Veterans receive Affleck's salute

HONOLULU, Hawaii Aboard the USS John Stennis, with the Hawaiian sun setting over its stern, Ben Affleck gives a polite no-thanks to two female Navy lieutenants in dress whites who invite him to join them for a beer. Unfortunately, he has to dine with executives from Disney, which produced his new film, the $135 million "Pearl Harbor."

If the movie, opening Friday, lives up to box office expectations, you can bet there'll be more people competing for the star's time. Affleck is cast as the young Jack Ryan, replacing Harrison Ford in the next installment of the Tom Clancy series. And rumor has it he may don cape and tights in the next "Batman."

Easily on his way to becoming one of the biggest movie stars around, Affleck still wants to spread some goodwill. Next month he'll arrive in Chicago for the filming of "Stolen Summer," part of the Project Greenlight series for HBO aimed at encouraging fledgling screenwriters. He and buddy Matt Damon are executive producers.

Right now, though, the focus is on "Pearl Harbor," and romantic lead Affleck, 28, handles reporters' questions like a true Hollywood vet. He's gracious when queried about the movie ("It's for the veterans"), his love life ("I'm single and not dating anyone") and even really dumb ones, such as does he remember his first rock concert ("Duran Duran").

In "Pearl Harbor" Affleck plays Rafe McCawley, a Navy flier who is presumed dead in a battle over Europe. So his best friend (Josh Hartnett) starts dating Rafe's nurse girlfriend (Kate Beckinsale). When Rafe returns home four months later, the two have to stop their romantic squabbles when the Japanese attack Dec. 7, 1941.

The film first prompts the question: How long is the statute of limitations when it comes to dating your best friend's girl? "Certainly longer than four months," Affleck muses. "I think it's like murder. That statute doesn't run out." So he's never done it? "I'm not saying that. Come on!" Affleck says.

The teasing manner subsides when Affleck talks about the specifics of "Pearl Harbor." "We had a responsibility to the veterans with this movie. An entire generation of Americans sacrificed their lives for this country," he says. "If you ever forgot that message, you could just walk down to the real Arizona Memorial, which wasn't far from our set in Hawaii. You could still see the real bullet holes there."

He also met with real survivors. "I talked to someone new almost every single day," Affleck says. "I talked to extraordinary men. One of them spent several years in a Japanese prison camp after he was captured in China. He never gave up. And some of my dialogue in the script is culled from him and real people who toughed it out."

Affleck got physically tough at a weeklong boot camp. "It wasn't a private actor camp. There's a great story that Matt Damon told me about all the guys on `Saving Private Ryan.' He said the cast would sit around at lunch and tell war stories about boot camp. And Tom Hanks would finally say, `Cut it out, boys. We went hiking.'

"We definitely did not go hiking," Affleck says. "It was the most physically grueling time in my life. And it helped me not feel like a complete fraud when I put on that Navy uniform the first day. I learned how to march, salute and act like an airman. Mostly I learned to respect the military-and they made sure that we learned it the hard way."

Still, it didn't prepare Affleck for the actual "Pearl Harbor" shoot. "The most emotional day was when we went over to the Arizona and did a prayer service. That was a profoundly moving experience," he says. "It was also very humbling. I thought, `Oh, boy, we better do the right thing by this story because it's real people and real consequences.' "

Addressing recent rumors about his own political ambitions, Affleck says it's just such real people he hopes to see in office. "My fantasy is (to see) music teachers, archeologists, sailors, educators . . . in Congress," he says. "And frankly, yes, we need more movie stars in government."

The two smiling Navy lieutenants nod in agreement as they gaze adoringly at Affleck. "Ben for president," one whispers.

Distributed by Big Picture News Inc.