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It boasted more celeb wattage than this year's Oscars: The music video ''I'm F---ing Ben Affleck'' — which debuted on Jimmy Kimmel Live!'s post-Oscar show and has since crippled workplace productivity — is Kimmel's response to another YouTube staple, ''I'm F---ing Matt Damon,'' sung by the ABC host's girlfriend, Sarah Silverman, and his pseudo-nemesis Matt Damon. Herewith, the dirt from Affleck himself on Bimmy's blunt declaration (which re-airs on Kimmel this Friday night).
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: For the courage you showed in shooting this love declaration, did they compensate you well?
BEN AFFLECK: They paid me in humiliation. That was my only fee, and I drank it up.
How did this bold pairing come about?
I remember seeing Matt's [video] and thinking to myself, ''Oh, it would be funny to do one with me and Jimmy.'' They called and immediately I was like, ''Yes, it should be this idea...,'' and they had the same idea more or less already. I have a lot of respect for the group over there — they're really good comedians — so I just committed to it. Everything I got from them was really funny and made me excited. Although some of it was a little bit like... [Laughs] I looked at it on paper and thought, ''Wow. Okay. I can do this. I can handle it.''
What took you by surprise? The tight outfits? The toe-painting?
You couldn't really do it half-speed. You had to be painting toes and blow-drying hair. At one point we were going to take a bath together, but the bubbles couldn't get high enough, so that ended up getting scrapped. The little outfits, the short shorts, the hands in the pockets — it wouldn't have been funny if you didn't really commit to it.
The Kimmel camp was impressed with your level of commitment.
I definitely wanted it to be funny and good. And I'm not a particularly squeamish guy. I wasn't too worried about it. A lot of what made it so easy was because the Matt Damon one was so good that people already trusted it and thought this is going to turn out well. I figured ultimately it'll be okay. And if people thought I really was gay...hey, that could help. People might ascribe good taste to me, and they might think, ''Maybe Ben Affleck can cook.'' Or, ''His home might be well cared for.'' My home is actually well cared for, but that's entirely attributable to my wife.
What was the toughest part to pull off?
The short shorts were not a challenge — the singing was. Ultimately the song was like six minutes, and the chorus stretched on and on because they kept getting more and more celebrities. I think one verse was taken out. Which is a good thing: I am not a strong singer. When we're going nose to nose, you'll see — or you'll hear — that I'm not singing in the range I'm supposed to. And I'm not keeping time. I don't think this is going to prove a successful reel for any musicals.
NEXT PAGE: ''My favorite part of it is Josh Groban. I mean, he's just hollering. The way he sings just full-throated cheese at the piano and the shaft of light, I mean, it's spectacular.''
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