The Director Roundtable

In 1997, indepednent filmmaker Gus Van Sant directed an unknown actor-writer named Ben Affleck in Good Will Hunting, which launched Affleck and his buddy Matt Damon to stardom (and won them a screenplay Oscar). Fifteen years later, Van Sant, 60 (Promised Land), and Affleck, 40 (Argo), arrived Nov. 20 at The Hollywood Reporter's annual Director Roundtable as peers, both riding awards buzz for their latest dramas. The duo joined Tom Hooper, 40 (Les Miserables), Ang Lee, 58 (Life of Pi), David O. Russell, 54 (Silver Linings Playbook), and Quentin Tarantino, 49 (Django Unchained), for a spirited discussion at Milk Studios, during which Affleck acknowledged his acting roots. He quipped (only half-jokingly), "I'm the only one here who could be hired by everyone else."