Kevin Smith Endorses Affleck's 'Gone, Baby, Gone'

While it can't be hard to get your best friend to say good things about your work, those of you wondering whether Ben Affleck's directorial debut, Gone, Baby, Gone, is any good should look no further -- Kevin Smith digs it. Yes, Smith claims to have seen the film twice already and says it's "awesome." In fact, he also goes on to call it a "total awards contender." Hmm, Affleck's first script earned him an Oscar; wouldn't it be wild if his first directorial effort scored him one too? Let's not get crazy here; while the trailer for Gone, Baby, Gone certainly showed potential, there's still a lot of competition (from some of Hollywood's great filmmakers) heading our way this fall. Smith later went on to add: "It's one of those movies where you watch and you're like [groan] First time out? He made a better movie than I've ever made. That jerk! And he's easier to look at, richer, I hate him so much! But it's a really great flick."

Of course he's kidding about all the hatin' -- Smith and Affleck are good friends, so much so that Affleck has shown up in a number of Smith's films. (I'm still kind of pissed that Affleck and Jason Lee didn't resurrect their Chasing Amy characters for Clerks 2, but that's just me going off on a random tangent.) Based on a Dennis Lehane (Mystic River) novel, Gone, Baby, Gone takes place in Boston and revolves around the police investigation (that may or may not be corrupt) of a missing girl. The film stars Affleck's baby brother Casey, as well as Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman and Smith ... as a computer hacker named Warlock! Wait, wrong movie. On second thought, I wonder if Smith will show up in a small cameo. I mean, the least Affleck can do is give the guy a chance to appear in a film that actually does well at the box office. Kidding. Totally kidding. I love ya Kev! And I seriously can't wait to see what you do with Zack and Miri Make a Porno. And that other one. The horror thing. Good luck!