Ben Affleck to direct historical drama King Leopold's Ghost
Ben Affleck has set King Leopold’s Ghost, a true story of rebellion against genocide in the Congo in the late 1800s, as his next directorial project. The film is based on Adam Hochschild book "King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa" that chronicles an atrocious piece of history that is every bit as bad as the subtitle infers.
According to Deadline, veteran filmmaker Martin Scorsese will produce the film alongside Affleck. The 47-year-old actor has critically-acclaimed features such as "The Town" and "Argo" to his directing credits. He will helm "King Leopold’s Ghost" from a screenplay by "Apocalypto" scribe Farhad Safinia.
The story, set at a moment when European countries were racing to find ways to carve up the natural resources of Africa, is about Leopold II of Belgium, who became the world’s richest man with billions stashed in secret bank accounts by gaining private ownership of the Congo Free State, and inserted a mercenary army to cruelly plunder rubber and ivory.
The story also deals with the Congolese who defied him and fought back. The struggle sparked an unlikely alliance between a black American missionary, an English investigative journalist and an Irish spy, resulting in one of the first human rights movements in history.
Affleck last directorial effort was 2016's "Live By Night". On the acting front, he has films such as Ridley Scott's "The Last Duel", "The Way Back" and "Deep Water" in his kitty.
