NEW YORK, March 11 (UPI) -- Filmmaker Kevin Smith admits the failure of "Gigli" may hurt the opening of his latest movie, but predicts people will still see and love "Jersey Girl."
Former Hollywood couple Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez appear together in both films.
"The 'Gigli' thing kind of bugged me because it winged us," Smith told reporters in New York.
"And I was like: 'All right. I have to accept the fact that we will never be a No. 1 film when we open. It just can't happen,'" he said. "Because people are predisposed to thinking it's a Jen and Ben film, by virtue of the fact that we tried to keep her death (in the film) quiet for so long.
"They're just not going to turn out because they all they all hated 'Gigli' so much. ... When I started shooting the movie, I was like: 'I've got Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, Liv Tyler. We're going to open at No. 1.' So, once I accepted that I was fine. I thought: 'People are going to find the movie. It's going to have really wonderful word of mouth from people who identify with the material and the audience will show up,'" he said.
Smith stressed he was more worried about how Affleck, his long-time friend and collaborator, felt after his breakup with Lopez, rather than how it would impact the movie's release.
"Jersey Girl," is the story of a single dad (Affleck) raising his daughter after his wife (Lopez) dies.
