Hollywood in a reputation-management crisis

Los Angeles

WHEN the Harvey Weinstein scandal reached fever pitch last month, Ben Affleck's handlers found themselves with a problem. It wasn't just that Weinstein had helped launch Ben Affleck's career in the 1990s with Good Will Hunting and Shakespeare in Love, or that the movie star had his own history of troubled relationships with women, including an on-camera groping of an MTV host.

The scandal was also coming just as Affleck prepared to hit the circuit for his role as Batman in one of the biggest movies of the year - November's Justice League - which aims to make US$1 billion globally.