Spielberg Refused to Work With Ben Affleck Over a Pool Fight With His Son, Filmmaker Claims

A seemingly minor pool fight during a family vacation almost derailed a movie, according to filmmaker Mike Binder. He claims that Steven Spielberg held a long-standing grudge against Ben Affleck over the incident, leading the legendary director to initially refuse to work with him.

Binder shared the story on Stephen Baldwin's podcast, 'One Bad Movie.' He explained that he wrote the 2006 film 'Man About Town' with the assumption that Spielberg would direct it. "He said, 'We gotta do something together. I want you to write something for me,'" Binder recalled.

However, Spielberg eventually backed out of directing but agreed to produce the film at his studio, DreamWorks, with Binder at the helm. When Binder met with Ben Affleck and they agreed to work together, he called Spielberg with the news.

The reaction was not what he expected. "I call Steven, Steven says, 'No. Can't do it with him,'" Binder claimed. Spielberg allegedly cited Affleck's recent box office bombs and the media frenzy around his relationship with Jennifer Lopez, adding, "and I have other problems with him."

That 'other problem' was personal. According to Binder, Spielberg recounted an incident from years prior when Affleck was dating Spielberg's goddaughter, Gwyneth Paltrow.

"'My son was a little boy, he was playing in the pool... and Ben came in fully dressed, and my son pushed Ben into the pool,'" Binder recalled Spielberg telling him. "'And Ben got really mad at him, and he came out of the pool and picked him up and threw him back into the pool, and made my son cry.'"

When Binder insisted on casting Affleck, DreamWorks dropped the project the very next day. Binder eventually made the film with another distributor, though he admits it was "s---ty" under his direction and went straight to DVD. He maintained, however, that Affleck gave a quality performance.

The tension seemingly dissolved years later at the 2013 Academy Awards. Affleck's film 'Argo' won Best Picture, beating Spielberg's 'Lincoln'. Watching the two hug on television, Binder sent Affleck a text: "Ben, tonight you could throw Spielberg's whole family in the pool and get away with it."

An hour later, Affleck called from the Oscars. "He goes, 'That made me laugh so f---in' hard,'" Binder said. According to Entertainment Weekly, which first reported the story, representatives for Spielberg and Affleck did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

PRISM Insight: This story is a potent reminder that even in multi-billion dollar industries like Hollywood, major creative and business decisions can hinge on personal history and private grudges. It shows how 'soft power'—the informal network of relationships and feelings—can sometimes override purely financial or artistic logic, revealing the deeply human and occasionally irrational dynamics behind the curtain.