Summary
- Lopez’s new documentary offers an intimate look into her life over the past two decades, including her relationship with Ben Affleck.
- Director Bergh reveals Affleck’s complete support of the film, highlighting their collaboration and Affleck’s trust in Bergh’s vision.
- Lopez admits to finding it “scary” to work with Affleck on the documentary, marking their third on-screen collaboration.
The new documentary from Jennifer Lopez,The Greatest Love Story Never Told, follows the actress and musician as she takes on independently producing a new album and cinematic original that explores the last twenty years of her life. In telling her story, director Jason Bergh also provides an intimate look at Lopez’s life and her relationship with her husband, Ben Affleck. In an exclusive interview with MovieWeb, Bergh says working alongside Affleck for the film was a wonderful experience.
Before reuniting and getting married in 2022, Affleck and Lopez (famously) started a relationship in 2002; the following year, the couple were engaged. According to The Greatest Love Story Never Told, “the massive amount of scrutiny” around their private lives led to their 2004 split. Given that information, it would be reasonable to think that Affleck would have some hesitation about The Greatest Love Story Never Told. During the conversation with MovieWeb, Bergh revealed, however, that Affleck was totally supportive of the film and that working alongside Affleck, an award-winning filmmaker, wasn’t too “daunting.”
“No, it wasn’t daunting. I mean, I’ve been a fan of his for many years. I remember seeing his show Project Greenlight and just saying to myself, ‘How do I get an opportunity like that? How could I ever find that? With documentary culture in New York, you know, you just didn’t ever feel like that was possible. So, to have him and his studio be the producers of this film was really an honor. And he’s just an amazing support for filmmakers and for people. What he brought to the table was just allowing me to really just go and do my thing. It was that he trusted me.”
He added that he was “honored” to be part of the project, and revealed that Affleck just let him “go and make the movie.”
“And he really just kind of let me go and make the movie, which was like, you have to pinch yourself in these moments. To have him be the head of the studio, you always dream about moments like that, but this business is tough, and you don’t know if something like that will ever happen. And for me, I’m just honored to be a part of this whole situation and to have him obviously support it. It’s been a wonderful experience. Daunting is the wrong word, though. Because he’s an incredible filmmaker. So, you can only learn from someone like him, and it’s the exact opposite of daunting. I’m excited! I’m like, ‘What can I learn from him? What questions can I ask him? What advice can I get from him? And you know, he’s so open about all that stuff. He’s just a wonderful filmmaker.”
Bergh has previously collaborated with Lopez on several projects, including Netflix’s Jennifer Lopez: Halftime (where he served as the cinematographer) and directed Lopez’s opening sequence for Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2021. Their past collaborations, he believes, were crucial in gaining Affleck’s trust.
“I think he probably pulled a little bit from all the trust that Jen had in me from all these years and, understood that I’m a good person and that I’m here for them.”
Here Are All the Celebrity Cameos in Jennifer Lopez’s This Is Me… Now
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Jennifer Lopez Says Working with Husband Ben Affleck on Documentary Was ‘Scary’
While Bergh may not have found working with Affleck daunting, Lopez admits she found it “scary” to bring her husband into the mix. During a Q&A with producer Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas (via PEOPLE) at a special screening of The Greatest Love Story Never Told, Lopez spoke about working with Affleck for the feature. Noting that she found it “very scary” to share her deepest thoughts on camera, Lopez added:
“The other scary part was that I was bringing into it my husband, who was kind of the reluctant participant, silent participant and all.”
The Greatest Love Story Never Told marks the third on-screen collaboration for Affleck and Lopez, who co-starred in Gigli and Jersey Girl two decades ago. Early reviews have praised Bergh’s candid and raw look at Lopez, the making of This Is Me… Now: A Love Story, and her relationship with Affleck.
The intimate documentary features interviews with collaborators and gives a look into Lopez’s personal life. Check out the trailer below.
The Greatest Love Story Never Told
is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.
