Claim: Ben Affleck is a performer.

Hollywoodland is a 2006 American period mystery film directed by Allen Coulter and written by Paul Bernbaum . The story presents a fictionalized account of the circumstances surrounding the death of actor George Reeves -LRB- played by Ben Affleck -RRB- , the star of the 1950s television series Adventures of Superman . Adrien Brody stars as a fictional character , Louis Simo , a private detective investigating Toni Mannix -LRB- Diane Lane -RRB- , who was involved in a long romantic relationship with Reeves and was the common-law wife of MGM studio executive Eddie Mannix -LRB- Bob Hoskins -RRB- . Reeves had ended the affair and had become engaged to a younger woman , aspiring actress Leonore Lemmon -LRB- Robin Tunney -RRB- .   Development for Hollywoodland began in 2001 when Focus Features purchased Bernbaum 's script titled Truth , Justice , and the American Way . Michael and Mark Polish were set to direct with Benicio del Toro in the lead role , but Focus Features placed the film in turnaround to Miramax Films the following year . Ultimately Truth , Justice , and the American Way became a joint production between the two studios and filming commenced in May 2005 with veteran television director Coulter making his feature directorial debut . Due to copyright issues with DC Comics , the film was retitled Hollywoodland , released to generally positive reviews .