Ben Affleck Dons Tights and a Fake Nose for Reeves' Superman Role

Expect to see Ben Affleck disappear into his characterization of 1950s "Superman" George Reeves in the Sept. 8-opening "Hollywoodland." At least, so says Robin Tunney, who plays his fiancee in the feature, which she describes as a "Rashomon"-like telling of Reeves' mysterious shooting death.

Ben Affleck Gets Into Superman Character

Affleck "wears a prosthetic nose and really does look different, and gives an amazing performance," according to her. She also says we get to see him in "Superman" regalia. "He does wear tights, yes. You know, George Reeves wasn't that fit. They 'built' his body underneath his Superman suit, and they did that with Ben as well. They show him doing the TV show, which was filmed in black and white -- and his suit isn't even blue and red, it's grey."
 
But Reeves' off-camera life was colorful. He's depicted as the kept man of a studio executive's wife, played by Diane Lane -- but he wants to break away from her and get on with his post-"Superman" career. Adrien Brody and Bob Hoskins also star.
 
"There is quite a mystery as to whether he really killed himself," reminds Tunney, who's known to "Prison Break" fans as attorney Veronica Donovan. "There were dubious people in his house that night. One of them is my character -- a woman known to have broken noses and set people's dresses on fire."
 
MEANWHILE:

Tunney is playing in the World Series of Poker Main Event, which commences tomorrow (7/28) in Las Vegas -- and is being shown on ESPN. She's playing for Team PokerRoom.com -- only the third woman to qualify for the team, which is staking some 60 out of the 7,000-plus players at the WSOP. Tunney earned her spot, as well as her $10,500 buy-in, when she won the recent PokerRoom.com Celebrity Poker Showdown to benefit YouthAIDS.
 
Amazingly, that was only her second tournament -- one populated by some of the world's best-known players, including last year's Ladies No-Limit Texas Hold 'Em WSOP event winner and fellow Hollywood actress, Jennifer Tilly. Robin says she learned the game through instructional videos, books and a couple of training sessions with a pro. Obviously, she's a natural. She's yet to play with poker guy Affleck, however. "I wasn't into poker yet when we made the film, but I'd love to play with him."
 
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO:

Give up waiting to see the much-anticipated follow-up to the 1972 film "The Candidate" that Robert Redford and Larry Gelbart were so gung-ho to bring to the screen.
 
"I think the project got stuck in a lot of star dreck," says Gelbart, the noted writer whose laurels include three Tonys and three Emmys.
 
He and Redford had decided that a fresh edition of "The Candidate" -- the film that had the actor playing a candidate for the U.S. Senate -- would be a super film, with Redford picking up the character 30 years after the finale of the first and detail what the candidate has become.
 
Says Gelbart about the fate of the proposed sequel, "the writer is always one of the last to know, maybe the absolutely last to know. Something you work on for two years is suddenly not there. It's very hurtful working that long and then getting chewed up by the system."
 
THE CUTTING EDGE:

We'll be seeing even more cutting-edge surgery -- pun intended -- when "Extreme Makeover" returns Aug. 3, reports Dr. Garth Fisher. Among the innovative procedures is "a body lift. It's just basically making an incision all the way around the waist and taking out extra skin and fat in the abdomen and back, which in turn, lifts up the buttocks and the thighs and really makes a tremendous difference in weight and how sleek somebody can look. Body lifts are tough." Even with assistance, "it took about six-seven hours."
 
The case that stands out the most for him thus far, says Fisher, was "Phil, a deaf patient with a translator." He adds, "it was probably the most fun I've had as a doctor, because he was such an inspiration. You look at somebody who's got such a tremendous deficiency in his life, and he overcomes it. He's gained so much from it in every part of his personality and his life, it just hasn't slowed him down. When you look at yourself and everybody around you, you think 'gosh, how could anybody be so sad, and this guy's so happy with missing so much?'"
 
ENDQUOTE:

"Mad About You's" Paul Reiser, who's been busy behind the scenes, says he doesn't miss acting. "No, I really don't. I'm happy writing and producing," he says. "If somebody called me with a great part and said I could work with great people, then I would jump at it, but until that day, it's fun to write and let other people do their part." As for the change, he adds, "It wasn't a big career decision. It just happened, and I'm lucky enough to get to do it." Reiser says he certainly has plenty of other projects keeping him busy. "We have about five different shows that we're in production on -- some for cable, some for networks."