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Can Matt ’n’ Ben’s Company Scale Beyond Matt ’n’ Ben?

Amid the content recession and C-suite shake-ups, Artists Equity battles to live up to its quixotic mission of giving creatives more freedom and offering cast and crew a piece of the profit. With Damon’s wife moving into a leadership role and a new Sony deal, will the company have to change with the times, too?

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon
It remains to be seen whether the Artists Equity family project can adjust and find its place in a highly challenging and fast-changing Hollywood. Photo: Rich Polk/Golden Globes 2024/Golden Globes 2024/Getty Images
Kim Masters
June 30, 2025

When Ben Affleck was still joined in holy matrimony with Jennifer Lopez, the co-founder and C.E.O. of Artists Equity gave a special gift to his bride. He decided that his recently launched company would make Dreamgirls director Bill Condon’s Kiss of the Spider Woman old-school movie musical, based on the Tony-winning Broadway show from the 1990s. Other executives at the independent production company opposed the idea, sources told me, but Affleck said he loved it—plus it gave his then-dreamgirl her dream role. And when it comes to Artists Equity, what Ben thinks is what counts.