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The film, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival on Friday, follows Phoenix's attempts to move on from a successful acting career and launch himself as a rap artist. Speaking to USA Today, Affleck said that following Phoenix for his directorial debut proved challenging.
He explained: "Making this was satisfying creatively, but exhausting in all other ways. By the end, I was just completely drained. Not only by the experience, but also the experience of putting it together.
"I got through a whole other journey and had my own difficulties. I was pretty new to it. I had done commercials and short films, but I had something like 400 hours of footage and I watched every minute."
Affleck, who is married to Phoenix's sister Summer, added: "An experience like this was incredibly difficult, but it is a drop in bucket next to 20 years of friendship."
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