Though Ben Affleck had been rumoured to have found a new directorial job in the adaptation of Kate Southwood's 2013 novel Falling To Earth, it appears he's now content to just star in it. He'll also co-produce the drama, which uses a real life destructive storm as its narrative spark.
The story is set in the small town of Marah, Illinois, starting with a day, March 18, 1925, that begins like any other. It doesn’t end like the rest, however, due to sudden tragedy when Marah is hit by the worst tornado in American history, leaving the entire community leveled. Hundreds are dead, injured or homeless and all structures and homes are destroyed with one exception — Paul Graves (Affleck) and his family — who end the day with everything they had at the beginning, their home, business and children.
The story then follows the Graves family in the days and months that follow as they come to terms with their fate and the stark contrast of their neighbors. As in the novel's description: "They watch helplessly as Marah tries to resurrect itself from the ruins and as their friends and neighbors begin to wonder, then resent, how one family, and only one, could be exempt from terrible misfortune. As the town begins to recover, the family miscalculates the growing hostility around them with tragic results."
Affleck next has The Way Back and The Last Thing He Wanted headed to screens next year and is a writer/producer actor on developing Ridley Scott project The Last Duel.