George Clooney and Ben Affleck have both walked the red carpet with their other halves lately to present their joint project Argo. But there were no sign of glamorous plus ones at a New York screening of the CIA thriller this week as the boys teamed up to promote their new project.
George's statuesque girlfriend Stacy Keibler was nowhere to be seen, and Ben's wife Jennifer Garner was probably at home looking after their daughters Violet, six and three-year-old Seraphina and seven-month-old son Samuel. No, tonight was strictly boys night. Ben was also thrilled to be supported at the unveiling by his best pal Matt Damon – his childhood friend who he collaborated with on the script for Good Will Hunting.
The friends, who grew up together in Boston and shared a flat, shared a hug at the screening. In the past, Ben has spoken about how lucky he feels to still be close to his childhood buddy. "It's a different kind of satisfaction being around your friends, the friends you grew up with," he said. "They have kids, have barbecues and that kind of deal. That is really satisfying, too. It's one of the nice things about having friends for a long time."
Ben and his family regularly go on holiday with Matt and his wife Luciana Barroso and their three biological daughters plus Luciana's daughter from her first marriage. At the premiere Ben, George and Matt were joined by Hollywood big hitters Richard Gere, Michael Douglas and Oliver Stone. There were some ladies present, however. Trudy Styler attended with her musician husband Sting. They were joined by Bette Midler and Glenn Close. George produced Argo, and passed the script on to Ben, who directs and stars in the thriller, which is based on a true story. It has already generated Oscar buzz and recounts a joint effort by the CIA and the Canadian government in 1979 to rescue six Americans from Tehran in Iran after the US embassy was taken over by Islamist militants.