Ben Affleck's On Cloud Nine Amid 'Air' Debut, JLo Flick on Horizon

Ben Affleck is on top of the world lately -- making movies with his best bud, and having his wife star in films he's producing ... which he says is the pinnacle of success and happiness.

The actor-director sat down with CBS Sunday Morning for a chat about his new movie, "Air" which follows the story of Nike signing Michael Jordan to his legendary shoe deal ... and which just debuted at SXSW this weekend to rave reviews and thunderous applause.

The film stars Ben and Matt Damon, and the reunion has truly had a shining effect on BA -- as you can tell in this interview. He talks about how chasing money in showbiz (or any biz, really) isn't the key to fulfillment, as he says he's found out.

Instead, he says he's realized that right now ... he's at his most joyous. That's because he loved coming to work for this "Air" flick -- hanging out with his childhood BFF and collaborating, seeing his kids more often and doing projects he's actually passionate about.

That brings the convo to Ben and Matt's new productions company -- Artists Equity -- which guarantees the ancillary crew members a bigger cut of the pie ... unlike traditional studios.

"Air" is AE's first movie (which is being distributed by Amazon) and they already have another sports biopic in the works ... which will star Jennifer Lopez. Ben addresses the apparent nepotism here in the interview ... and insists he got the best actors for the job, her included.

There's more in the full interview ... like what MJ himself wanted in terms of demands. One of those asks, as Ben shares, was that Viola Davis play his mom -- and she does.