'The Town' Finds A Mad Man

Ahh Ben Affleck, Schofizzy has a special place in his heart for Affleck. Ever since I saw him in Dazed and Confused as Fred O'Bannion, looking to whoop some freshman ass, there hasn't been a film I did not enjoy simply based on the fact Ben Affleck was in it. Yes even the stinkers, like Phantoms, Forces of Nature, Surviving Christmas and the mother of all Gigli. Obvisouly not everyone feels the same as Schofizzy about Affleck, and that's okay. Ben Affleck has kept working and pulling out some decent roles including Hollywoodland, Smokin' Aces, this year's State of Play and although I haven't seen it yet he looks freaking hysterical in Mike Judge's "Extract". Where Affleck has really shown promise is back behind the lense and that brings us the point of this post. Ben Affleck is directing a adaptation of Chuck Hogan's novel "Prince of Thieves" and THR reports that the film titled "The Town" has landed the Jon Hamm of AMC's hit show Mad Men and Rebecca Hall (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) to star along with Ben Affleck in his second attempt at directing. Read more about "The Town" below...

The original novel by Chuck Hogan followed four masked thieves and friends from the tough streets of Charlestown Massachusetts who decide to rob a Boston bank at gunpoint. The group takes the Holding bank manager Claire Keesey hostage and cleans out the entire vault. One of the gunmen, Doug MacRay, didn't plan on falling hard for Claire. The career thieve decides to track her down without his mask & gun and their mutual attraction becomes undeniable. With a tenacious FBI agent following his every move Doug imagines a life away from his gritty, dangerous work. A life centered around Claire. But before that can happen, Doug and his crew learn that there may be a way to rob Boston's venerable baseball stadium, Fenway Park. Risky yet utterly irresistible, it would be the perfect heist to end his criminal career and begin a new life. But, as it turns out, pursuing Claire may be the most dangerous act of all.

Matt Reilly and Jesse Ehrman will produce "The Town" for Warner Brothers. Affleck worked with Chuck Hogan and Peter Craig on the script and plan to begin shooting by September in Boston. Ben Affleck will star as Doug MacRay, the masked gunman who falls for the bank manager. Jon Hamm will play the tenacious FBI agent who is hunting down Ben Affleck and Rebecca Hall will play Claire Keesey, the bank manager who finds herself in love with the wrong man. Both Hamm and Hall are strong choices for the film, while also being very refreshing. Hamm is a solid up and coming actor who has had a nice running on AMC's Mad Men and also a few episodes on NBC's 30 Rock. Seeing him as a headstrong FBI agent chasing down Affleck and his gang should make for a good film. Hall who was stunning in both The Prestige as Bale's wife and in last year's Vicky Cristina Barcelona with Javier Bardem should prove to be a wonderful fit as the love interest to Affleck. More news on "The Town" as it develops...

What say you? Does another Boston based Affleck directed film sound like a good thing? Strikeback...