Who is the mysterious 'Rance'?

Posted Thursday, May 27, 2004 at 5:18 PM Central

by John Couture

An online mystery is unfolding that would make Alfred Hitchcock proud. One of Holywood's biggest and brightest stars is dishing the inside dirt, all from the comforts of his pseudonym, "Rance."

His website is decidedly low-tech and full of all those annoying pop-up ads, but there's something about the conviction of his tirades against studio executives and his depiction of a romantic interlude with a "name" actress in Cuba that is compelling. Call it the online version of a reality TV show. Sure, Rance could be nothing more than a 16-year-old with a vivid imagination and an addiction to E!'s True Hollywood Story, but he might also be Ben Affleck, Owen Wilson or Jim Carrey as his fans continually postulate.

Rance did grant Reuters one interview, although he only answered the questions via email sent in an encrypted spiderweb of anonymity that would make the CIA smile. His answers were just as cryptic.

"With no disrespect intended, media in general seldom if ever permits a person, be he actor or President, to present himself the way he would like -- and certainly not to the degree a blog does. Still, there's a megabyte or two's worth of irony in my situation."

When asked if he was indeed a famous actor, he replied "or a well-known actress perhaps. Just not Donald Trump."

The funny thing about all of this is that if Rance does turn out to be a fraud, he might get the very thing he loathes: celebrity. There are reportedly book deals being pursued for his weblog (or blog in the parlance), which of course means that the movie deals can't be far behind.

If indeed the mysterious Rance is Ben Affleck, he'll appreciate the irony of this quote. "So let this be said; the gauntlet has been thrown down. But the faculty have answered the challenge and answered with vigor."