The Lost Ben Affleck Tape has surfaced. No, it’s not a videotape of the star of Good Will Hunting and Armageddon, all sweaty and caught in some steamy, sleazy sexual situation. It’s the cassette tape of my short interview with Affleck during filming of Going All the Way, two years ago this month in Indianapolis. Since Affleck’s comments didn’t quite fit into the story about that day’s, they were set aside. Weeks later, the production left town, and thecassette buried itself in the bottom of a box that was moved twice during office renovation.

Hey, These things happen.

Who would have guessed that less than two years, Affleck would be the co-winner of an Oscar for an original screenplay, and one of Hollywood’s hottest young stars? The hunky young actor was such a non-household name in August 1996 that he seemed a sure bet to ride in the next 500 Festival Parade. And who could have fathomed that Jeremy Davies, his pale, skinny co-star who ran down a Near Eastside alley in his underwear one chilly night (for the movie, of course) would be the outstanding player among the ensemble of soldiers in Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan?

Aura was missing

Not this clueless movie critic. But then, neither actor emitted that palpable MOVIE STAR AURA that surrounds screen gods Mel Gibson and John Travolta like invisible fencing. The interview took place in the middle of Virginia Avenue in Fountain Square as Affleck, with a short haircut and a ‘50s shirt, sat waiting for director Mark Pellington to summon him for his scene. Here’s some of what the budding star- and very down-to-earth and friendly Affleck- had to say before he became the subject of countless magazine covers and endless sound bites.

On upcoming films:”I’m in a movie that’s coming out… called Cruise, they may have changed the name to Glory Daze (the name was changed, and Blockbuster Entertainment’s Guide to Movies and Videos 1999 indicates that it’s available on video. It received three out of five possible stars). “I just finished this movie called Chasing Amy; it’s really good, I really like it… I play a guy who falls in love with a lesbian.” His movie love life has improved quite a bit. He got to smooch with Liv Tyler in Armageddon.Had he been to Indianapolis before? “I had driven through a couple of times… driving by, you don’t get a sense of how cosmopolitan it is. It’s really quite a city. It reminds me of Boston, where I grew up, in a lot of ways…. “I’ve hit all the monuments, the malls, went to Dillinger’s grave- that cemetery’s beautiful. I had a great time at Victory Field … I thought, ifI lived here, I’d be there every day.”

Dead-on deal (Hey, Crown Hill Cemetery, bad-boy bank robber John Dillinger’s final resting place: Imagine using Affleck in your advertising campaigns. How about, “Actor/writer Ben Affleck, a screenplay Oscar winner, knows a thing or two about plots. He loved ours at Crown Hill Cemetery.”) One the Boston-Indiana connection: “I’m a huge Larry Bird fan. On the way through (Indiana), I stopped in French Lick. Went by Larry’s house, ran around town, asked people about him.”(Oooh. If you weren’t a movie star, I’d worry about those stalking tendencies.)

On moving and writing: “I’m moving to New York now for a change of pace, I’ve been in L.A. for a few years. I’m also a writer. Got a movie that’s at Miramax, working with them; they’re based in New York. I’m trying New York out.” Remember that one? Oh, yeah. That little Miramax movie, Good Will Hunting. It was written with his boyhood pal, Matt Damon, who was on that trip through French Lick asthey were driving west looking for work, according to a story in the September issue of Details. Nominated for best picture. Won a best original screenplay Oscar for Damon and Affleck.

On the cost of living: “This is inexpensive (in Indianapolis). I looked in the papers. In termsof real estate, it’s so much cheaper than L.A. or New York.” (Yes, and you won’t find yummy pork tenderloins the size of dinner plates in the City of Angels or the Big Apple, either.) On the screenplay for Going All the Way, in which he plays Gunner, the guy-who-gets-the-girls soldier back from the war: “The first time I read it, I really responded to it. It was a nice story, with integrity. It was funny, interesting, different. I didn’t even know it was a novel.”(Well, that’s OK. Some of the video stores around here don’t even know it’s a movie that was made here. Only two out of six video rental outlets contacted by telephone had copies. (But it shouldn’t be too hard to find Good Will Hunting.)