byrd', directed by Greg Kwedar. Dwayne Johnson stars as a Las Vegas motorcycle stuntman hiding a dementia diagnosis while preparing for one last jump.
Affleck, Damon and Gerry Cardinale of RedBird Capital started Artists Equity in 2022. Its first film was the 2023 sports drama 'Air', directed by Affleck and starring Affleck, Damon, Jason Bateman and Viola Davis. Later credits include 'Small Things Like These', 'The Rip', 'The Accountant 2', 'The Instigators' and 'Unstoppable'.
The company has an overall theatrical feature agreement with Sony Pictures for cinema releases, reported by Variety, and a first-look streaming deal with Netflix, which gives Netflix first refusal on streaming projects, reported by Variety. Its in-house Writers' Room development programme lists Affleck, Damon and Eric Roth as advisers.
What makes this stand out is structure. New directors often struggle to secure backing for cinema release. A dedicated banner with its own fund gives them a clearer path to screens.
