Affleck and Damon Launch Artists Equity Independent Pictures
The new banner will back emerging and independent filmmakers, with A Woman in the Sun and Downriver among its first projects.
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon have announced the launch of Artists Equity Independent Pictures, a new banner dedicated to supporting emerging and independent filmmakers, according to Variety. The banner is backed by an independent theatrical film fund and will be overseen by Jennifer Westin under Amy Baer, president of film and television.
Two early projects were named alongside the announcement. A Woman in the Sun will mark the directorial debut of screenwriter Julia Cox and will star Renée Zellweger, Sissy Spacek and Mia Threapleton. Downriver is directed by Sam Jones and written by Carl Hiaasen.
Affleck and Damon said in a joint statement that the banner is meant to empower rising voices with real potential.
Artists Equity was founded by Affleck and Damon in 2022 with Gerry Cardinale. In a separate interview with Variety, Affleck said he had been reluctant to talk about Artists Equity because he does not want the perception of what they are doing to be limited to him and Matt.
The company has negotiated performance-based bonuses with Netflix for entire crews.
In the late '90s, Affleck and Damon wrote and starred in Good Will Hunting, which became their breakthrough project; in 1998 they won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for the film.