In the late 1990s, during a period when Ben Affleck was linked to Gwyneth Paltrow, an incident unfolded involving Spielberg's son that contributed to a long-standing grudge between the director and the actor. This incident reportedly involved Affleck throwing Spielberg's son back into a swimming pool after the boy initially pushed him in while playing. Spielberg, reflecting on the altercation, expressed his discontent and reluctance to collaborate with Affleck in future projects. The screenwriter Mike Binder, who was developing the film 'Man About Town' at the time, revealed details of this feud on the 'One Bad Movie' podcast. Spielberg's viewpoint was that Affleck had become problematic for both personal and professional reasons, including previous box office failures at the time. Ultimately, this animosity led Binder to seek other actors for the role, although Affleck later sought clarification regarding the director's decision to exclude him. Despite initial discussions of including Affleck in the project, Spielberg's disapproval caused the venture to stall, resulting in Binder eventually creating the film with Affleck through an independent production route instead. Years later, Binder reflected on the situation as Affleck won an Oscar for 'Argo', humorously suggesting that Affleck had overcome any past grievances to achieve significant success.