Gigli director won't even say its name out loud: 'A bloody mess that deserved its excoriation'

Gigli director Martin Brest cannot even utter the movie's name aloud.

In conversation with Variety, Brest looked back at the 2003 rom-com and box office flop that culminated in Bennifer 1.0, sharing that although he knows his filmography "inside and out," he does not "even know what that movie looks like, frankly, because of the manner in which it took shape."

"Even the name… I refer to it as 'the G movie,'" the filmmaker added. "Probably the less said about it the better."

According to Brest, the movie began very differently from what appeared onscreen. " I wonder if ever a movie had been changed that much," he said. "I'm sure it has in the history of Hollywood, but it was changed so radically... The themes of the movie were radically different. The plot was different. The purpose of the movie was different. But I can't escape blame."

Oddly enough, he added, "I literally don't remember the movie that was released, because I wasn't underneath it in the way I was under the hood of all my other movies. So it's really a bloody mess that deserved its excoriation."

Phillip Caruso/Columbia Pictures Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck in 'Gigli'

Disagreements with Sony led to a post-production shutdown for eight months "while we battled it out," Brest said. "In the end I was left with two choices: quit or be complicit in the mangling of the movie. To my eternal regret I didn't quit, so I bear responsibility for a ghastly cadaver of a movie."

He added, "Once key scenes were cut it became like a joke with its punchline removed, endless contortions could never create the illusion that what remained was intended. Extensive reshooting and re-editing turned characters, scenes, story, and tone upside down in the futile attempt to make the increasing mess resemble a movie."

Gigli centers on Ben Affleck's titular hitman hired by the mob to kidnap the brother of a powerful federal prosecutor. When plans go awry, his boss sends in a mysterious woman known only as Ricki (Jennifer Lopez) to finish the job. The film grossed a devastating $7.2 million worldwide. Despite its reputation, though, Affleck has zero regrets. In conversation with pal Matt Damon for EW, Affleck credited Gigli for his shift to his "real love" of directing and his relationship with Lopez.

"If the reaction to Gigli hadn't happened, I probably wouldn't have ultimately decided, 'I don't really have any other avenue but to direct movies,' which has turned out to be the real love of my professional life," he said. "So in those ways, it's a gift. And I did get to meet Jennifer, the relationship with whom has been really meaningful to me in my life." (The two famously met on set of the film in 2001 and were engaged by 2002, but split in 2004 before rekindling their romance in 2021, ushering in the era of Bennifer 2.0. They wed last summer.)

Gregg DeGuire/WireImage Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck at the 'Gigli' premiere in 2003

It was an "easy choice" to sign on for the project as a fan of Brest, but Affleck and Lopez's budding relationship impacted the project in unforeseen ways. "The studio at the time was intoxicated with the idea, because I had begun having this relationship with Jennifer Lopez, which was selling a lot of magazines and appeared to generate a lot of enthusiasm," Affleck added of where it all went wrong. "They just predictably latched onto, 'The [public] want a romantic comedy, they want the two of them together. They want to see that. More of it!' And it was just, it was like that SNL sketch. Bad idea."

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