Welcome to the Matt Damon Column,
a forum for sharing news among Matt fans.

                                  Matt's Upcoming TV Appearances
                             Thur 29 8:00  p.m. on Fx Courage Under Fire 
                             Fri  30 7:00  AM   Today  NBC
                             Fri  30 12:00 p.m. on Fx Courage Under Fire
                             Sat  1  12:00 p.m. on TBS Geronimo: An American Legend. 
                             Sun  2  3:15  a.m. on  TBS Geronimo
                             Sun  2  10:00 PM   Project Greenlight   HBO
                             Mon  3  10.15 PM   First Look - Ocean's 11  HBO
                             Tue  4  11:35 PM   Jay Leno  NBC
                             Wed  5   8:00 PM   Revealed with Jules Asner: George Clooney   E!
                             Wed  5  10:00 PM   Ocean's 11 Premiere coverage  E!
                             Thu  6  10:00 PM   Revealed with Jules Asner: Matt Damon  E!
                             Fri  7   7:00 PM   Behind the Scenes: Ocean's Eleven  E!
                             Sun  9  10:00 PM   Project Greenlight  HBO
                             Mon  10  7:00 AM   Early Show  CBS
                             Sat  15  2:10 AM   Entertainers on ABC

. . Engaged

• Here's the Variety review of Ocean's 11 (but no specific mention of Matt):
  Ocean's Eleven
  by Todd McCarthy Variety 12/1/01
  An all-star remake of the all-star original, "Ocean's Eleven" is a lark for everybody concerned, including the audience. Breezy, nonchalant and without a thing on its mind except having a little fun, this lightweight caper doesn't take itself seriously and hardly expects the viewer to do so either, which itself sets it apart from any other mainstream film Steven Soderbergh has ever made. Watching George Clooney compete with Andy Garcia for Julia Roberts while plotting with Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and some other good-looking guys to knock over a Las Vegas casino vault will sound like a pretty good deal to most of the moviegoing public, meaning that Warner Bros. will be making some happy trips of its own to a vault, wads of cash in hand. Legendary, after a fashion, as the film that put the Rat Pack together on the bigscreen for the first time, and in a Vegas setting no less, the 1960 production is remarkable for nothing other than its cast. It is, in fact, an amazingly lazy and lax piece of work, one in which you often feel that it was all director Lewis Milestone could do to get the guys in front of the camera at the same time to say their lines. Watchable up to a point for the ethos it evokes and historical moment it represents, lethargic pic has no intrinsic credibility or suspense.
  Although they can't begin to be compared iconographically to Frank, Dean, Sammy and the rest, the stars are the main event here as well. In this day of $20 million players, it's rare to see an Irwin Allen-sized lineup of several bona fide movie stars in the same picture, but Clooney and Soderbergh made it happen and it's a mild treat to watch the thesps good-naturedly bouncing off one another, no matter how inconsequential the material.
  Even more amusing is observing two seasoned old pros, Carl Reiner and Elliott Gould, devilishly stealing every scene they're in from their more glamorous cohorts.
  A good part of the fun in this kind of picture derives from the mastermind's rounding up his crew, each one a specialist in a certain area that will prove critical to the success of the job. Such is the case here, as the debonair Danny Ocean (Clooney) is no sooner released from a four-year stretch in the pen than he begins approaching his key personnel.
  In Atlantic City he recruits casino dealer and fellow ex-con Frank Catton (the instantly winning Bernie Mac); in Hollywood he recruits card sharp Rusty Ryan (Pitt in Steve McQueen mode), who needs a challenge; in Chicago he finds Linus Caldwell (Damon), son of a legendary con man; in Florida he locates elderly down-on-his-luck hustler Saul Bloom (Reiner), and in Vegas he successfully pitches his plan to bejeweled moneybags Reuben Tishkoff (Gould), a former hotel and casino tycoon who has been deposed by the new king of Vegas, Terry Benedict (Garcia).
  The plot is outlandish, seemingly impossible: To rob the vault, located 200 feet underground, that holds the cash that covers all the chips in play at the three hotel casinos -- the Bellagio, the Mirage and the MGM Grand -- owned by Benedict. On the night in question, when a heavyweight championship fight will bring plenty of high rollers into town, the holdings are expected to amount to $150 million.
  How the heist will be pulled off is another question, one the silky-smooth Danny makes sound complicated but feasible. To manage it, he calls in the remainder of his team: A Cockney demolition wizard (Don Cheadle, curiously unbilled onscreen but included in the press notes), whose task it will be to shut down electrical power in Vegas at a precise time; a sweaty surveillance man (Eddie Jemison); disguise-happy drivers and delivery twins (Casey Affleck, Scott Caan) and "grease man" Yen (Shaobo Qin), a Chinese acrobat whose unusual ability to fold himself in half at the waist and fit into tiny containers qualifies him as an important cog in the wheel.
  Then there's the part Danny doesn't bother to mention: Terry Benedict's personal art curator and girlfriend Tess (Roberts) happens to be Danny's ex-wife, and he wants her back. When Tess makes her first entrance, 45 minutes into the action, it's clear that the feeling isn't mutual. And when Rusty learns that the motivation for the job is personal, not purely professional, he's briefly so upset that he wants Danny out of the picture as well. But Danny perseveres, knowing that his only chance with Tess lies in his getting the better of the seemingly invincible Benedict.
  Since virtually the entire narrative in Ted Griffin's script is procedural, in that every scene is in some way related to the eventual execution of the robbery, it's somewhat surprising that Soderbergh puts so little effort into building up excitement in the heist itself.
  But then again, from "Rififi" on, this has been done a hundred times, so the director perhaps rightly decided not to try to inflate with bogus suspense a sequence that, if presented with alleged realism, might have been exposed as more preposterously far-fetched than it already seems. Suffice it to say that this film does not present criminals with any ideas they could easily put into practice.
  No, the film is all about surfaces and behavior and grace notes. Working as his own cinematographer under the nom de camera of Peter Andrews, as he did on "Traffic," Soderbergh bathes his actors and settings in a flattering warm glow but retains a measure of the rough-and-ready visual style he developed on his last picture. Steering clear of traditional Hollywood glamour photography despite the obvious temptations, helmer attractively frames the beautiful faces and luxurious surroundings (the production had virtually free rein at the Bellagio for weeks) in images of moderate textural grain, giving the film a grittier look than usual for this sort of extravaganza.
  Much of the film is about pretending and about getting away with something. This applies to dapper Danny, of course, and Clooney has no problem making him the cool and commanding figure the others are willing to follow into what looks like a foolhardy adventure.
  But the greatest "actor" here is Bloom, who literally has to shed his old-Jewish-two-bit-dog-track-habitue skin to become a gravely fastidious billionaire of indeterminate origin in order to worm his way into Benedict's exclusive circle. Fretting inside and battling poor health, Bloom is made into a choice creation by Reiner, making one wish the character could have been given even more screen time. Same can be said of Tishkoff, with Gould's wonderful and surprising delineation of a flamboyant but non-caricatured old school queen prompting speculation that the vet thesp's range has been decidedly untested.
  Entire cast seems spontaneous and relaxed. She has more to do than Angie Dickinson did in the original, but Roberts is still basically The Girl here, albeit one very much worth fighting over and bedecked with fabulous clothes and jewels. Pic could have used a more formidable adversary than Garcia's Benedict, who is very much the slick entrepreneurial parvenu; with someone like Robert De Niro in the role, the entire enterprise would have taken on some welcome weight without at all throwing off the fun dynamic.
  David Holmes' score is characterized by a frisky jazzy feel that is at times abetted by other musical moods, notably that of Debussy's "Clair de lune." Original pic is repped by Dickinson and Henry Silva, who fleetingly appear in the crowd for the Lennox Lewis-Wladimir Klitschko prizefight that occurs the night of the robbery. Film's coyest touch comes in the end credits, which list all the male players and then conclude with "...and introducing Julia Roberts as Tess."
• Rolling Stone critic Peter Travers put O11 at #10 on his top ten of the year, but his review hasn't been published yet.
• Have you seen this story from IMDB (however dubious):
  Matt Damon Engaged
  Hollywood hunk Matt Damon has become engaged to his girlfriend of recent months Odessa Whitmire. Matt became close to Ben Affleck's personal assistant during Affleck's recent stay in rehab. The pair have even been spotted house-hunting around the chic Los Angeles neighbourhood of Los Feliz. The couple are hoping to walk down the aisle next year in March.
• There will also be a live webcast of the premiere, but the link isn't working at the moment - will confirm. here.
• Greenlight reviews:
  • Positive Greenlight review from the NY Times: here.
  • NY Post - critic didn't really like it: here.
    "Meanwhile, I did learn a few things about Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. They both smoke - Damon while chewing gum. And Ben chews on his ice, doesn't shave every day and rarely tucks in his shirt."
    So much for Hollywood glamour.
  • Boston Globe: here
    And it has been only four years since ''Good Will Hunting'' introduced the world to Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, also known as the MattandBen Show, and already they've become seniors at the University of Hollywood Players. In the time it takes to say ''Pearl Harbor,'' and ''The Legend of Bagger Vance,'' the two wonder boys have changed from wide-eyed Oscar hopefuls into Miramax-bred strategists balancing budgets on their much-photographed shoulders. Sunrise, sunset, sunstroke.
    And so it's disconcerting to find Matt and Ben in the roles of mentors and producers in ''Project Greenlight,'' a new reality series that premieres Sunday at 10 p.m. on HBO...
    Certainly, there's something admirable about Affleck and Damon's attempts both to give a new talent the same kind of break they won with ''Good Will Hunting'' and to democratize the studio process. Sure, the series gives them, and ''Stolen Summer,'' a nice promotional tweak. But still, they've crossed into Hollywood's inner circles with at least a shred of idealism intact. As HBO's ''Project Greenlight'' shows, that's no easy feat.
  • Chicago Sun-Times review: here
  • San Francisco Chronicle review is fun: here.
• Readers MG and Kathryn also sent in the engagement news - aagghhhhhhhhhhhhh!
• Wrote the Big Matt Fan:
  Eonline has a fun little trivia quiz about Matt. It's ridiculously easy for diehard fans like us, though the less obsessed might have a little more trouble (ie. What chain store did Matt do a commercial for?). Anyway, if you have a minute, it's worth a look. here.
  RE: The Today Show. Though somewhat unshaved, Matt looked adorable during his interview with the slightly smitten Katie Couric. Usual questions about fun on the set, working with Soderbergh, Project Greenlight. Typically sweet and complimentary responses by Matt. Then, came the bold question, "So, how's your lovelife?" Matt said it was good. "Are you seeing someone?" He hesitated, then reluctantly (but with a smile) said, "Yeah." "Should we just leave it at that?" Katie asked. She then said with a giggle, "I don't know why I'm asking. You're just so cute and nice, you should be spending time with someone great." Answered Matt, "I am."
  I thought it was a nice interview. Matt's responses to the personal questions were amiable, and suggested that he is, in fact, a happy man.
  RE: Project Greenlight. Good to see there are some positive responses. Thanks for the clips.
  Both the "Daily Variety" and "The Hollywood Reporter" had positive reviews for "Project Greenlight." There are some photos from the premiere, but since my laptop isn't working these days, I won't be able to scan anything. (Have to rely on the computer at work.)
• Wrote Erin:
  I had forgotten that Matt was going to be on the Today Show this morning, but by chance I hadn't left for work at the normal time and I just happened to turn on the TV, which I normally don't do. They showed a clip from the movie with Linus posing as a gambling commission rep, looking a lot like Ripley in glasses and a jacket. Katie Couric was practically drooling all over him, calling him "so cute and nice" when asking him about his love life, and telling him she only asked because she hoped he was in a relationship. It is cute how he looks so uncomfortable when talking about it, but he did simply confirm that he is in fact seeing someone. The rest of the interview was nothing new, same questions about Ocean's Eleven's pranks and the all star cast, and a few questions about Project Greenlight. He looked like he had just woken up and jumped in the shower; I can't help but think that when he's staying in New York he just gets out of bed in time to catch the car to the studio!
  I also watched Casey on the Tonight Show last night. He's much more sarcastic and mellow than I had anticipated. Almost the antithesis of his brother, although they do look a lot alike. He told the story of how Ben ended up in a Georgia jail after they were going 115 MPH on a rural road with Massachusetts plates. Apparently the police officer said "No Yankee goes that fast through the South" or words to that effect and Casey said "Well, Sherman did." That landed Ben in jail with his brother bailing him out. He also talked about not caring about personal hygiene very much and how that comment would get him a call from his mom. I've noticed how Ben and Matt both say that a lot about how their moms will react to certain statements...I like to think that keeps them (well, Matt anyway) fairly grounded. No mention of "Jerry".
• And Erin wrote further:
  I found a link to video of Matt's interview today: here
  I can't open it (now) so I don't know if it's the whole thing. Enjoy!
• Kari wrote:
  TVNow's David Brian Waldon On Project Greenlight
  A David Brian Waldon Review
  � 2001: Waldon
  There�s an old saying that two things we should never watch being made are laws and sausages. Maybe motion pictures should be the third entry in that qualification, especially if the new documentary series "Project Greenlight," which premieres at 10 p.m. (ET) Dec. 2 on HBO, is any indication. Or, considering how fascinating and illuminating "Greenlight" is, perhaps making movies is like that car crash that we want to turn away from, but can�t help but see with our own eyes.
  "Greenlight" is the filmed account of a project launched by actors-writers-best buds Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. With prior knowledge of how frustrating breaking into the movie biz can be for unknowns, the "Good Will Hunting" gang decided to create a contest for newbies to submit their completed screenplays to a select panel of executives and producers. The winner would get the opportunity to direct his or her project with backing from Miramax Studios, including a guaranteed $1 million budget and a distribution deal � in other words, one big foot though an often impenetrable door.
  Part of the deal also was for all of the proceedings to be chronicled for everyone to see; thus the 12-part "Greenlight" starts at the beginning and works its way through the casting, filmmaking, pre- and post-production and all the haggling that comes with it. And the first two parts deal with the actual selection of the winner, whittled down from more than 10,000 entrants. That alone had as much angst and agony than most regular Hollywood pitch sessions.
  If fans of the Ben and Matt Show are tuning into "Greenlight" to see their heroes, be warned that Affleck and Damon make themselves pretty scarce after the contest is decided. The real star of this show is Pete Jones, whose screenplay, the 1970�s-based family drama "Stolen Summer," was picked tops among the rest. (I�m not giving anything away here; Jones made his national debut alongside Affleck months ago on Jay Leno.) It�s through his eyes that we seem him change from a wide-eyed wishful thinker to a director struggling with the conflict between his creative wishes and the limitations put upon him by time, money, bureaucrats and, at times, his own stubbornness. Through it all, though, Jones never gets to the point � at least, not in the seven episodes I saw � where he regrets his position. You wind up rooting for him, hoping that, like Will Hunting or Matt Damon or Ben Affleck, he will be another regular guy who makes good.
  Read David Waldon on "24".
• Natalie wrote:
  Hi, i saw this article in the people magazine with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman on the cover. I'm not sure if it already been posted on the site or not, but i'll type it out anyway. It had a small pic of Matt, but i don't have a scanner. There was also of pic of Julia with blonde hair. From Hemingways to Happy Campers And You thought Ocean's Eleven had all the big guns. On Nov.19 a tier-one cast that included Julia Roberts ,Meryl Streep, Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow , Morgan Freeman, Joanne Woodward, and Paul Newman took the stage at New York City's Avery Fisher Hall to perform The World of Nick Adams, a play based on some of Ernest Hemingway's short stories. The one-night-only production, which charged up to $2,500 a head,benefited the Hole in the Wall Gang, a coalition of summer camps for seriously ill children founded by Newman in 1988. What the show lacked in polish-with only a day and a half to rehearse, stars read from scripts - it made up for in spontaneity. When Roberts flubbed a line, she burst into laughter and embraced Streep before continuing the scene. ( They both played prostitues.) "I felt like an actor scrambling," says Damon. However rough the show, the players were pleased with the result- and thrilled to be onstage with Woodward and Newman. Says Kevin Kline: "Tonight I was working with the best."
  I saw on tvnow.com that the date of Matt on The Early Show was Dec.10th, so hes either gonna be on the 6th,7th, or 10th.
  I also found this pic of Matt online, it was from May 7th 1998 and the site said "Ryder's friend Matt Damon was among 200 guests who celebrated her joining the board.Damon went home with a College Fund cap."

• Felicity wrote:
  • Announced on PGL today - an AOL chat with Matt tonight:
    There's a chat tonight with Matt Damon.
    6:30 PM Pacific
    9:30 PM Eastern
    
  • From Dark Horizons
    Ocean's Eleven: An entire scene from the ensemble drama will air during next week's episode of "Felicity" (Dec 5th @ 9pm).
  • Roger Friedman's column today mentioned both Greenlight and Ocean's, giving it a fairly mixed review (including negative comments on Matt's minimal role). Part of his comments:
    Damon, Affleck Greenlight HBO Series
    Meanwhile, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck hosted a screening Tuesday night for Project Greenlight, their new HBO series and Miramax film concept. This is the one where unknown screenwriters were encouraged to send in their scripts. A winner would be chosen from among them and Miramax would make the final film for a million bucks.
    HBO filmed the whole process a la The Real World, including production meetings with the Miramax production staff, candid stuff with Ben and Matt, all adding up to a disarming look inside a motion picture studio. The series starts for 13 episodes on December 2. On March 1, Stolen Summer, the feature directed by Pete Jones, will be released to theatres by Miramax.
    It's sort of like Making of the Band without the music - or the teen age girls.
    The series is worth checking out if only for Affleck cameos. Known to many as a wicked mimic, in this series Affleck gets to show off this talent many times. Particularly funny is his Jay Leno impression.
  • A new international poster for Ocean's Eleven: here.
  • Details of the Ocean's premiere:
    Wednesday November 28, 5:53 pm Eastern Time
    Press Release
    SOURCE: Warner Bros. Pictures
    "Ocean's Eleven" World Premiere
    Celebrity Guests to Join Stars and Filmmakers for the World Premiere of "Ocean's Eleven" From Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures Wednesday, December 5
    WHO: From the Film: GEORGE CLOONEY, MATT DAMON, ANDY GARCIA, BRAD PITT, JULIA ROBERTS, CASEY AFFLECK, SCOTT CAAN, DON CHEADLE, ELLIOT GOULD, BERNIE MAC, CARL REINER, director STEVEN SODERBERGH, producer JERRY WEINTRAUB, executive producers JOHN HARDY, SUSAN EKINS and BRUCE BERMAN will be joined by ANDRE AGASSI, ERIKA CHRISTENSEN, HOLLY MARIE COMBS, JOSHUA JACKSON, JON BON JOVI, DANNY DEVITO, TOPHER GRACE, DAVID HOLMES, LENNOX LEWIS, LUCY LIU, THE ROCK, FRED SAVAGE, NOAH WYLE, BARRY WATSON and SHANE WEST.
    WHAT: The World Premiere of "Ocean's Eleven," co-sponsored by SONY Playstation 2 & Coors Brewing Company. Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures and NPV Entertainment, a Jerry Weintraub/Section Eight production.
    Danny Ocean is a man of action. Less than 24 hours into his parole from a New Jersey penitentiary, the wry, charismatic thief is already rolling out his next plan. Following three rules -- don't hurt anybody, don't steal from anyone who doesn't deserve it, and play the game like you've got nothing to lose -- Danny orchestrates the most sophisticated, elaborate casino heist in history.

    WHEN:   Wednesday, December 5
            Arrivals - 6:00 p.m.
            Screening - 7:00 p.m.
    
    WHERE:  Mann's Village Theater
            961 Broxton Avenue
            Los Angeles
    

  • And tonight - Casey Affleck on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
  • The latest Us Weekly has a story on the Nick Adams event.
  • The Variety note about Jerry has now been modified to an 'unidentified desert':
    ``Gerry,'' which finds director Gus Van Sant returning to his risk-taking indie roots in a story of two friends who become lost in an unidentified desert. Matt Damon and Casey Affleck star in this digitally shot metaphorical film about a lost generation that features very long takes and little dialogue.
    What do we think of that description? Mighty obscure and box-office poison could be one description, but I wish it well.
  • From the NY Daily News:
    Matt & Ben to the 'Max
    Matt Damon and sidekick Ben Affleck doubled up to catch the premiere of their co-produced "Project Greenlight" yesterday night. Affleck chatted quietly with a comely, willowy blond - shades of Gwyneth? - before taking in two episodes of the HBO reality series.
    (Nowhere to be seen was Damon's girlfriend, Odessa Whitmire, who doubles as Affleck's personal assistant.)
    Harvey Weinstein may be Ben and Matt's boss in the show, but the Miramax honcho thinks it's the other way around. "Matt and Ben are like my younger brothers," he told us. "As a result, like my younger brother, Bob, they know all my weaknesses."
    Weinstein said he proved at the premiere how Matt and Ben push his buttons. "I'm watching and I'm yelling out, 'See everybody? See how Affleck maneuvers me? See how Matt Damon cries in front of the camera? And they get everything they want! I said, 'I'm the victim!'"
  • Another party report from fashionwiredaily.com
    HBO, Damon and Affleck "Greenlight' Indy Film with Documentary By Karin Nelson
    Fashion Wire Daily NY November 28, 2001 - "I don't get out of bed for less than 6 million," announced Miramax chief Harvey Weinstein as he sauntered into Man-Ray last night for the after-party of the HBO premiere of "Project Greenlight." But he assured FWD over bites of sushi that his Linda Evangelista allusion was, of course, a joke of his complete involvement in all of Miramax's projects, even Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's $1.5 million "Project Greenlight" - a 13-episode documentary series which chronicles the making of an independent feature film.
    The independent film in question, "Stolen Summer," written by Pete Jones, a sweet-natured father of two from the Midwest, was one of 10,000 submissions by anxious screenwriters across the nation. Letting the contestants themselves read and review others' submissions to narrow the number down to 250 finalists, "Project Greenlight" attempts to rewrite the rules of film making. "We're giving the public the chance to choose what kind of movies they want to see," explained Affleck outside last night's Chelsea premiere, with a diminutive Damon beside him nodding his head. "It could revolutionize the film industry," Affleck added with a confident, Cheshire cat grin. "Or not," shrugged Damon.
    And though the success of "Stolen Summer" won't be known until its release in March 2002, Miramax can at least be confident of the documentary series which premiers on HBO December 2. Detailing everything from the humorous winner deliberation process, which gets Affleck anxious due to its encroachment on his date for the evening, the frustrating pre-production process in which Jones threatens to cry every time a desire is not met, and the actual 20-day shoot in Chicago with star Aidan Quinn, the series is 100% reality-TV intrigue, with the added bonus of celebs and a better storyline.
    "It's great TV," admitted Weinstein with a shrug. "It's got heart and humor. It's complete insight into what really goes on in the film industry."
    "I love the entire concept," claimed "Sex and the City" stylist Pat Field outside the premiere, which drew a slew of HBO employees like Aida Turturro, Dean Winters and Lorraine Bracco. "There's an incredible energy to youth that's wonderful to see," purred the red-head, dressed in a leather Diesel jacket, jeans and a belted Fendi cell-phone holder.
    And what of that youth, Pete Jones, who appeared last night a little piquish, yet infinitely better dressed? "Yeah, my manager picked out the clothes," he explained with a perma-smile. "I can't believe I just said that - my manager's actually my best friend. This is all so surreal." And though Jones may be almost famous, it's reassuring to know he hasn't yet lost perspective. "People say, 'Oh, it's so hard making a movie.' You know what's hard? Unemployment."
• Kelly P. also sent in lots of the Greenlight premiere links and pics. Thanks!
• Wrote the Big Matt Fan:
  • You've heard Ben's lost big at the gaming tables. Ever wonder how much Matt has lost? Last night on KTLA, they aired a brief interview in which he was asked that question. His response: "The most I've lost in one sitting? Probably a thousand dollars. And that really hurts. I probably shouldn't even say anything, because if my mother found out, she'd be like, "What!"
    If true, that's not too bad, given his income. The frequent sightings of him in Vegas had me worried, but it does seem consistent with his generally moderate tendencies. Besides, if he really had been losing huge sums, no doubt, the gossips would have noted it, as they did with Ben.
    As (Felicity) predicted, the entertainment shows did cover the Greenlight premiere, with Access Hollywood spending the most time on the story. They opened with the now familiar "Sexiest Man" story, and gave Matt a chance to respond at the premiere. "That's my nightmare," he told them. The segment then went on to talk more about Greenlight and its winner.
  • RE: Jerry. When I read the description yesterday, I realized that it's probably not a very commercial project. Sounds like an indie art film that won't be in widespread distribution unless it creates a "Blair Witch" type buzz. Still, it was made for very little money, so I don't imagine expectations are very high. The main thing, I think, is that it may offer Matt the chance to display his range in a way we haven't really since Ripley. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

• Stacey wrote:
  Matt was on MTV's new show Movie House last night. It was only about a minute interview, most of it was cut out. Singer Pink conducted the interview and basically asked if Matt thought he was misunderstood. Matt asked Pink what she thought of him, and she said she believed Matt was "a genius, incredibly talented and incredibly sexy". Based on her answer, Matt said that yes, he is understood (I would've said the same thing Pink said!). She then asked him if there was anything else he wanted her to ask him, besides for his phone number. He laughed, and the interview was over. It was a short, but cute interview.
• From the Big Matt Fan:
  • This morning on "Good Day LA," one of the newscasters (30ish perky mom type)had just seen the movie the night before. Throughout the broadcast, the other anchor (older, 50ish man)kept pressing her for her review because he said he was eager to see the film. The trampy weathergirl (late 20's) declared that she didn't care about the review because she planned to see it anyway. Well, just to elevate the suspense, the reviewer talked about how she saw it in a huge theater in Westwood the size of the Staples Center (arena where the Lakers play)but that it was so full that she had to watch the entire movie sitting on the floor in the aisle. She mentioned that someone had said told her previously that the pacing was a little slow. She then exclaimed, "What! Is he crazy? It was great! I loved it! It was so funny and charming. You should go see it!" Anyway, this is probably the least professional news show in the world, but it was a sign that the film could be popular.
  • Anyone s(aw) George on "Letterman"? He called his co-stars "Pretty boy Pitt" and "Mr. Nice Matt Damon." Interestingly, he also mentioned that he was staying at Matt's apartment. He talked about the fact that Matt had an indoor basketball court. "He has a nice set-up there," George told Letterman.
  • Here's the description of "Jerry" from today's Variety:
    �Jerry,� which finds director Gus Van Sant returning to his risk-taking indie roots in a story of two friends who become lost in the desert around White Sands, N.M. Matt Damon and Casey Affleck star in this digitally shot metaphorical film about a lost generation that features very long takes and little dialogue.
• Silvy sent in "Pic at the premiere of the Project Greenlight movie." See right.
• Kathryn wrote:
  I managed to catch the last few minutes of George Clooney's appearance on Letterman (shown on cable over here). He talked a little about the cast and the upcoming premiere(s), calling Matt "Mr. Nice".
  Also here are two URLs from Dark Horizons;
  here is another review of Ocean's, with praise for Matt. and here is a transcript of the press conference/entire cast interview.
• MG wrote:
  Just wanted to pass along the following info. -
  Access Hollywood today showed Matt and Ben at the premiere of Project Greenlight in NY last night. They were asking Matt about George Clooney's prank relating to "nominating" Matt as People's Sexiest Man Alive. Word of the joke seems to be spreading around. Matt smiled about it and just laughed along. They also talked about Project Greenlight and they showed a few clips from the HBO documentary.
• Kari sent in this article:
  A gofer gets the green light Newbie gets to make his film -- thanks to Damon and Affleck
  By Gary Levin
  USA TODAY
  Like countless other would-be screenwriters, Pete Jones, a former insurance salesman from Deerfield, Ill., moved West a few years ago, hoping to be discovered. Instead, he toiled as a gofer on Primary Colors and got a job researching B-list celebrities for Roseanne's failed talk show.
  Then Ben Affleck and Matt Damon came along. The buddy actors gained their own stardom (and a best-screenplay Oscar) with Good Will Hunting. Now, they hoped to give some nobody a chance with Project Greenlight, a screenwriting contest cooked up by Miramax Films that would offer one winner the chance to direct his or her own script in a $1 million movie.
  ''Typically, Hollywood is just a bunch of people trying to get through the gates, and there are very few gatekeepers,'' Affleck says.
  Not only did Jones, 31 -- with zero experience behind the camera -- get to make his film, Stolen Summer, but Affleck and Damon got HBO to air a 12-episode documentary, also titled Project Greenlight, about the contest and filming of the movie (beginning Sunday at 10 p.m. ET/PT). With HBO on board, Miramax promised to release the 94-minute film, which is glimpsed only briefly in the series, in four cities on March 1, just after the documentary series wraps.
  Regardless of whether the movie clicks, the series offers an unusual window into the sometimes tedious, often frustrating, comical and ultimately exhilarating experience of independent filmmaking. With average moviegoers now steeped in box office analysis, it seemed to Affleck and others that a peek at the process -- the ''who-did-what behind the scenes, a little installment in the soap opera of actors' lives'' -- would prove captivating television.
  Greenlight arrives just as viewers seem to be tiring of the reality-TV genre. Survivor's ratings are beginning to ebb, and Affleck and Damon's The Runner, an ambitious series for ABC, was scuttled after the terrorist attacks and logistical problems. But HBO doesn't have the same thirst for huge ratings, and Damon insists Greenlight is a purer documentary that shouldn't be compared with the likes of unscripted dramas. ''We weren't introducing supermodels onto the set to try to tempt Pete,'' he says.
  The series begins after the competition's 10,000 entries have been narrowed to 10 finalists. It eventually comes down to three: Freeing Mr. Jiggs, a broad comedy from hair-restoration product salesmen Evan Katz and Barron Ebenstein about a woman who learns her fianc� had a gay affair years earlier; Web designer Brendan Murphy's Speakeasy, an elliptical feature about a magician who has lost his magic; and Jones' Summer.
  Miramax wanted the script with the best chance to become a successful movie. But there were other considerations. How prepared was a first-time director to handle the pressure? Could the project attract stars willing to do a 25-day shoot for $7,000, minimum wage for union actors? And to a lesser extent, would the director make for good TV?
  A heated marathon debate that points up the project's competing agendas is chronicled in the series' second episode, also airing Sunday. Damon and some colleagues wanted Speakeasy, feeling more confident in both the script and director's abilities. Murphy had directed movies as a film student, while Jones was a struggling writer who'd previously sold nothing. Several felt Jiggs was the most commercially viable of the projects but impossible to pull off on a limited budget with no big stars.
  On March 1, they chose Jones. But his script had problems. Its lead actors were 7- and 9-year-old boys who could work just 4 or 5 hours a day because of child-labor laws. It was to be filmed in Chicago, requiring expensive location work, and it is set in 1976, adding budgets for period details. Moreover, the plot was of limited appeal: the story of an Irish-Catholic boy on a quest to convert the dying son of a rabbi to Catholicism.
  ''It was about religion and kids and death -- not box-office-gold ideas,'' says Jones, who managed to keep the script largely unchanged. After seeing early episodes that chronicled the closed-door selection process, ''I couldn't figure out how I was going to win. Their critique of my script was pretty harsh.''
  It turns out the pick was a compromise. ''Were we making TV, or were we making just a movie? We were struggling with that,'' says Meryl Poster, Miramax's co-president of production.
  ''We tried to make the fact that it was being shot for television irrelevant,'' says Chris Moore, Damon and Affleck's partner in the LivePlanet production company. All three were Stolen Summer's executive producers.
  But even after the movie began production, the film and its making-of documentary had separate goals.
  ''We felt the more of a disaster it was for the movie, the better it was for the TV show,'' Affleck says.
  The contribution of two movie stars -- in the midst of shooting Affleck's The Sum of All Fears and Damon's Ocean's Eleven -- couldn't help but alter the outcome. They no doubt helped secure Aidan Quinn, who anchored the cast with Brian Dennehy, Kevin Pollak and Bonnie Hunt. (Never mind that Jones is first seen drafting letters to enlist Sean Penn and Emma Thompson.)
  At one point Affleck, frustrated by budgetary constraints, is seen ringing up Miramax co-chairman Harvey Weinstein, haggling for another $800,000 so Jones' script wouldn't be compromised.
  ''We had lengthy debates between Ben, Chris Moore and myself,'' Damon says. ''We wanted the movie to go well, and we wanted Pete to have all the advantages he could, but at the same time, we didn't want to corrupt the process. If Ben's calling Harvey Weinstein, it's not exactly an honest look at what it's like to make a movie for this price tag for Miramax.''
  Affleck acknowledges, ''it was definitely corrupted, if you want to call it that, by our involvement. It wasn't the experience of a real independent filmmaker. But we tried not to interfere. We certainly weren't going to do the Real World thing, where you're going to encourage people to bicker.''
  They didn't need to. You couldn't have scripted any better the large and minor snafus that frazzle nerves and add drama. Miramax is demonized as the penny-pinching villain, and as the big-cheese hands-on producer, Moore becomes the heavy.
  Visiting the set in Chicago, he sneers at Jones' ''moronic'' decision to film the first scene under elevated train tracks, where each shot was interrupted by screeching overhead. Rigging a moving-car shot causes lengthy delays and is compromised when the crew can't clear late-model SUVs off the street to preserve the '70s look. The caterer is a no-show at one lunch break, a victim of a truck accident on the freeway. And during a tough shoot of a Little League game in the pouring rain, young actor Adi Stein hits the ball and makes a dash . . . for third base.
  ''I had great empathy for him,'' says Hunt, who was a first-time director on last year's Return to Me. ''I thought it would be nice to see somebody go through it and support them. I told him on most days you have to walk that fine line between gratefulness for the opportunity and creative integrity.''
  Despite the hurdles, and an argument with Affleck over the final cut of the film, Jones seems pleased with the outcome. ''This movie is pretty close to what I envisioned in my head,'' he says. ''In that sense, I'm pretty proud of it. But the mistakes I made, the things I wish I could improve upon, they're like hammers in my head.''
  Moore says the film came out somewhere between its producers' biggest fears and greatest hopes. ''It's not an Afterschool Special, but it's also not Ordinary People,'' he says.
  As for the show, HBO original programming chief Chris Albrecht is pleased. ''I am surprised that it is as interesting as it is; I was prepared for this to be unwatchable.''
  The show first got backing on the strength of Affleck and Damon's ''contagious'' enthusiasm. ''There's no question that, without Ben and Matt, this thing doesn't get made,'' he says. ''It's not that they're just movie stars, but they're movie stars who are filmmakers; they have credibility.''
  Miramax will take Stolen Summer to the Sundance Film Festival in January, where the series' final episode will be shot shortly before it airs. But viewers will be left to wonder, waiting to see if Jones becomes the next indie sensation or, despite all the fuss, he and his movie will fade into obscurity.
  ''The sad part is the documentary ends before we see what happens to Pete,'' Moore says.
  At least part of the experiment will see a sequel. Miramax and LivePlanet have cemented a deal for another Project Greenlight contest, and HBO's Albrecht says he's ''very open'' to the idea of airing another documentary, though not necessarily next year.
  Jones, however, isn't the only one to benefit from the competition: Runner-up Murphy may come out ahead of the official ''winner.'' Miramax bought the script for Speakeasy and plans to produce the movie next spring with a larger budget -- and no cameras following his every move. Cover storyPlease see COVER STORY next pageCover story
• From Felicity:
  • There's an interview with Steven Soderbergh in the new issue (Dec/Jan) of Movieline magazine.
  • Matt's appearance on the Early Show seems to have changed - now 10 December.
  • Best photos I've found are: Matt and Ben here andd here.
    Matt here
  • I've got other photos, but the links won't work. Try this one: or here
  • Here's some of the other guests for the NY party (and what a strange mix they are): clothes designer Patricia Fields, wrestler/Playboy model Chyna, and actors Lorraine Bracco, Aida Turturro, Chris Meloni, Dean and Scott Winters.
  • Boston Herald review:
    Good shill hunting: Damon and Affleck's slick `Project' unwittingly exposes
    Tinseltown's ugliness
    by Monica Collins
    Thursday, November 29, 2001
    ``Project Greenlight.'' Premieres Sunday at 10 p.m. on HBO.
    Think ``Survivor'' meets ``A Star Is Born'' meets ``Day of the Locust'' - a uniquely vulgar Hollywood hybrid.
    Call it ``Project Greenlight.''
    This delectable documentary premiering at 10 p.m. Sunday on HBO is the brainchild of hometown stars Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. Irresistibly cool and unwittingly crass, the series transports us inside the chic offices of film czars. There, we become enveloped in a superficial haze of Sony speakerphones, bottled water and self-importance.
    The Southern California celluloid factory is actually a meat grinder where dreams are mashed into pop cultural pulp. Only the strong survive the monstrous mash that is movie making.
    Ostensibly, ``Project Greenlight'' is about innocence, imagination and brave artists who fight for their ``vision'' with the help of superstars who insist they're committed to creativity.
    On that slick surface, ``Greenlight'' is an absorbing true-life story of a filmmaker neophyte, Pete Jones. He wins a script writing contest and gets the chance to make a movie.
    But underneath the surface are dark currents where the forces of ego and money collide. Even Jones, an apple-cheeked lad from Chicago, begins to transform before our eyes into a movie mogul-maybe. Soon he's using the speakerphone to call his wife and tell her he won't be home for dinner.
    The first episodes of the 12-episode ``Project Greenlight'' (two half-hours air Sunday) set up the premise. We learn about the script writing contest, ``Project Greenlight,'' in which 10,000 writers submitted their scripts through the Internet. They judged each others' work and winners emerged.
    Damon and Affleck, whose script for ``Good Will Hunting'' won an Academy Award, oversaw the project with their business partner, Chris Moore. Their aim was to give a newcomer a chance. The Cambridge-raised big shots remember keenly when they were fledglings seeking to fly on the wings of a big break.
    Live Planet, the production company owned by Damon, Affleck and Moore, produces ``Project Greenlight.'' The trio has sought to get into television with reality-based series. One project, ``The Runner,'' which would have tracked a contestant eluding capture while traveling cross-country, was recently stopped by a red light at ABC.
    In the reality mode, ``Project Greenlight'' has ``Survivor''-esque elements as we see 10 scriptwriter finalists - none younger than 35 - transported to Los Angeles to audition for Damon, Affleck, Moore and executives from Miramax Films. Miramax, a smaller studio known for producing independent films, agreed to put up $1 million to make the winner's movie.
    The finalists were instructed to direct one scene from their scripts and record it on videotape. The superstar actors and Miramax executives screen the tapes, and are unstinting in their criticism as they winnow the field down to three.
    These three contestants must submit to interviews with the panel. Jones, whose script ``Stolen Summer'' is about a child's quest for heaven, is so naive and so earnest, you must root for him.
    He comes with the right homespun accoutrements - the adorable baby, the supportive wife and the idealistic project. He is the kid from Chicago. He makes the best TV even if his movie turns out to be a bust. (``Stolen Summer,'' starring Aidan Quinn, will be released on Feb. 22 as ``Project Greenlight'' wraps up.)
    After he is chosen, Jones faces a classic ``be careful what you wish for'' trauma. He's captive to the wiles of Moore, Damon and Affleck, the executive producers of his movie. When Moore, an unctuous type who speaks in a cowboy twang that sounds affected, eviscerates Jones' script in a later episode, you feel sorry for the writer. He's getting eaten alive by the Lotus Land locusts.
    Jones is also hostage to a Miramax executive who wants to chip away at the money for ``Stolen Summer.'' Eventually, Affleck will throw ego mud at the studio hound when the actor spontaneously rings up Miramax honcho Harvey Weinstein, gets put through immediately and requests a private meeting.
    How brave of HBO to give us an inside look at the schmoozy frenzy. After all, the cable channel, owned by AOL Time Warner, is right at the center of the hard heart of Hollywood.
    Yet HBO has built a reputation for artistic license and risky ventures. The cable channel's great strength lies in its power to go beyond the limits of conventionally safe TV. Subscribers pay for that privilege. Like other HBO series, ``Project Greenlight'' would never air on the broadcast networks. But you can bet that every network TV executive will be watching.
    While they were making ``Project Greenlight,'' Affleck and Damon might have been so wrapped up in the deal, they couldn't see they were exposing the shallow vanities and nonsense games endemic to their business.
    Lucky for us they were so myopic.
  • Greenlight had a premiere in New York last night, so watch the entertainment shows today.
  • There's a pic of Matt, Ben and Pete Jones at the premiere at TV Guide. here
  • At People:
    here
  • The press onslaught for Ocean's 11 is quite overwhelming, and already some papers and individuals are being cynical of its chosen messages. That is, the group atmosphere, playing up the games, frivolity and 'new best friends' angle, with few individual interviews to promote one person's interests. A number of the reviews now seem to be saying it's a good, but not great movie. But the recognition and interest factor amongst the general public seems to be high.
  • As I guessed yesterday, Jerry is at Sundance in the Premieres section, which includes other reasonably high profile films including One-Hour Photo (Robin Williams), Birthday Girl (Nicole Kidman) and The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys (Jodie Foster involved).
  • Casey Affleck's doing press for Ocean's 11 (I doubt he's done a talk show before). He's scheduled for:
    Tonight Show with Jay Leno on 29 November
    Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn on 10 December
  • Apparently Matt, Ben and Pete Jones are on the cover of the new TV Guide magazine. Celebrity certainly brings great publicity.
  • There's a clip of singer Pink interviewing Matt and the other Ocean's stars on MTV's Movie House at Katie's George site: here.
  • A NY Daily News review of Greenlight:
    'Greenlight' Strikes Gold - 3.5/4
    PROJECT GREENLIGHT. Sunday night at 10, HBO.
    As executive producers of potential TV series, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Chris Moore hitched their hopes to the reality-show craze and sold two concepts. One flopped before it even materialized; the other materializes Sunday and is a big success.
    The flop was "The Runner," an ABC series about a guy evading detection while crossing the country - a premise that was troublesome before Sept. 11, and impossible afterward.
    The one that works, beautifully, is "Project Greenlight," an HBO documentary series on the making of a $1 million movie by a first-time, contest-winning filmmaker.
    "Project Greenlight," launching Sunday night at 10, is a 12-part reality series with a purpose and focus that vaults it to the top of the pack. It began more than a year ago as an Internet contest, drawing some 10,000 entries from aspiring screenwriters.
    Designed as a way to get around the studio system and open the process to people without representation from Hollywood agents, "Project Greenlight" offered a tantalizing prize: a commitment by Miramax Studios to make and distribute a film, with a $1 million budget, based on the winning script, with the writer allowed to direct.
    "This is definitely 'Willy Wonka.' This is the golden ticket," says one competitor - and he's right. "Project Greenlight" puts the Hollywood dream within reach.
    But at the same time, it delivers the Hollywood nightmare.
    Once the winner is selected, the script has to be rewritten for financial concerns.
    Casting, locations, time periods - everything is up for discussion and "Project Greenlight" takes viewers behind the scenes each step of the way.
    The first two shows, shown Sunday, present the submission process, and the way Affleck, Damon, Moore and Miramax executives sift through the entries. When it gets to 10 finalists, the wanna-be directors are flown in; when they're down to three, the closed-door deliberations take more than six hours.
    At that point, out of utter frustration, even the sound man working on the "Project Greenlight" documentary is asked his opinion. He votes for the underdog, saying, "He's the guy that'll never get the chance unless you give it to him."
    A secret ballot, narrowing the field to two, feels familiar to Affleck.
    "This is just like 'Survivor,'" he says, smiling nervously. "We're going to put out somebody's torch."
    The winning - and the losing - turn out to be equally dramatic. The truly instructive and intense part, though, comes next, when the movie-making process begins.
    "Project Greenlight" takes us into the negotiating sessions, the casting, the private phone conversations, the power plays and every other aspect. Timing is critical; egos are bruised; some dreams are scaled back, others realized.
    Miramax will release the winner's movie next year. Its value, at this moment, is a question mark, but "Project Greenlight" is an impressive exclamation mark.

• From the SoCal Living Section of the November 27, 2001, Los Angeles Times:
  CITY OF ANGLES
  Not Just a Co-Star but a Candidate Too
  George Clooney and Brad Pitt are teaming up to win their "Ocean's Eleven" co-star Matt Damon People magazine's coveted "Sexiest Man Alive" title next year.
  By GINA PICCALO and LOUISE ROUG, TIMES STAFF WRITERS
  Onetime sexiest man Clooney and Pitt, who has won twice, announced their intentions about two weeks ago at a press junket for the film around the same time the annual People issue hit the stands declaring this year's winner Pierce Brosnan.
  Elizabeth Sporkin, the People editor responsible for the "Sexiest Man Alive" issue, told us that Damon has "been off the radar" and hasn't played enough sexy roles to win. While Damon is "hot," Sporkin said, the world's sexiest man must be a household name in addition to having sex appeal. "There aren't that many people who fit that bill," she said. Brosnan won because he's been on the short list several times, and possesses the "wholesome, sexy, manly" traits that the magazine's editors considered appropriate in the post-Sept. 11 world, Sporkin said. Some news reports quoted Clooney as saying that he recently tried to place an Oscar nomination-style ad in Daily Variety that read: "For Your Consideration: Matt Damon for Sexiest Man Alive" and that Variety wouldn't accept it. But folks at the trade paper had heard nothing of the ad. If they had, one insider said, Variety would have run it in a heartbeat.
  (Note: The story appeared with the photo shown as today's feature pic.")
• From Felicity:
  • We knew Matt was going home to Boston for Thanksgiving, and here's the first report from the Boston Herald:
    Matt and Ben home in on the holiday
    by Gayle Fee and Laura Raposa
    Tuesday, November 27, 2001
    Our favorite Hollywood hunks, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, were home for the holiday, partying up a storm at the Charles Hotel in Cambridge and walking a new puppy around the Affleck summer digs in Truro.
    The ``Good Will Hunting'' homeys flew in from the Left Coast last week to do the turkey thing with the rels - including Ben's actor-bro, Casey, who also had Thanksgiving in Cambridge.
    But after spending all day Thursday tending to hearth and home, the boys were ready to ditch the parents and have some real fun.
    Well, why not? Matt has been a busy, busy boy these past few weeks promoting his new flick, ``Ocean's Eleven.''
    And Ben, who saw his Next Big Thing - the Jack Ryan role in ``The Sum Of All Fears'' - shelved after the terrorist attacks, recently signed on the dotted line to co-star with J. Lo in ``Gigli.''
    And you know what they say about all work and no play. . . .
    So Will Hunting and Chuckie wandered up to Harvard Square and presented themselves - unannounced - at the front desk of the chic Charles Hotel and ordered up a room. Quick as you could say frat house, they filled it with hard-partying pals who kept the Turkey-Night festivities going into the wee hours.
    ``They had a lot of people in,'' said our spy on the scene. ``the mini-bar was emptied.''
    Well! We hope Ben, who did a stint in rehab last summer for booze abuse, stuck to the Diet Cokes!
    Then on Friday, the Affleck clan headed down to Truro to spend some quality time in the swish 60-year-old Colonial Ben bought his mom, Chris, last year.
    Our Cape spies say the family did the traditional walk-to-the-beach thing, heading for Pamet Harbor with a new German shepherd puppy in tow. Ben, who's been dateless lately - unless you believe those Famke Janssen rumors - seemed to take quite a shine to the little guy.
    Aren't they just doggone adorable?
  • More filming stories form Infobeat:
    George Clooney's Not-So-Deep `Ocean'
    New York Times Syndicate
    It's hard to get a straight answer out of the cast of ``Ocean's 11,'' especially ringleader George Clooney.
    Their film, Steven Soderburgh's remake of the 1960 Rat Pack cult favorite, will open nationwide on Dec. 7, and supposedly they're at Los Angeles' Century City Hotel on a Saturday night to promote it. But they'd rather talk a
    bout their experiences while filming in Las Vegas.
    ``George lost 25 hands in a row, which I think is a Vegas record,'' Julia Roberts says, laughing. ``George not only lost all of his money, but most of the money that Matt Damon brought to town.''
    ``The odds of it were mind-boggling,'' Clooney says. ``I brought an entire table down. People were like, `George Clooney, get away from me.'''
    Damon laughs.
    ``There were professional gamblers in the place who pulled back their chips until Clooney left the building,'' he says. ``He was jinxing the room.''
  • From the ET newsletter:
    A Message from Bob Goen: 'Ocean's 11' Antics
    After hearing the stories from GEORGE CLOONEY, JULIA ROBERTS, MATT DAMON and BRAD PITT, I wondered if this cast of 'Ocean's 11' was trying to out-do the original Rat Pack cast in on-set antics. Julia played coy and wouldn't nail George for partying. Instead she joked, "George doesn't party. George spends a lot of time in his prayer group." But she added, "Unfortunately their hours conflict with Happy Hour."
    One of the pranks the actors revealed is the time George tried to recruit trade paper, Daily Variety, to help embarrass Matt Damon. He wanted to take out an Oscar-like "For Your Consideration" ad for People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive. Of course, George had a picture all picked out - Matt in lime green swim trunks from 'The Talented Mr. Ripley.' Matt said he was thankful that the trade turned George down: "It would have been my nightmare." We thought it was kind of funny.
  • An article from the LA Times on Greenlight - note how Matt and Ben are described; Matt as the witty straight-shooter and Ben as rambunctious.
    The Fickle Glow of the Green Light
    An amateur screenwriter wins a contest to make his own film on a $1-million budget, beating out more than 7,000 other scripts. And HBO follows the action
    Eight months ago, Pete Jones was an unemployed house dad whose work uniform consisted of the boxer shorts he'd wear while writing screenplays in his Brentwood apartment at 3 o'clock in the morning. Today Jones, 31, sits in a Santa Monica editing room (fully dressed in shirt, jeans and black patent leather shoes) putting the finishing touches on his first feature film, which Miramax will release in February.
    The transformation reflects more than his appearance.
    "It's tough to go from 'Aw shucks, thanks for giving me this opportunity' to 'That's not the way I want it,'" says the onetime Chicago insurance salesman. But that's precisely the position Jones found himself in after he won an online scriptwriting contest and began fighting to get his vision of the screenplay on screen.
    Jones' evolution from wide-eyed regular guy to hard-nosed film director is chronicled in HBO's new documentary series "Project Greenlight." The program, which debuts Sunday at 10 p.m. (with two back-to-back episodes), condenses 1,000 hours of footage into 12 half-hours featuring Jones as he struggles to make his first movie on time and on budget. Along the way are browbeating, backbiting, turf spats, grumbling about ungrateful talent, rife paranoia and the sorry sight of a hungry film crew growing crankier by the minute when the catering truck is delayed by a freeway pileup.
    In other words, it's show business as usual. What's unusual is that a seven-person crew captured the whole messy business on videotape.
    Jones' adventure began last spring, courtesy of Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and their producing partner, Chris Moore. Their LivePlanet company had launched Project Greenlight a few months earlier as a three-pronged experiment in meritocracy designed to give one rookie filmmaker with zero connections the chance to become an overnight auteur.
    On March 1, Jones learned that "Stolen Summer," his story about a Catholic boy who embarks on a spiritual "decathlon" to help his dying Jewish friend get into heaven, had been selected from among more than 7,000 scripts submitted to the organization's Web site, projectgreenlight.com.
    The reward: Jones, who had not attended film school or made a music video or short film or commercial, would get to direct his "Stolen Summer" script. The movie, budgeted at $1 million, would be financed and released by Miramax Films.
    As if that weren't prize (and pressure) enough, Jones agreed to let HBO documentarian Liz Bronstein and her crew turn his on-the-job training into a TV series about the making of "Stolen Summer."
    Affleck, speaking by phone from New York, says he and Damon wanted to do a "making of" documentary that offered more grit than gloss. "People are so used to seeing this pre-fabricated B-roll phony behind-the-scenes footage, and all that does, in my opinion, is make movies look tinny and take away the magic, without giving you any real insight....
    "And we knew from our own experience that making movies oftentimes has a lot of drama in and of itself."
    It remains to be seen whether a broader audience will care about behind-the-scenes movie shenanigans; such shows haven't always fared well whether the screens were large or small.
    Jones, a ruddy-faced self-deprecating extrovert, said he didn't feel terribly self-conscious about starring in the film-within-the-film. "Usually it was a cameraman, a producer, a light guy--between two and four people--all the time. And I had no choice but to get used to it." He pauses. "Which is weird that somebody finds my boring life interesting enough to follow around 24 hours a day."
    When watching Jones and his cohorts in action, "boring" is not a word that comes to mind. Opinionated, cantankerous and anxiety-ridden, perhaps, but not boring.
    Early in the series, contest judges Damon, Affleck, Moore, Miramax Film execs Jon Gordon and Meryl Poster and Billy Campbell, head of Miramax's television division, frankly dissect the contest's top three candidates. Jones' script actually is not the unanimous favorite. Even Affleck concedes to his co-panelists, "It'll play like the after-school special I made when I was 13."
    Only after pleading his case in person does Jones win over the judges, but talking his way into the top spot turns out to be only the first of many battles. Before long, Jones is on the phone with Miramax asking for a bigger budget.
    Executive producer Moore, Jones' cheerleader, coach and critic, observes, "Sometimes the reaction to Pete was 'Hey, dude, quit fighting for stuff. You're lucky as hell; you only won a contest.'"
    "Stolen Summer" takes place in Chicago in 1976. Both the period and the location will add to the film's costs, line producer Pat Peach explains to Jones. What about setting the story in contemporary times to save money?
    "Over my dead body," snaps a recalcitrant Jones, during a conference call with Miramax headquarters in New York.
    "Look," Jones says in between bites of a chicken salad sandwich, "it's all checks and balances. My job is, I'm just going to keep asking for as much as I can. It's the producer's job and the studio's job to say, 'Here's the line, pal, go do your job.'"
    Affleck and Damon lend their star power to the first few episodes of "Project Greenlight." Affleck, the rambunctious one, does a wicked impersonation of Jay Leno one minute, then violates protocol when he phones Miramax boss Harvey Weinstein directly to lobby for a bigger "Summer" budget, much to Gordon's chagrin. Damon comes across as a witty straight-shooter, snorting contemptuously when someone suggests a scene set in Lake Michigan could be shot more cheaply in a swimming pool.
    "Stolen Summer" cast members Aidan Quinn, Bonnie Hunt, Kevin Pollak and Brian Dennehy plus two young Chicago actors named Adi Stein and Michael Weinberg are shown in a few brief scenes. But the real stars of this warts-and-all soap opera are the casting directors, studio suits, line producers and assistant directors who would normally give their most dramatic and amusing performances in relative anonymity.
    Presiding over the "Stolen Summer" crew is Moore, a drawling Maryland native who's been involved in producing 11 feature films in five years, including "Good Will Hunting," "American Pie" and the recent "Joy Ride." Moore's star turn in the documentary comes when he flies to Chicago and chews out just about everyone, including Jones, for failing to run a disciplined set.
    Moore said it was a "jolt" to watch himself in action. "I was more embarrassed than anything. The documentary was fair in the sense that I'm usually right, but being right isn't an excuse to go in and be a jerk. On the flip side, having an [aggressive] personality is what gets things done."
    Speaking by car phone, Moore said the struggles depicted in "Project Greenlight" are par for the course. In fact, Moore said, some of his colleagues worry that the production clashes portrayed in "Project Greenlight" will strike industry insiders as old news.
    "HBO and Miramax TV kept fighting me about what to put in the show because they were like, 'Look, that stuff is pretty common; you're not showing the viewers this huge great original thing.' And I said, 'It's common to me and you, but it's not common to everybody else.'"
    In 1996, Jones moved to Los Angeles from Deerfield, Ill., a Chicago suburb, with his wife, Jenny, a schoolteacher. Determined to have a career in movies, Jones made a tough decision after their first child was born two years ago: He quit his job as a TV production assistant and went into debt to focus full-time on writing.
    So even though he lacked formal training, Jones was dead serious when he finally got his break. "What you see in the documentary is an edited version of me," Jones says.
    "I think I was at times mischaracterized almost as if I were a country bumpkin who's going to learn a lot of lessons, but you know what? You learn a ... lot of lessons growing up in a big Irish Catholic family. I got four older brothers, and one thing you learn is how to persuade, how to get what you want without getting beat up. And I think these lessons help you out when you're making a movie."
    Jones concedes he's not entirely objective about his portrayal. "I have to laugh, because when I watch the documentary and see things that I like, I think, 'Oh, that's how it was.' When I see things that I don't like, all of a sudden, I go, 'Oh, it was edited that way.'"
    Will there be life for Greenlight after "Stolen Summer?" That depends. HBO and Miramax Films have options to renew their deals for four more years.
    The final episode of "Project Greenlight" has yet to be completed. It will cover Jones' trip to the Sundance Film Festival in January for "Stolen Summer's" first public screening.
    But Jones is already shutting down his office at the LivePlanet headquarters, which is vacant but for some cardboard cartons filled with film dailies and a couple of presents for his newborn daughter.
    Looking back at his trial by fire, Jones says, "It's like taking that family trip when you're a kid in the car. It's hell when you're doing it, but it's a blast to look back at it. That's what filmmaking is to me: difficult and stressful. But that's exactly what makes it so worthwhile afterward, looking back and having the stories to remember."
    If nothing else, Jones has a calling card when it comes time to pitch his next project, said Moore. "Pete's still in the same game he was March 1, getting people to give him work in Hollywood over other people. But he has a much better resume now, and he's got a few more people in his Rolodex he can call."
    As for other young filmmakers, Jones hopes "Project Greenlight" will give a shot of confidence to any novice who sees the series. "I think this documentary is going to demystify the movie-making process. Young filmmakers out there are going to see ... if you've got a good story and you've got good people around you ... anyone can direct a movie."
  • An Ocean's 11 review: here
  • A transcript of an Ocean's group press conference: here.
  • George Clooney is on Letterman tonight.
  • ET had a segment on the Greenlight series and brief interviews with Matt and Ben on today's show.
• Ryan wrote:
  hi from your friend at damonweb.net! :)
  just thought i'd let you know that the ocean's 11 site now includes some new pictures of MD (i've attached a few of them), in addition to a bio and so forth.
  an interesting note--his bio on the o11 site states that bourne identity is being released in february 2002. error or not? we can hope it's true, anyway!
• Wrote the Big Matt Fan:
  For those of you who may have followed the US's Big Brother 2, Will and Mike have since formed a writing team with hopes of selling a television series. Entertainment Weekly has the actor wannabees quoted as saying that they, too, wanted to "try doing the Matt Damon and Ben Affleck thing." For better or worse, they've inspired a generation...
• Allison wroteL
  Kevin Smith's message board on his web site had this link recently: here. It's a picture of Ben Affleck with some girl, and one of the replies claims that it's the now infamous Odessa. I don't know if it's accurate or not though, especially since her hair seems a lot longer than the US Weekly pictures, but if it is her, I think it's definitely a more flattering picture.
  Just thought you might be interested...

• From Felicity:
  • "Gerry" wasn't named in the 2002 Sundance lineup. That would have been great press and a good boost for the movie - maybe it wasn't ready? Only two sections of the festival were announced today, with the others to come Tuesday. "Stolen Summer" was named as part of the non-competition category.
  • An interesting article in New York mag about Miramax boss Harvey Weinstein: Only relevant mention of Matt - Harvey talking here:
    "I'm preparing to direct a movie about the Warsaw Ghetto. About Jews killing f...ing Germans in great numbers," he says with enthusiasm.
    True to the clich�, what Weinstein would really like to do is direct. He plans to get behind the camera for Mila 18, Leon Uris's epic portrayal of the Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto who used guile and ruthlessness to attack much better-armed opponents. Scorsese and Spielberg may executive-produce. Look for Matt, Ben, Gwyneth, all his pals, to clear out their calendars. There's a line in the Weinstein-backed Producers that suggests "it's good to be king." It's even better to be Harvey Weinstein. Just ask Harvey
  • This is so ridiculous - the NY Post has twisted the George/Matt/Variety gag into a completely different story (also discussed on ET Monday):
    AD BLITZ
    VARIETY foiled a scheme by George Clooney to humiliate pretty boy Matt Damon. Clooney says Damon was hoping to be named as People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive," and "I knew it would kill Matt if people thought he was lobbying for it," Clooney told the San Francisco Chronicle. So Clooney tried to place an Oscar nomination-style ad in Variety reading, "For Your Consideration: Matt Damon for Sexiest Man Alive." "But Variety wouldn't accept it," Clooney laments, "even though I kept telling them it was just for fun."
  • Project Greenlight show review from the Kansas City Star:
    Lights, camera and `Project Greenlight'
    Date: 11/26/01 00:01
    Several things separate HBO's "Project Greenlight" from run-of-the-mill reality shows. Not least of which are Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.
    "Project Greenlight" (9 p.m. Sunday) is a documentary-style account of the contest sponsored last year by HBO and Miramax Films in which a rank amateur was awarded a contract to direct a feature film. More than 10,000 entrants submitted screenplays. The field was eventually narrowed to 10, and a jury made up of Miramax executives, Affleck, Damon and their "Good Will Hunting" producer Chris Moore chose the winner.
    The lucky director got a $1 million budget, marketing and distribution for his film. (I'm not giving much away by revealing that the winning entrant was a guy.) HBO sent its cameras to follow the winner as he learned the elaborate rituals of moviemaking. I've seen four episodes so far, and they're totally absorbing. The politics, the numbers-crunching, the daily humiliations, the endless checklist of worries...they're all documented here and from various points of view.
    To the credit of all involved, especially the Miramax executives who are having an uncomfortable light shed on their usually secretive process, everyone seen in "Project Greenlight" speaks with surprising frankness.
    The first hour is about the contest, and Affleck and Damon get a lot of face time. Affleck, in particular, seems genuinely tortured by the thought of having to pick just one winner from a short list of finalists -- many of whom remind him of himself a few years ago, tossing scripts over every transom. When the winner emerges, it is with an impassioned speech that is as surprising as it is convincing.
  • From ananova.com:
    Affleck and Damon reveal Hollywood secrets in new TV show
    Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are to feature in a new TV show about Hollywood.
    The 11-part documentary series, called Project Greenlight, promises to lift the lid off Tinseltown.
    It follows the ups-and-downs of an inexperienced filmmaker in Los Angeles.
    Project Greenlight will be shown in the US this week. It is part of a project which aims to make filmmaking more accessible.
    Ben Affleck says Project Greenlight isn't just another US reality show.
    "This is not about a bunch of people stabbing each other for a million dollars or getting naked or doing some weird stuff," he told Radio 1.
    "This is a documentary hopefully showing people what it's really like to make a movie, but at the same time providing the opportunity for somebody who was on the outside of the Hollywood power structure to get the opportunity to make their movie."
    Matt Damon says he struggled to fit the project into his busy schedule.
    "It's a time-suck, yeah. That's why we kind of involve ourselves only in things that we really think are compelling or good. And with this project it was worth the time that we're putting in on it. I think it's really good and it's going to work."
  • I wonder if there's a party this week for the launch of the Project Greenlight TV series?
  • The Jules Asner specials appear to be one hour with each star.
  • Screencaps of the Barbara Walters special are at Ruth's George page: here
• A Big Matt Fan wrote:
  Reminder: On Extra! tonight
  They�re the Rat Pack for Generation Next. Now, Clooney, Damon, Roberts and Cheadle get up-close and personal with EXTRA in an OCEAN�S ELEVEN ALL-STAR REVIEW.
• A reader wrote about the "Bourne" trailer:
  Just watched the Bourne trailer. While some people feel Matt was miscast (my father, for example) I personally think it looks like a terrific movie - exactly my type, with action, suspense, and of course Matt. It'll be interesting to see how different this role is for Matt compared to his other ones. I think it will be a good move for him, hopefully pushing him into more action movies. Can't wait for it to open
• And another reader wrote:
  Here are some more chances to see Matt on TV. Two of his films will be shown on cable later this week. All times shown are EST.
  Thursday 11/29 at 8:00 p.m. on Fx: Courage Under Fire. It will be aired again Friday 11/30 at 12:00 p.m.
  Saturday 12/1 at 12:00 p.m. on TBS Geronimo; An American Legend. It will be aired again Sunday 12/2 at 3:15 a.m.

• From Felicity:
  • The Bourne Identity trailer was released with prints of 'Spy Game'.
  • Two new TV spots for Ocean's (30 seconds each) are at Katie's George Clooney site: here.
  • The Revealed with Jules Asner shows are confusing - don't know if this one is the Julia Roberts show or a separate one: Thursday 6 December at 10pm on E is Revealed with Matt.
  • From the SF Chronicle, talking about Clooney (similar stuff):
    He thought Matt Damon, who co-stars with Clooney and Pitt in "Ocean's Eleven," ought to get a crack at the title. So Clooney attempted to place an Oscar nomination-style ad in Variety reading: "For Your Consideration: Matt Damon for Sexiest Man Alive." "I knew it would kill Matt if people thought he was lobbying for it, but Variety wouldn't accept the ad, even though I kept telling them it was just for fun."
  • An outfit of Matt's as Linus Caldwell is part of the official Warner Bros. auction. Here's the description of his character, role and outfit, available at here.
    Assigned to shadow Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), the rich and powerful owner of the three casinos Danny Ocean (George Clooney) has targeted, Linus Caldwell (Matt Damon) spends his days watching Terry's every move. As the day of the heist nears, Linus updates Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) on Terry's habits and schedule. "I'll tell you, you guys really can pick 'em. This guy is as smart as he is ruthless He doesn't just take out your name, the guy goes after your livelihood and the livelihood of anybody you ever met." Amused, Rusty asks, "You scared?" to which Linus responds, "You suicidal?" Standing by the lobby stairs, Linus continues, "Now comes the girl. She comes down after him if they're in a snit. Aw, there she is. This is just the best part of my day." Glancing up, the men see a stunning Tess Ocean (Julia Roberts) walking down the stairs. Seeing Danny's ex-wife, Rusty turns his back, so she doesn't recognize him. Linus finishes his update, "Still don't know if we can use her yet. Actually, I haven't even caught her name," to which Rusty chimes in, "Tess. Her name is Tess." Purchased for use in the film, this costume includes a jacket, button-down shirt and pants. The tan silk jacket features a zip front, two side pockets and two button cuffs. The white button -down shirt features a chest pocket. The flat front khaki pants feature a zip front, two side pockets, a small change pocket and two rear pockets, both with button closure. The manufacturer's label has been removed from the backside of the pants. All pieces show some signs of wear associated with usage during actual production, but otherwise are in excellent display condition. No sizes are available for the jacket or shirt. The pants are size 34" x 32".
    and some other dialogue relating to Terry (Andy Garcia):
    Assigned to shadow Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), the rich and powerful owner of the three casinos Danny Ocean (George Clooney) has targeted, Linus Caldwell (Matt Damon) spends his days watching Terry's every move. As the day of the heist nears, Linus begins to update Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) on Terry's schedule. Observing his arrival at the hotel's motor court, Linus says, "That guy's a machine. He arrives at the Bellagio every day at 2 PM. Same car. Same driver." Linus and Rusty watch as Terry steps from the car and confidently walks to the entrance, smiling and engaging the staff in small talk. "He remembers every valet's name on the way in. Not bad for a guy worth three-quarters of a billion."
• And Kathryn wrote from Edinburgh:
  I was going to send you my thoughts on the trailer as soon as I checked the Column yesterday, but it proved to be a busy day, so I left it until today.
  The trailer. It's not the best trailer I've ever seen (although I always enjoy the Universal/Fox/Paramount logos "changing" into something to do with the film). I thought the introductory bank sequence seemed a little out of place, if only out of its quickness - immediately Matt (or rather Jason) is handing out karate chops left, right, and centre. And the "He's trained... conditioned... built to disappear" line made me laugh out loud, but it was only because I thought it was going to be "built to destroy" - which would really make it more of a Ben Affleck/Bruce Willis/Arnold Schwartznegger movie. :)
  The Jason/Marie scene(s) ("I'll give you $10,000..."): I found this, these, to be, like Felicity said, incredibly stilted. Barring the fact that Jason's "greeting" to her in the first instance isn't a good line anyway, I can't see the beginnings of any chemistry they might have (although Liman obviously wants me to think that they have chemistry through the end of the trailer and its short, sexual shots).
  I must admit I was a little disappointed by what I saw. Bourne is proving to be (perhaps) a little too conventional for me, mainly in terms of gender roles - it's like I said before, if the roles were reversed, it would be more interesting to me. I will go and see it, though, when it is released (and I'll continue to give you Bourne promo info).
  I *did* like the one lone shot of Bourne walking through an alley (?), however - but I'm not too sure about his choice of clothing. As much as it's nice to see a half-naked Jason Bourne sitting beside a fire, does he have to wear what he's wearing? And just how the hell does one drive a Mini down a flight of stone stairs and survive? :)

• What did everyone think of the Bourne trailer? I thought the locations looked great, Franka had some good lines but the conversations seemed stilted. It also seemed to be very conventional, if fun.
• The Bourne Identity website has been changed, but there's no new information, apart from the trailer.
• From Cindy Pearlman's syndicated column:
  Q: Didn't you pull an especially heinous prank on Matt on the set of "Ocean's 11?"
  Clooney (laughing): "Well yes, and I'm glad that you asked. Steven Soderbergh and I went to Variety magazine after we put a real ad together. You know how they do For Your Consideration' ads for the Oscars. We made up one that said: 'For your consideration: Matt Damon, Sexist Man Alive.' And we were going to make it look like Matt Damon paid for the ad himself. I actually called Variety and they said, 'You know this is a professional publication. You can't place that ad. I cried, 'But it's funny!'"
  Q: Let's talk about filming this version in Las Vegas. Is it true George you have the record for the most losses in Vegas at the blackjack table?
  Clooney (laughing): I do hold the record for most blackjack losses in Vegas. I ran out of a line of credit. First, I had cash and it was gone. Then you dance around to get a line of credit at a casino. I threw out all my money and lost everything in seconds. Even Matt Damon said, 'This is ridiculous.' Matt started putting down money for me and I said, 'I have to tell you. I have the worst luck.' I lost about 25 hands in a row."
• It looks like Matt's featured in Thursday 6 December's episode of the Eonline Jules Asner special (George and Julia on consecutive days).
• Two new Ocean's 11 clips (not featuring Matt) are at Counting down, with more clips to be added in the next few weeks: here.
• The new Ocean's poster: here.
• Slightly different pic of Matt and Alec Baldwin after the benefit: here.
• Instyle.com's look at the Nick Adams bash, including a pic of Matt (shown as today's feature pic): here.
• Matt's on the CBS Early Show on 6 December (would be taped as that date is after the premiere and the cast is en route to Turkey).
• In addition to the Revealed program of the Ocean's cast with Jules Asner, there's a special on the Ocean's premiere:
  Ocean's Eleven Revealed
  Type: Network Series / Entertainment
  Duration: 1 hr
  Description: The Hollywood premiere of "Ocean's Eleven." Host: Jules Asner.
  Airing: Wed 12/5/01 10:00pm (Eastern) E!TV
  
• "Gerry" may be at next year's Sundance, held from January 10-20 2002. From Casey's bio at the Ocean's website:
  Coming up this Spring, Affleck will co-star opposite Matt Damon in Gus Van Sant's newest film entitled Gerry. The film is a return to Van Sant's My Own Private Idaho days in which two friends go on a hiking journey where they encounter life-threatening circumstances. The film is set to be shown at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival and anticipated to release in Spring of 2002.
• Cute quote from the Ocean's press notes:
  Soderbergh and his talented team captured the remarkable chemistry and camaraderie of the Ocean's Eleven ensemble - but it wasn't all high-caliber acting and movie magic. "When we went to Las Vegas to start shooting, we made a conscious effort on a production level to have the 11 guys hang out together," Jerry Weintraub says. "It wasn't hard to do because they all liked each other and as soon as they started spending time together away from the set, real friendships developed. You can't buy that. When you have actors who can't wait to go to work and work with one another other and be with each other, that's exciting. In all my years in show business, I don't think I've ever had as much fun as I've had on this movie."
  George Clooney concurs. "After Matt Damon completed his role, he called from Paris just to say he missed us and missed the set. Can you imagine - he's in Paris and he called to say that."

• From Felicity:
  • TV guide reports that Matt will be on Leno 4 December (day before the premiere).
  • An article from Newsmax.com about Fox News presenter Bill O'Reilly, who has criticised the slow distribution of money after the telethon. I don't know the source of Matt's quote.
    He also lambasted the "childish nonsense" of Hollywood pretty boy Matt Damon, co-starring with O'Reilly nemesis George Clooney in "Ocean's 11," for complaining about the tough stance of "The O'Reilly Factor" on getting the Sept. 11 donations to the families of the terrorists' victims.
  • From the NY Post:
    A STARRY 'ADAMS' FAMILY
    By DONALD LYONS
    November 21, 2001 -- THERE was a one-night, star-drenched performance of "The World of Nick Adams" at Lincoln Center on Monday. "The World of Nick Adams" was a 1957 television special in which author (and Hemingway friend) A.E. Hotchner dramatized a bunch of early Hemingway stories and a bunch of incidents from Hemingway's early life to make a narrative in which a young man breaks from an oppressive family and sees the country on the road.
    Aaron Copland wrote some beautifully sad, yearning music for the program. The work has not been heard since 1957, and was done at Lincoln Center (in concert version - the actors carried scripts) to benefit a children's camp project of Paul Newman's.
    James Naughton, seated in a chair off to the side, played Ernest Hemingway. He introduces us to a young version of himself, called Nick Adams (a bland Matt Damon).
    Nick runs away from his depressed doctor dad (Brian Dennehy), his smothering mom (Joanne Woodward) and his demanding girlfriend (Gwyneth Paltrow).
    He goes on the road with a friend (the skeptical, sarcastic Philip Seymour Hoffman) and meets two hookers (a hilarious Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts), two killers (Danny Aiello and Kevin Kline) and assorted oddballs (a punch-drunk Paul Newman, a screwball Kline and Alec Baldwin as a bum).
    The Orchestra of St. Luke's played the Copland. Hotchner's blending of stories and life is a disservice to both, but it tells us how the 1950s saw Hem.
    The evening was anyway ablaze with star wattage, and some of it was very enjoyable.
  • Only report from the NY Daily News:
    Pretty Witty Woman
    Even Julia Roberts' flubs get laughs. Monday night, at the Lincoln Center reading of Ernest Hemingway's "The World of Nick Adams," Roberts' character was taunting Meryl Streep's character about sleeping with some guy.
    "How can you say that?" asked Streep. Forgetting her line, the newly blond Roberts ad-libbed, "Uh, how can I say that?" while she quickly found her place in the script.
    Streep and co-stars Paul Newman, Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman, Brian Dennehy, Kevin Kline, Alec Baldwin, Joanne Woodward, Gwyneth Paltrow, Philip Seymour Hoffman and James Naughton all giggled, but none harder than Julia. (The show benefited Newman's Hole in the Wall Gang camps.)
    Meanwhile, Variety's Army Archerd reports that Roberts, Damon and their "Ocean's Eleven" co-stars George Clooney, Andy Garcia, Brad Pitt and Don Cheadle are due to visit our troops next month at a base in Turkey.
  • From USA Today - story on what the stars are thankful for at Thanksgiving:
    Actor Matt Damon. The Ocean's Eleven star is from Boston, so he felt a connection to the tragedy because he often flies from Boston to L.A., the intended route of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center. ''Obviously, everybody's thankful for people who can go home and sit at the table with their families and be in good health and know everyone's safe.'' His mother and brother, in New York for Paul Newman's theater benefit (story, 10D), will be driving back to Boston with Matt for the holiday.
  • And the story:
    Stars come out for benefit show
    By Elysa Gardner
    USA TODAY
    NEW YORK -- W.C. Fields warned his fellow entertainers of the dangers of being upstaged by children. But that advice went unheeded Monday night at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall, where a posse of Hollywood's biggest names -- Paul Newman, Julia Roberts, Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman and Meryl Streep among them -- shared the spotlight with a group of ailing but plucky tykes and teens.
    The event -- a new, one-night-only concert version of The World of Nick Adams, playwright A.E. Hotchner's dramatic adaptation of a series of short stories by Ernest Hemingway, with incidental music by Aaron Copland -- was a benefit for the Association of Hole in the Wall Gang Camps, Newman's charity, which furnishes outdoor retreats for kids with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.
    Kevin Kline, Danny Aiello, Alec Baldwin, Philip Seymour Hoffman, James Naughton, Brian Dennehy and Newman's wife, Joanne Woodward, also were featured in the presentation, which began with a film short documenting the charity's purpose and progress and concluded with a group of young Hole in the Wall Gang members joining the stars on stage and thanking them with speeches and song.
    In between, the actors gave animated readings of the play, which follows World War I ambulance driver Adams, the semi-autobiographical young hero of more than 30 Hemingway stories, as he reflects on his life after being seriously wounded. Damon played the willful Nick, while Naughton made an imposing Hemingway, sitting opposite the other cast members and serving as a sort of narrator and commentator.
    Other actors got to showcase their comic skills. Woodward and Dennehy amused the audience as Nick's overbearing mom and appeasing dad, while Aiello got laughs as both a hit man and an old-school Italian army officer. Streep and Roberts nearly stopped the show as a pair of feisty prostitutes arguing over a dead man, while Kline demonstrated his enduring flair for physical comedy as a sloppy drunkard.
    Leonard Slatkin, music director of the National Symphony Orchestra, conducted the Orchestra of St. Luke's, ensuring that Copland's sweeping melodies were heartily delivered. After the curtain call, he accepted a request from one of the Hole in the Wall kids, who asked for musical accompaniment as she and her friends sang in gratitude -- to a sustained standing ovation, of course.
  • And another story from fashionwiredaily.com:
    The Most Star-Studded Play of the Year
    By Karin Nelson
    Fashion Wire Daily NY November 20, 2001 - It took a village of film, music, literature, theatre and opera luminaries to put on a one-night-only showing of "The World of Nick Adams" last night at Lincoln Center - a play based on the stories of Ernest Hemingway, starring Matt Damon, including music composed by Aaron Copland, and supporting Paul Newman's "Hole in the Wall Gang" Camps for terminally-ill children.
    And though the Academy-Award winning Damon, playing the semi-autobiographical role of Adams, was enough to draw a packed-house crowd, it was the all-star cast, which included Gwyneth Paltrow, Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Alec Baldwin, Paul Newman, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline, Danny Aiello, Brian Dennehy, James Naughton, and Joanne Woodward that had photographers paying up to $250 to gain red-carpet access to the show.
    And, as is the case when you cast a one-nighter performance with a slew of big-screen mega-stars, prep time becomes minimal. "I just started rehearsing this morning," admitted Damon, whose flawless performance belied that fact. "It was a wonderful experience, just a bit rushed," he added, rushing out the door to meet up with his family.
    Others had a little more trouble grasping the material in one day. Julia Roberts, who played a prostitute along with Meryl Streep, burst into hysterical laughter along with Philip Seymour Hoffman, when she at one point forgot her lines. But the crowd didn't seem to mind, laughing and applauding along with the presently Paltrow-blonde star.
    The most moving moment, though, came at the finale, with a song performed by some of the "Hole in the Wall" kids. "That's what made the whole performance worth it - those children," explained a much-moved Aiello. "It was the best part of the play," echoed Dennehy. Did it similarly move platinum twins Paltrow and Roberts? Good question. And we asked it. But the two, apparently thick as thieves with arms wrapped 'round each other and giggles to share, posed ever so briefly for photos before breaking away to join the cocktail party downstairs.
  • Bourne Identity trailer is now online at Aint it cool news: here.
  • First PGL article from the Modesto Bee:
    'Good Will' results in 'Summer'
    November 21, 2001 Posted: 05:20:05 AM PST
    KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
    Matt Damon and Ben Affleck and their producer Chris Moore basked in such good luck with their first co-production, "Good Will Hunting," that they decided to share the wealth a bit.
    They started Project Greenlight, a screenwriting contest on the Internet, which would result in a feature film. Unknown filmmaker wanna-be Pete Jones won that contest from 10,000 entrants and made his movie, "Stolen Summer." It is scheduled for release in March.
    What it was like for a first-time director to be at the helm of a $1million movie will be the subject of a 12-episode documentary beginning Dec. 2 on HBO.
    Movies about making movies have been done before, such as "Hearts of Darkness" chronicling Francis Ford Coppola and the producing of "Apocalypse Now," and "Burden of Dreams," which is about Werner Herzog fabricating "Fitzcarraldo."
    "We talked about the movies that we'd done, between Chris, Ben and myself," says Damon. "Thirty or 40 movies and there was always some kind of drama just inherent to the process, just because people are under the gun and they're trying to make decisions fast and they're working really hard. We thought it would make fascinating television, just the way it does when you see Werner Herzog freaking out on a river in 'Burden of Dreams,"' says Damon.
    Both Affleck and Damon made anonymous "cold calls" to studios trying to interest them in the script. The system closed up tight, says Damon.
    "Every studio basically told us, pardon the French, but to ---- off. They said, 'Go get an agent.' And then we called all the big agencies and all the agencies said, 'Well, we don't take unsolicited material, either. Call a lawyer.' So we called the lawyers and they said, 'Well, we've got to get referred by an agent."'
    So Affleck, Damon and Moore cut through all that swamp water and, voila! "Stolen Summer."
• MG wrote:
  Just wanted to let you know, in case you missed it, Matt was on Access Hollywood today - they talked to him briefly (along with others) about the Nick Adams performance in NY on Monday. They also showed some scenes from The Bourne Identity - it said that it will be out in May 2002. It was interesting seeing Matt in "action" scenes from the movie - the movie looks pretty different from anything else he's been in before...
  Also, just wanted to say that I was thinking the same thing as you about the picture from US weekly. Not really the most flattering picture of his new girlfriend!
• Kelly wrote:
  Just wanted to let you know that Matt Damon will be on Jay Leno, December 4th.
• Vanessa wrote:
  OK, I have to talk about the Odessa thing, I don't understand a concept. Maybe Matt Damon is really going out with her, but my question doesn't rely on if he does or not. My question deals with why did we find that now. Well, let's think a little bit, Matt Damon has a new movie (big one) coming out. He is friend with A-list actors, and we all know that he might be paid more after this movie. So everything works really well for him. But the thing I don't understand it is if Matt is actually going out with this girl (for maybe 8 or 9 months) why did it come out now? They were so discreet that no one knew and by coincidence his big movie is coming out and is relationship too !! I just find it a good planning! I don't want you to think that I am being sarcastic or anything. I love Matt Damon as much as you do (maybe even more), it maybe the only thing that makes me think that this relationship is not that much serious. But on one hand, he said "I am a happy man", which means everything and nothing! And on the other, the guy is 31 and thinking about getting married (Barbara Walters' show), and having a family! So I find this a little strange! But I just don't get it, if you wanted your relationship secret (and that for 9 months), you definitely know that if you do house hunting, everyone will know that you are going out with that person! Did you get what I just said? She could have look for a house and tell him her choice after, talk about it later! Why going in public and not talking about it later! The promotion of Ocean's 11 is intense now because everyone talks about the relationship. Even in Europe, he is getting more "popular" because of Odessa. So it is why I don't understand if they have a relationship or not! But deep deep deep inside my heart, I think they do .... (this is a point of view of a French fan)

• Our thanks to the many readers who sent in photos from the Nick Adams event (see above).
• From Felicity:
  • From the NY Times at here
    THEATER REVIEW | 'THE WORLD OF NICK ADAMS'
    Hemingway Papafest for Paul Newman Charity
    By BRUCE WEBER
    
    Talk about Americana. At Avery Fisher Hall on Monday night 2,800 people sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" together, the orchestra played an overture with the red- white-and-blue chords of Aaron Copland, the movie stars came out - Paul Newman! Julia Roberts! - and then the play began, a kind of ur-text for the 20th-century American coming-of-age story. For men anyway. It was Ernest Hemingway, after all.
    "The World of Nick Adams," an adaptation by A. E. Hotchner of several of Hemingway's early autobiographical stories, was dramatized on television in 1957 with a Copland score, but until this week it hadn't been seen since. The script, missing for decades, was discovered earlier this year amid Copland's papers in the Library of Congress, and Mr. Hotchner did some work on it to make it into a kind of concert piece. This is what was performed on Monday in grandiose fashion, with a 29-piece chamber ensemble (the Orchestra of St. Luke's) conducted by Leonard Slatkin and a cast aglitter with celebrity.
    The occasion was a benefit for the Association of Hole in the Wall Gang Camps, a charitable organization founded by Mr. Newman and Mr. Hotchner that has built and runs five free camps for children with life-threatening diseases in the United States and Europe, with three more under construction (including one on the border of Jordan and Israel).
    A dozen or so of those children were present on Monday night. They were paraded out at the end of the evening and sang a thank-you song to the audience members who had paid up to $2,500 a ticket, a grown-up orchestrated display that smacked a little of dog-and-pony exploitation. Nonetheless the evening was expected to raise more than $1 million, and the children seemed poised and genuinely grateful, not to mention delighted to be embraced by the stars who took part in the evening's presentation. As Mallory Cyr, a 16-year-old camper from Connecticut, who, along with her sister, Maisy, 8, suffers from a rare blood ailment, remarked from the stage: "It's like they stepped off a movie screen just for us. Thank you, thank you, thank you."
    The cause seems a popular one in Hollywood; even by benefit standards, the program was unusually starry. In addition to Mr. Newman and Ms. Roberts, the actors were Matt Damon in the title role, Gwyneth Paltrow, Meryl Streep, Morgan Freeman, Alec Baldwin, Kevin Kline, Joanne Woodward, Brian Dennehy, Danny Aiello, Philip Seymour Hoffman and James Naughton.
    Some of the actors arrived in New York just a few hours before the show, so the director, Frank Corsaro, had little time for rehearsal, and the performers read their lines from the scripts.
    "These things can turn out to be great evenings or great disasters," Mr. Hotchner said (accurately) in an interview beforehand.
    But happily the audience, either star-struck or borrowing from the good will of the occasion (probably some of both), was not only understanding but exuberantly appreciative. The first standing ovation of the night occurred at their first glimpse of the stars, before the first line was delivered. And the biggest laugh was for a bit of dialogue between Ms. Streep and Ms. Roberts, who, playing drunken prostitutes in a railroad station from the story "The Light of the World," were both apparently confronting their lines for the first time.
    "How can you say that?" Ms. Streep challenged Ms. Roberts at one point. Prepared to respond, Ms. Roberts looked down at the script.
    "Um," she said, and then, with a comic flourish, turned the page.
    The stories themselves have been linked by Mr. Hotchner in ingenious fashion. Hemingway wrote 30 or so stories featuring Nick Adams, his young alter ego, many of them dealing with moments of emerging maturity, when a boy does a manly thing for the first time.
    Mr. Hotchner has selected a handful of them, plucked from Hemingway's first three story collections - "In Our Time," "Men Without Women" and "Winner Take Nothing" - beginning and ending with "Now I Lay Me," a story drawn from Hemingway's experience as a wartime ambulance driver in Italy.
    In it Nick has trouble sleeping and looks back over his life; in Mr. Hotchner's adaptation, what he looks back on are the episodes told in other stories, among them the breakup of a romance ("The End of Something"), an encounter with hired guns in a small-town diner ("The Killers") and, after being thrown off a freight train, a meeting around a campfire with an addled ex-prizefighter ("The Battler").
    Mr. Hotchner's script doesn't quite manage to keep out the sentimentality that Hemingway worked to avoid, and he adds more than a few clich�s. (To name a small one, when Nick breaks up with his girlfriend, Marjorie - it's a painfully brief story, wrenching in what the characters refuse to say or can't say to each other - Mr. Hotchner adds considerable dialogue, including this line from Nick: "It's not you. It's me.") He has invented whole scenes for Hemingway's mother and father and, particularly in the narration (read by Mr. Naughton), some reflections on the writing life.
    Still, with the help of the people onstage, the spirit of Hemingway, his fondness for the subject of a young man's education in manliness, shone through. Mr. Damon did a particularly nice job in this respect, maintaining the affectless quality in his line readings that Hemingway always strove for in his sentences. His scene with Ms. Paltrow as Marjorie was surprisingly touching.
    Other moments of note included Mr. Aiello and Mr. Kline bringing an ominous comic timing to the long-coated hit men of "The Killers"; the burly Mr. Dennehy, wearing a white beard and looking like Papa himself, giving young Nick a sadly paternal embrace; and Mr. Newman, a wool hat pulled over his head, making himself gnarled and small and desperately floundering, reprising the role of Ad Francis, the ex-boxer he played in a 1956 adaptation of "The Battler."
    The segment of "The Battler," with Mr. Freeman playing Bugs, the boxer's sidekick who cares for him with an odd formality and a harsh brand of kindness, was the highlight of the evening. So, as a critical summation of the entire evening, it's appropriate to cite the opening lines of the story as Hemingway wrote them: "Nick stood up. He was all right."
  • There's a photo of Matt and Paul Newman at the site: here
  • There's a photo of Matt and Alec Baldwin after the Nick Adams event at yahoo. Only two photos of the event released so far: here.
  • Archerd: ``Ocean's Eleven'' stars talk Turkey
    By Army Archerd, Daily Variety Senior Columnist
    HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Once again, it's time for that Jack L. Warner motto to come to the fore. It's ``Combining Good Citizenship With Good Motion Picture Making.''
    On Dec. 6, the stars of ``Ocean's Eleven'' will board a giant jet bound for a U.S. military base ``somewhere in Turkey.'' Producer Jerry Weintraub says, ``It's a gift to the troops.''
    The film will be screened for multinational forces based in the area. The stars will dine with the troops and leave behind a print of the picture to be shown to those unable to get in for the premiere screening.
    After a day with the armed forces, the planeload of stars heads to Rome and London to press the picture. In addition to Weintraub, those making the journey include director Steven Soderbergh and stars George Clooney, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts -- and Don Cheadle, if knee surgery permits. The trek was cleared with the Dept. of Defense. But WB picks up the tab for all of the plane-premiere expenses.
    Weintraub is a friend of both George W. Bush and his father, former President George Bush. No, the White House has not yet seen the film. It preems in L.A. Dec. 5 in Westwood at both the Village and Bruin theaters, with a party to follow. Vegas premiere plans were canceled.
  • Matt's featured on tomorrow's ET, and he talks about 'the girl': here.
  • Matt's New Mod Squad!
    November 20, 2001
    From Clooney the prankster to his new Vegas adventure and a rumored girlfriend, MATT DAMON filled JANN CARL in on the experience of making 'Ocean's 11' and his offscreen life!
    JANN CARL: How much fun did you have making this movie?
    MATT: It was everything that I hoped it would be. GEORGE [CLOONEY] has a reputation of being just a great person to work with and a guy who makes it his mission to make sure everyone is having fun.
    JANN: Did he pull any pranks on you?
    MATT: The things about George's pranks are that for the most part, they are pretty brilliant and most of them play out over a period of time. He had one that I know [of]: It was to buy a page in the Daily Variety, you know how they do those Oscar ads that say, "For your consideration: So and so for best actor"? He wanted to do a four-year consideration for "Matt Damon as the Sexiest Man alive for People Magazine," and then make it look like I took the ad out and paid for it! He knows that it would be my nightmare.
    JANN: Did he do it?
    MATT: Well he was on the phone with Daily Variety and they refused to do it. They said, "We are a serious publication," and he was like, "Oh come on, it's funny."
    JANN: There were all kinds of stories coming out of Vegas when you guys were doing this movie. Now, who was the biggest partier?
    MATT: The entire crew! The crew was great because they had worked with STEVE [SODERGERGH, the director] on a bunch of other movies so this was getting absorbed in a group of people that are like family.
    JANN: If you had to describe this movie to someone in 15 seconds, what would you say?
    ATT: Eleven guys try to knock off three casinos in Las Vegas-- but organized by George Clooney!
    JANN: I have to ask you about the cover of the new US Weekly. There's this whole item about you and a new girlfriend who happens to be BEN AFFLECK's assistant. How do you deal with that all the time?
    MATT: I think it's what you make of it and how much energy you give it.
    JANN: Did you also flip to see what they wrote?
    MATT: I flipped to see the picture!
    JANN: You did? Did you read it?
    MATT: No, I didn't.
    JANN: You didn't! How could you not read it!
    MATT: Well, I know the story.
    JANN: Is it true, are you guys dating?
    MATT: Well, if I answer that then I set the precedent that I will talk about it -- but I can say that I am a happy man.
    JANN: I'm curious: As we approach a Thanksgiving that will be very different than past ones because of the world situation, what are you most thankful for?
    MATT: The same things that I am thankful for every year. It's the same kind of prayer that I say in my head of thanks, [thanks] for my family and friends and their health and safety. But it just takes on a little more meaning this year.
  • The Extra interview with Matt is now up at their website (a few minutes in length): here
  • The Winter Hill Gang project as resurfaced - information at here.
  • More on the OS trip from the SF Gate:
    Holiday surprise for troops: 'Ocean's Eleven' stars
    JEFF WILSON, Associated Press Writer Tuesday, November 20, 2001
    Breaking News Sections
    (11-20) 11:53 PST MALIBU, Calif. (AP) --
    Movie producer Jerry Weintraub had an idea so he called the nation's 41st president.
    As a result, "Ocean's Eleven" stars George Clooney, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts and Don Cheadle will be going to Turkey to visit U.S. and coalition troops.
    "We want to bring them a little bit of home for Christmas," Weintraub said Tuesday in a telephone interview from his Malibu estate Blue Heaven. "We really wanted to do something for these kids. We can pat them on the back, sign autographs and tell them we care."
    The remake of the casino heist caper "Ocean's Eleven" will be released nationwide on Dec. 7.
    Hours after the film's Dec. 5 premiere in Los Angeles, the "Ocean's Eleven" stars, Weintraub and director Steven Soderbergh will board a jet headed for a U.S. military base "somewhere in Turkey," Weintraub said.
    The exact location won't be disclosed but Weintraub said American service personnel as well as British coalition troops will be on hand. Warner Bros. is paying for the trip.
    "It won't cost taxpayers a thing," Weintraub said.
    They will greet, eat and talk with the troops, sign autographs and show the film, the producer said. "It's a gift to the troops."
    "We were talking about doing a premiere in Rome or Paris and I said, 'I've got a great idea. We've got troops over there in harm's way. Why don't we go over there and show it to them? To hell with the press,"' Weintraub said.
    "George jumped up and said great and everyone came on board," said Weintraub, who quickly put in a call to his longtime friend and former president. "I called President Bush, the 41st, and he said he thought it was fantastic. He made a call and two minutes later I got a phone call from the Pentagon and we got the ball rolling."
    DVD copies of "Ocean's Eleven" and other films will be left at the base and Weintraub said DVD copies will also be sent to 11 U.S. warships.
    The "Ocean's Eleven" entourage will spend several days in Turkey before traveling to London and Paris for media interviews.
  • More Ocean's preview tickets in Atlanta, Nashville and Charlotte now available through a competition at chud: here.
  • Chud also covered the press junket - one excerpt:
    I asked Damon the first thing that popped into my mind - never do that. "What's happening with you and Affleck? Working on that next script, yet?" He seemed oddly excited by this, and said: "We both have this week off, so we're starting it now."
  • The EOnline special on Oceans (with Jules Asner) stars December 5.
  • Another pic of Matt and Alec Baldwin at the benefit: here
  • A shot of Matt attending the Ocean's party in LA: here.
• And our thanks to Evi, who also sent in the aforementioned ET story:
  Found an interview on Et online today with two pictures, here is the link.
• And ditto to Jess, who sent in links to the Yajoo pics as well.

• Felicity wrote:
  • From the NY Times:
    The Gambling Life
    Mike Piazza, Matt Damon, Charlize Theron and other celebrities meandered through a casino's grand opening Thursday night in Las Vegas. At Nine, an upscale restaurant and bar serving delectable crab cakes and spicy chicken skewer, they could have stared at a beautiful naked woman posing on top of a bar. On the other end of the Palms, the new casino owned by the Maloof family, was a sports book with all the amenities for the gambling lifer. Samuel L. Jackson showed. Penny Marshall, too. Big-name directors. Hugh Hefner and his harem.
  • Confirmed by the Las Vegas Sun:
    Saturday night's big bout after-party was at the Rio's Palazzo Suites. Maxim (the men's mag that's just a pastie or two shy of Playboy) has made a deal with Harrah's to throw celebrity parties at its properties a few times a year -- as long as the stars are assured privacy privileges. Part of the deal requires Harrah's to allow celebs (such as Saturday's attendee list of Charlize Theron, Matt Damon, Cuba Gooding Jr., Drew Carey, Macy Gray, Tara Reid, Jon Lovitz, Jeremy Piven, Mark McGrath and assorted others) to do whatever they please in the Rio's 4,000-square-foot high-roller suite.
  • An old Las Vegas Sun story (August 17) - do we believe this one? While Ben's away, Matt still plays. With his pal Ben Affleck safely tucked away at a Malibu, Calif., rehab facility, Matt Damon was spotted cruising the Strip early Friday morning in a classic Corvette convertible -- a buxom blonde at the wheel.
  • Ratings from Hollywood Reporter - the show was second to NBC:
    ...Barbara Walters' 10 p.m. special (11.8 million, 4.5/14) featuring the star-laden cast of Warner Bros.' upcoming feature "Ocean's Eleven."
  • Extra has a story on Ocean's (presumably footage from the press junket) on Monday's show.
  • Summary of the Project Greenlight HBO show, from TV Guide:
    Project Greenlight
    60 min.
    Debut: With back-to-back episodes, HBO rolls out the red carpet for this 12-part documentary, which offers an intriguing and uncensored look at the filmmaking process. Spearheaded by Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and producer Chris Moore ("Good Will Hunting"), the series chronicles a competition in which wannabe filmmakers submit scripts via the Internet. In the opener, more than 10,000 applicants submit their work, and the field is pared down to three finalists. After hours of deliberation, Affleck, Damon, Moore and Miramax executives choose a winner, who is awarded a $1 million budget to make the film. Future episodes follow all phases of production, culminating in the film's theatrical release.
• The Big Matt Fan wrote:
  RE: Barbara Walters. I, too, enjoyed the way Matt interacted with the other stars. It's obvious that he feels very comfortable among them, and that there's a genuine affection within the group.
  • It was surprising to hear Matt confess his insecurity regarding his last two films, but Pitt and Clooney's comments, though humorous, I think were intended to be supportive. Truth is, all of them, Julia included, know what it is to have flopped. (Remember, "From Dusk Till Dawn"? "Mary Reilly?")
  • There was that segment where Barbara asked the group, "Who's the gambler?" and all five pointed at Matt. He expressed surprise, but then talked about the time he and George played blackjack. We've heard that Matt's not the high roller that Ben was. However, he was recently in Vegas, again. Let's hope it's nothing serious.
  • I found Matt's comments regarding Sept. 11 illuminating. He said he spent the whole day tracking down college friends who worked at the Towers. Good to know that he still keeps in touch with them. His statement that, "It could have been me, if I hadn't been an actor" makes you realize that he could see himself following that path of so many typical Harvard classmates into the business world.
  RE: Project Greenlight. I read the US Weekly review of Project Greenlight. It really is quite glowing, and says that the it "offers insight into the Damon Affleck partnership." Sounds intriguing, huh?
• Evi wrote:
  is a message I found on the Project Greenlight Boards about "The Third Wheel", don't know if it's true though:
  According to Darkhorizons this movie will not be released.
  "Matt Damon confirmed that Miramax will NOT be releasing the comedy "The Third Wheel" which he and Ben Affleck executive produced as "it didn't come up to expectation"."
• Jill wrote (thanks!):
  I love your site and am happy to contribute. The attached photo (shown to the right) is from USWeekly as previously mentioned.
  Matt is said to be "really happy with Odessa." Publicists continue to deny that there's any relationship beyond friendship between the two. - Anonymous Source
• More from Felicity:
  • More from 13th Street about the non-release of The Third Wheel (mentioned in Dark Horizons):
    Next up, Miramax has informed Matt Damon that they won't, in fact, be releasing The Third Wheel (a movie that Damon executive produced with Ben Affleck that stars Luke Wilson and Denise Richards with cameos from Ben-Matt) because it "didn't come up to expectations." When Damon was asked about that, he quipped back, "usually they'll release anything" - to big laughs. "I don't know if it was a thing with the director or what the deal was," Damon continued, but then added, "nothing is remarkable to me, especially when it comes to Miramax." Damon didn't seem to care all that much and didn't get too impassioned about it, but then Weintraub mentioned that Miramax boss-man Harvey Weinstein was looking to take Ocean's 11 overseas, so if they do that, Jerry assured the press that they would be releasing The Third Wheel.
  • A similar summary in TV Guide online:
    ILL WILL HUNTING: There doesn't seem to be too much good will between Matt Damon and Miramax - the studio that released his breakthrough hit, Good Will Hunting. At a weekend press conference for Ocean's 11, Damon all but confirmed that the company dropped his upcoming film, The Third Wheel, because it didn't meet expectations. "I don't know if they had a thing with the director [Jordan Brady] or what the deal is," he said of the pic, in which he co-stars with his Hunting pal Ben Affleck (they serve as producers as well). "I don't know if they'll hold strong on that position or where they're at with it, really. I haven't talked to them about that in a while. But is it remarkable to me? You know, at the end of the day, no, nothing's remarkable to me anymore - especially when it comes to Miramax!" (Ouch!)
  • A clip of Matt was shown on ET briefly during a segment on Bernie Mac (011 co-star). He was also in the clips previewing an O11 party on Tuesday's show.
  • From the Extra website:
    Ocean's Eleven
    Monday November 19, 2001
    "Ocean's Eleven" is a slick Las Vegas heist movie with a wise guy edge. It features an all-star cast of Hollywood's hottest: Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Matt Damon Andy Garcia, Don Cheadle, and just one girl: America's sweetheart, Julia Roberts.
    Julia says, "I kind of felt like the tomboy sister with all these motley brothers."
    George Clooney says, "She walked in and she was one of the guys."
    There were lots of laughs on the Vegas set and lots of practical jokes. Brad Pitt says, "Good, good fun. It's just great fun all the way around."
    Matt Damon adds, "There was that kind of fun vibe on the set and George kind of insists on that."
    In fact Clooney cut his salary for the part and convinced the rest of the cast to do the same. Matt Damon says, "Once George is headlining it and says, 'I'm cutting my fee. Who's with me? Are you in or are you out?' Pretty short conversation."
    And during our interview George let "Extra" in on a big secret!
    He says, "We're going to fly the night of the premiere in Los Angeles. We're going to fly to Turkey and do the world premiere, the international premiere for the troops. We all want to be there doing something so why not bring the movie over there for the troops. It'll be fun. I'm really looking forward to it. We'll drop Julia Roberts over an aircraft carrier!"
    Now that's a bombshell that would certainly boost morale!
  • There's a competition for Ocean's 11 goodies, including caps and floatie pens (?), at the website of extra: here. Go to the Ocean's interviews page.
    George Clooney is on the Today show Tuesday morning.
  • Attached (right) is a Ripley pic from a newly discovered magazine.
  • I've found pics of Gwyneth and Phillip Seymour Hoffman arriving for the benefit in NY, but no others so far...
• Wow, a flurry of news! Thanks everyone, including reader ML G, who also sent in the bad news about "Third Wheels". I can't say I feel too badly about that - this film did not sound good from the get-go. Chalk it up as a learning experience, as was "The Runner".
  Here's the real bad news in my humble opinion: The Odessa girl - take a look at the photo. Is she smoking like a chimney or what? Aaagggh!

• Nothing new here from the NY Post:
  SECRET SQUEEZE
  MATT Damon is getting over his split with Winona Ryder with a little help from his best friend Ben Affleck's personal assistant, Odessa Whitmire. "Matt and she have taken great pains to keep it a secret and private," a friend of Damon's tells US Weekly. "They've been able to grow very close because they knew each other before they were dating." Whitmire, an alluring southern belle, is obviously well-versed in keeping movie stars happy.
• Newsday ran a piece on the Nick Adams benefit, confirming that Matt will play Nick Adams:
  Where & When
  A benefit performance of "The World of Nick Adams" will be given at 7:30 Monday at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center. Tickets: $75-$2,500. Post-performance reception for $1,000 and $2,500 ticket holders. For tickets call 212-573-6933.
  By Karin Lipson Staff Writer
  A FEW MONTHS AGO, some high-voltage stars (think Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Morgan Freeman and Alec Baldwin, for starters) got a discreet letter or phone call from that Hollywood icon, Paul Newman.
  Would they be interested in joining him on Nov. 19 in a one-night performance at Lincoln Center to benefit the Hole in the Wall Gang Camps, the retreats for seriously ill children that Newman cofounded in 1988 with his pal, writer A.E. Hotchner?
  Now, when Newman talks, people tend to listen. (Wouldn't you?) Add to that the worthiness of the charity and the allure of the evening's program: Hotchner's own dramatization -- created for TV in 1957 and never seen since -- of some famed short stories by Ernest Hemingway, backed by music composed for that long-ago event by Aaron Copland.
  And so was born "The World of Nick Adams," a staged reading with music that comes Monday to Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall. In addition to the fairly eye-popping roster of actors (which also includes Kevin Kline, Meryl Streep, Brian Dennehy, Joanne Woodward, Philip Seymour Hoffman and James Naughton), the evening will feature conductor Leonard Slatkin, leading the Orchestra of St. Luke's in Copland's incidental score. Proceeds from the event go to the Association of Hole in the Wall Camps, the new umbrella organization for five not-for-profit camps (all children attend free of charge) in this country and abroad, with three more in formation.
  Remarkably, the "Nick Adams" dramatization had long been missing and only recently came to light at the Library of Congress. "I somehow lost control of the script," says Hotchner. "Over the years I occasionally thought about it, because it was an electrifying experience."
  And therein hangs a four-decade-old tale. In 1957 Hotchner adapted five semi-autobiographical Hemingway stories for a live CBS broadcast produced by John Houseman. Hotchner had adapted one Hemingway story -- "The Battler" -- for TV the previous year. "The lead was supposed to be James Dean, but he was killed before we went to rehearsal," Hotchner recalls. "So they put into the lead a young actor named Paul Newman, and that's how we met." (Newman's TV performance as a punch-drunk fighter, Hotchner recalled, led to his being cast as boxer Rocky Graziano in the 1956 film "Somebody Up There Likes Me.")
  Hotchner was also friendly with Hemingway, having edited his work. When the possibility of the 1957 broadcast came up, "I called Ernest, and he said, 'Well, you did all right for the first one. So he said, go ahead.'"
  Because the script was episodic, music was needed as a unifying element. "But not the weeping violins of Hollywood," says Hotchner. So, in what he now describes as youthful naivete, Hotchner called up none other than Copland ("I got a number I thought was Copland's assistant or office, and instead I got him"), who soon agreed to write the score. "I had admired Hemingway since the '20s," Copland later recalled, "and I found the idea of composing for the new and exciting medium of television intriguing."
  The 1957 telecast tracked the adventures of the young protagonist, Nick Adams. "This is autobiographical, it's really Hemingway's account of running away from Oak Park, Ill., and hitting the road across America, and winding up in the Italian Army, where he gets severely wounded" during World War I, Hotchner explains. "What happens is there are these people he encounters along the way," each encounter making for a separate story.
  Though the telecast led to a 1962 film version ("Adventures of a Young Man"), the work then sank into oblivion until eight or nine months ago, when a young Copland scholar contacted Hotchner after unearthing the original score and script at the Library of Congress.
  "The script was my script, and they released it readily," says Hotchner. "I was rather surprised by the vitality of it." Since the work held up, Hotchner reasoned, why not revise it as a concert piece? For that matter, why not organize it as a benefit for the new association he and Newman had been organizing for the Hole in the Wall Camps"?
  Newman made those all-important approaches to what Hotchner calls his "ideal cast." (Nick Adams is played by Damon.) To secure music rights, Hotchner contacted Michael Boriskin, a pianist and artistic director of Copland House, the Westchester County home of the late composer. Boriskin, in turn, got the OK from the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, which controls the late composer's output, to revive the long-unheard score.
  And what kind of score is it? Copland "tailored his music to the original script," says Boriskin, who is serving as music adviser to the benefit. "I think Copland managed to pull off the trick of creating music that was both spare and grand."
  For Hotchner, the benefit not only gives new life to an old work, it also provides a satisfying full circle for his friend, Paul Newman, that young actor who played Hemingway's old boxer in "The Battler." "It occurred to me," says Hotchner, "if I do a concert piece out of this ... Newman can repeat that role. Which is what he's going to do." Copyright � 2001, Newsday, Inc.
• And from the NY Times:
  Pitching In for Paul Newman and Other American Icons
  By ROBIN POGREBIN
  ASK Paul Newman how he managed to get Meryl Streep, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, Morgan Freeman, Brian Dennehy, Kevin Kline, Alec Baldwin, Joanne Woodward, Gwyneth Paltrow, Philip Seymour Hoffman and James Naughton to appear with him on one stage at one time, and he offers a typically understated explanation: "I called some people."
  They answered the call, of course, largely because Paul Newman was doing the asking. And they said yes to his request because it is for a cause they care about. Tomorrow night at Avery Fisher Hall, the actors will perform a concert version of "The World of Nick Adams," based on the series of short stories by Ernest Hemingway, with music by Aaron Copland. The proceeds will go to Mr. Newman's charity, the Association of Hole in the Wall Gang Camps, which provides outdoor experiences for children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
  It is the nature of that program, Mr. Newman said, that has made the event worthwhile. Indeed, several of the actors involved have visited Hole in the Wall camps and come away moved by what they have seen. "Unless you've been to one of these camps, you can't really appreciate what he's done," Mr. Dennehy said about Mr. Newman. "This is a legitimate good guy who has spent an enormous amount of his life working in serious charity. I'm just grateful to be part of it."
  The project has an additional appeal: the dramatization of some of the Nick Adams stories by Hemingway's friend and biographer A. E. Hotchner has not been heard or seen since it was originally produced in 1957 by John Houseman for a live broadcast on CBS television.
  Nick Adams, the semi-autobiographical protagonist of more than 30 Hemingway stories, is a 19-year-old American who leaves home seeking adventure. He enlists as a World War I ambulance driver in the Italian Army and is seriously wounded. After he is rehabilitated and returned to action, he relives events and comes to grips with his mortality.
  Mr. Hotchner, who is also a novelist and who helped found the Hole in the Wall Gang Camps in 1988 with Mr. Newman, has organized tomorrow night's benefit with Kevin Duncan, its producer. "My hope is that all of this will jell," Mr. Hotchner said, "and we will again have the power of Hemingway and Copland." The Copland score will be performed by the Orchestra of St. Luke's, conducted by Leonard Slatkin, the music director of the National Symphony Orchestra.
  Michael Boriskin, the artistic director of Copland House, the composer's former home in Cortlandt, N.Y., said he received a call from Mr. Hotchner, who had located the long-missing script of the 1957 performance of "The World of Nick Adams." In 1956, Mr. Hotchner had adapted "The Battler," one of the Nick Adams stories, for "Playwrights '56," a live television program on NBC. In it, Mr. Newman, then a young unknown actor, replaced James Dean, who was to play the title character but had died in an auto accident the year before. When Houseman saw the program, he asked Mr. Hotchner if there was "a Hemingway you could do for us" for the CBS program. Once Hemingway had approved Mr. Hotchner's use of more Adams stories (plus "The Battler"), Houseman asked about music and Mr. Hotchner sought out Copland to write the score.
  Mr. Boriskin, the benefit's music adviser, said the only existing copy of the incidental music turned out to be Copland's handwritten sheets at the Library of Congress in the Copland collection. The music served "to enhance characterization, to help set atmosphere, to bridge sections," Mr. Boriskin said. "It's meant to underline."
  Copland's score, Mr. Boriskin noted, recalls his film work of the 1930's and 40's, which avoided swelling strings and blaring brass, employing instead a lean grandeur and lyricism that distilled the notes "into something human and vulnerable."
  Performing this particular work, Mr. Boriskin said, seemed especially appropriate now: "It's this vintage piece of Americana that these two great icons of American culture had been involved with. The project recaptured a lost world and a lost time in this country."
  The original arrangements remain the same. "The music is as it was, as best we could decipher from the musical manuscript," Mr. Boriskin said.
  Nevertheless, the evening's work, directed by Frank Corsaro, will be new. Mr. Hotchner has revised his script slightly and restored some of the original cuts. "It is not, strictly speaking, a re-creation or revival," Mr. Boriskin said. "It's a premiere of a concert version of the work."
  A number of the actors involved are connected with one another. Mr. Newman and Ms. Woodward are married, after all. Mr. Newman and Mr. Hotchner, who are friends, started a food business, Newman's Own, together. Mr. Newman and Mr. Naughton are neighbors in Connecticut and friends. Mr. Naughton brought in his friend Mr. Dennehy. Mr. Kline and Ms. Streep are longtime collaborators and friends. They appeared in "The Seagull" together this summer in Central Park, along with Mr. Hoffman. Ms. Paltrow and Mr. Damon (who will play Nick Adams) were both in the film "The Talented Mr. Ripley."
  As for Mr. Newman: "We're bringing him back to a project that gave him his start 45 years ago," Mr. Hotchner said.
  After the founding in 1983 of Newman's Own, which donates all of its after-tax profits to various causes, Mr. Newman decided to establish his own charitable operation: the nonprofit Hole in the Wall Gang Camps, which enroll children for free. Camps are located in Connecticut, New York, Florida, Ireland and France. Others are in development for California, North Carolina and Israel. (The name derives from the outlaws in the 1969 "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," one of Mr. Newman's best-known movies.)
  "The doctors who come up and volunteer," said Mr. Newman, "leave saying they'll never be the same. There's a kind of circularity about it. You've designed something for the benefit of children and it turns out the staff gets as much out of it as the kids do."
  He added, "The combination of children with bad luck and older people in the service of other people is the best thing about this country."
  Mr. Naughton, who serves on the board of Hole in the Wall Gang Camps, said the benefit was expected to raise about $1.5 million. He said he hoped to expand the charity's donor base. "Too many children are dealing with stuff they shouldn't have to deal with," he said.
  The performance will not be about perfection; most of the actors are flying in the day of the event and will have only a few hours to rehearse. The plan was always for them to be "on book," that is, holding scripts. The orchestra will have had about two days of preparation.
  "It's not meant to be an extraordinary night at the theater," Mr. Dennehy said. "But we're going to try to make it as polished as possible."
  Coordinating the star-studded schedules was no easy feat. "Talk about complicated," Mr. Dennehy said. "I wouldn't want to be the stage manager on this project.
  "I'm dazzled myself," he added.
  But Mr. Newman was not impressed. He was simply looking forward to the evening. "It's going to be fun," Mr. Newman said. "It's uncharted territory."
• Us Weekly magazine has apparently given the HBO documentary for Project Greenlight 3.5 stars out of four. It starts on 2 December.

• From Felicity:
  • Gina's posted up the press information for Ocean's:
    Matt on his character Linus Caldwell:
    Matt Damon plays Linus Caldwell, the talented newcomer with a legacy to live up to. "Matt Damon's character, Linus, is the new kid on the block," Griffin says. "He's the pledge who usually gets the worst things to do. But he earns his stripes through this heist." "I wanted to play this role because I didn't want the movie to come out and not be a part of it," Damon says. "Linus, whose father was a well-known grifter, has been around the con his entire life. He's got very quick hands and can lift anything from anybody. When Danny looks him up, Linus is small time, working alone picking pockets on the El in Chicago. He wants in on this heist because it will be the biggest score of all time and if they pull it off, people will be dining out on their names forever. They'll be set for life. And everybody wants to see Vegas get taken to a certain degree because everyone's got his own Vegas tale of woe. "What makes the story more interesting," Damon continues, "is that as the movie continues we realize the entire scam was never about the money for Danny. The whole thing is about getting his wife back, getting his life back. So at the end of the day, it's a great romance."
    On Soderbergh as a director:
    "Steven's directions are very simple, very clean and to the point," says Matt Damon. "Some directors will talk to you for half an hour and I find that somewhat confusing. His direction is visceral and quick. Because he has the entire movie in his head, he can give you his direction clearly. That makes it easy for you to lock into the character."
    Katie's George site has posted up seven minutes of clips from the Barbara Walters special at: here.
  • Old info now from Marilyn Beck/Stacy Jenel Smith's column Thursdsay:
    THE CELEBRITY CIRCUIT: What's supposed to be a secret isn't a secret anymore. Matt Damon is reportedly very attached to Odessa Whitmire, the personal assistant of his buddy Ben Affleck -- who used to hold that position with Billy Bob Thornton. You'll read in the Dec. 3 edition of US magazine that Matt and Odessa have been going out of their way to keep the relationship a secret, but that they've actually been together since early this year -- and have been house-hunting in Los Angeles.
• This morning on our National Public Radio that was a blurb about "The Nick Adams Story", coming up Monday! It was focused on the writer. Apparently the script was lost for years and was only recently rediscovered. Matt's name was mentioned first, along with other actors.
  If you are fortunate enough to be in the audience of this play in New York, please do write and share your experience.

• From Felicity:
  • Matt and Odessa are on the cover of Us Weekly (subset photo): see here
    It has to be the same girl as in the amusement park and rehab pictures of recent months. Let's hope she's tough enough to handle the initial press onslaught - her first photo appears on a national magazine cover!
    Sorry, my usual request - can someone access the magazine and its photos??
    **
    The only previous mention we have of Odessa is when she was Billy Bob's assistant in 'Bueno Bye' magazine. Billy Bob just said that he doesn't own a cell phone and that "My assistant, Odessa, has one; I make her do all the dirty work."
  • Ocean's Eleven ads are appearing on web pages of The Hollywood Reporter and other sites.
  • Another note from the Ocean's special from an abcnews press release:
    Matt Damon: "I was in New York when it [the terror attacks] happened . It certainly affects everything, affects my thinking more than my actions probably . Everybody that I knew survived it. They got out. And so you have this tremendous feeling of joy followed by this tremendous feeling of guilt . My inner circle made it, you know. But there's thousands and thousands and thousands of families and friends and inner circles that have just been broken up by this."
  • The official Ocean's 11 site has a pop-up window promoting memorabilia and items from the movie for sale benefiting 'Auction for America'. The direct link is here.
    At this stage it is selling a ticket to the premiere/party, scripts etc
• From a Big Matt Fan:
  BTW: Barbara Walters was on "Good Morning America" today to promote her special. She showed the "marriage" clip. (Though Matt did preface his comments with a disclaimer that marriage wasn't on the immediate horizon, his willingness to jump into the topic kind of makes you speculate about the seriousness of his relationship, especially if reports are true that he is house-hunting with Odessa.) On the show, Barbara also talked about Sept. 11, mentioning that Matt said something like, "I kept thinking, it could have been me."
  Just checked the TV Guide web site. It shows that Matt will be appearing on NBC's "Today Show" on Friday, November 30. Set your VCR's!

• Lots of news from Felicity:
  • ET on Thursday will have clips from the Barbara Walters special (focusing as usual on George, Brad and Julia).
    A photo and preview of the Barbara Walters special from the abc.com site.
    Text:
    George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Don Cheadle and Julia Roberts are six diverse and phenomenally successful talents in Hollywood. All six share humorous and insightful aspects of their careers, their personal lives and parenting, as well as their thoughts and fears about the World Trade Center tragedy.
  • Here's the ET preview of the Barbara Walters preview (so to speak). It includes a comment and video of Matt on the topic of marriage: here.
    In classic Barbara Walters style, the actor's personal lives didn't stay personal for long. On the question of marriage, Julia piped down and Matt Damon spoke up, looking to fellow castmates for inspiration!
    "I'll tell you honestly, it's something I want in my life someday, I'm sure," the boyish Damon told his interviewer.
    "I look around at people in the industry to see if they can pull it off. These three guys [Don, Andy Garcia and Brad] actually do it as well as anybody I've ever seen."
  • Sorry, no 'tasteful' way to put that title:
    Matt Damon Has New Girlfriend
    2001 WORLD ENTERTAINMENT NEWS NETWORK.
    Nov 15, 2001 (WENN via COMTEX) -- MATT DAMON has a new girlfriend - best friend BEN AFFLECK's personal assistant ODESSA WHITMIRE. Those who know the couple say the Southern belle has managed to fill the gap left by Damon's last girlfriend WINONA RYDER.
    A friend of the actor says, "Matt and she have taken great pains to keep it a secret and private.
    "They've been able to grow very close because they knew each other before they were dating."
    ***
    The timing's very strange, coming a day before the Ocean's special and just before the release of the film. I'm just saying...
    Do we remember the Oscars after-party this year where Matt was said to be "nuzzling a dark haired beauty named Odessa"? Her only appearance in IMDB is as 'Timberfest Queen' in a movie called "The White River Kid" or "White River", made in 1999.
  • Another program to watch out for:
    OCEAN'S 11: HBO FIRST LOOK
    TVPG 15 minutes Color
    Description:
    A behind-the-scenes look at this star-studded remake of the 1960 Rat Pack heist flick about a group of crooks who concoct a brazen plan to knock off five casinos in one night. George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon and Casey Affleck star. Directed by Steven Soderbergh (Traffic).

           Date                 Time              Channel
      Mon, Dec 3           10:15 pm               HBO East
      Mon, Dec 3            1:15 am               HBO West
      Thu, Dec 6           11:00 am               HBO East
      Thu, Dec 6            2:00 pm               HBO West
      Thu, Dec 6            6:45 pm               HBO East
      Thu, Dec 6            9:45 pm               HBO West
      Sat, Dec 8            3:45 pm               HBOP East
      Sat, Dec 8            6:45 pm               HBOP West
      Sun, Dec 9           11:15 am               HBO East
      Sun, Dec 9            2:15 pm               HBO West
      Sun, Dec 9            6:00 pm               HBO East
      Sun, Dec 9            9:00 pm               HBO West
    

    Barbara Walters was on Larry King Live talking about the show, and there's a clip at Katie's George site
  • The previews for the HBO Greenlight series (starting December 2) and the Sam Adams radio ads are now up at projectgreenlight.com
  • From an article with Robert Redford in Time:
    He also directed last year's expensive bomb, The Legend of Bagger Vance, starring Matt Damon and Will Smith as a golfer and his mystical caddy. "It was disappointing, but you live with that," says Redford. "I felt the point of the film was missed. Critics just didn't go with the mythological part of it, but I moved on."
  • Another free ("Oceans") screening, this one in Cincinatti:
    here.
  • Don't know about this one... A sighting from the NY Post:
    MATT Damon playfully spanking a waitress at Go while Carlos Leon looked on approvingly.
• Diana wrote:
  Remind your readers about the Barbara Walters special on Friday night. Here's a link to the Entertainment Tonight coverage on the web. (Note: There is a video link on the page. )
  ARTICLE:
  Barbara Walters' Primetime Exclusive!
  November 15, 2001
  'Tis the season for making dreams come true. And the all-star cast of 'Ocean's 11' is sure to make Warner Bros.' dreams of a box-office bonanza a reality!
  'Ocean's 11''s JULIA ROBERTS, GEORGE CLOONEY, MATT DAMON, BRAD PITT, ANDY GARCIA and DON CHEADLE -- the Rat Pack for the new millennium -- came together for an interview with the princess of pry, BARBARA WALTERS. And ET has your first peek at the ABC special, which airs Friday, November 16, 10 P.M. ET/PT!
  A remake of the 1960 Rat Pack classic, 'Ocean's 11' is one of the most highly anticipated movies of the holiday season. And Walters' interview promises to be an action-packed sideshow!
  The celebrity interrogator's first burning question: How did these big stars agree to work together? Julia, the lone "chick" of this clique, spoke up. "We were all where we wanted to be, doing what we wanted to do," she gushed. "That makes anything fun!"
  'America's Sweetheart' admitted she had some hesitations about the flick early on. "When STEVEN [SODERBERGH the director] gave me the script to read, I thought he was playing a trick on me," the currently-red-haired beauty revealed to Barbara.
  "I said, 'I've heard about this story and I know it's all boys ... there's no part in here for me!'" she recalled. "And he said, 'No, but she doesn't come in until page 42, so don't throw it out at page 35!"
  An entrance after page 42?! Isn't that a comedown for the $20-million-per-picture star? Julia saw it differently. "I thought it would be fun ... and it's nice to be a part of a group effort!" she told Walters.
  In classic Barbara Walters style, the actor's personal lives didn't stay personal for long. On the question of marriage, Julia piped down and Matt Damon spoke up, looking to fellow castmates for inspiration!
  "I'll tell you honestly, it's something I want in my life someday, I'm sure," the boyish Damon told his interviewer.
  "I look around at people in the industry to see if they can pull it off. These three guys [Don, Andy Garcia and Brad] actually do it as well as anybody I've ever seen."
  To shed a little light on the lives and minds of 'Ocean's 11''s dynamic cast, tune into the "Barbara Walters Special Friday night." The movie opens on December 7 -- watch ET tonight for more!
• More on the girl friend from another reader, who wrote:
  According to US weekly magazine- that should come out tomorrow, Matt has a girlfriend and it is none other than Ben's current assistant, Billy Bob's old assistant Odessa. According to the article, they have been dating for about a year and were house shopping (which was in last week's magazine.) They have "associates of Matts" who confirmed it, but earlier inquiries after the Oscars had everyone denying it.

• Kelly [MattDamonFanPage.com] wrote:
  I've put together a collection of Matt Damon appearances, videos, pictures, interviews, movie clips and more, on 3 CD-Roms that I'm currently selling on Yahoo Auctions. The CDs will play on your computer using Windows Media Player, and the videos are in divx format. There are over 3 hours of video included on the CDs. A full list of everything available is listed on the auction site. The url is: http://page.auctions.shopping.yahoo.com/auction/57214292 I'm also working on putting together a "Jay & Silent Bob" collection. Depending on the response I get to the first auction I may or may not make any more sets available. If you could spread the word I'd appreciate it. Thanks!
  (Thanks, Kelly - glad to spread the word.)
• The Big Matt Fan wrote:
  ...One film that certainly surpassed commercial expecations was "Saving Private Ryan." FYI: Last Sunday's unedited airing on ABC pulled in some of the highest ratings ever for a theatrical film.
  Anyway, there's quite a bit of Matt movies on TV these days if you have cable. Here's the latest listing:
  Thu 15 8:00 AM The Legend of Bagger Vance HBO
  Thu 15 5:45 PM The Legend of Bagger Vance HBO
  Sun 18 3:00 AM School Ties USA
  Mon 19 4:45 PM Titan A.E. HBO
  Mon 19 9:00 PM The Talented Mr. Ripley TMC
  Sun 25 10:45 PM The Talented Mr. Ripley TMC
• Allison wrote (thanks!):
  Not sure if you've seen this, it's a Star Magazine report, so I don't know how accurate it is, but I found it kind of amusing. Here's the link.

• Rutso wrote:
  Monday's New York Times had a half-page ad for The World of Nick Adams. It's black and white, so not as nice as the poster, but it's a real standout because the Times doesn't usually carry entertainment ads that big on a run-of-the-mill Monday. Where previous announcements led with Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward and Matt -- it's their charity and he has the lead role -- this one lists the cast in alphabetical order like the poster.
  But the cast is different from that in the poster. The ad lacks Robert De Niro, and includes Phillip Semour Hoffman and Kevin Kline.
  Either way it's great to see Matt in the company of wonderful actors. It's a big step up in class and talent from the likes of George Clooney (star, yes, actor, hardly).
• From Felicity:
  • Upcoming TV guests: Barbara Walters on Letterman Tuesday and Rosie Friday (for the Ocean's special?) Julia Roberts on Letterman 20 November George Clooney on Letterman 27 November
  • Offer for Ocean's preview tickets in Detroit: here
  • Miscellaneous links:
    A pic from the EW cover shoot a few years back
    More photos from another agency - the larger size have text all over them, but the small versions don't.
    Paul Pierce softball game
    Matt and Pete Sampras
    Matt and Stefania Rocca promoting Ripley in Rome
    Pretty Horses premiere
    Matt and Will at the BV premiere
    Here's a site devoted to an ex of Matt's - model Bridget Hall:
    

• From Felicity:
  • From the holeinthewallgang website, here's the poster for the Nick Adams event: here (also shown as today's feature photo.)
  • Both NY gossip papers mentioned the Barbara Walters special today. It seems similar to the LA Times one in that all stars seem to be interviewed as a block. From the NY Daily News:
    Walters asks Pitt to explain how marriage has changed him. Says the actor: "I would certainly say that I'm much more grounded, I guess."
    "Geez, what were you like before?" his co-star Matt Damon wants to know.
    "Yeah, man," Pitt responds, laughing. "Flighty."
  • For those in LA, here's the info for the Ocean's premiere:
    Ocean's 11: Wednesday, Dec. 5 - at 6:30 p.m.
    at Grauman's Chinese Theatre
    6925 Hollywood Blvd., in Hollywood
• Our thanks to Diana, who wrote:
  The attached is actually an old picture, but I don't think I've ever seen it before . . .
  Here's the link to the picture on the ap wire . . .
• Val, who had the who fortune of catching the SNL show, wrote:
  I was stunned when Matt showed up in that skit late in the show. He looked marvelous; he has put on some good weight and was in fine form. He seemed a little nervous at first but when he whacked Mango on the butt and everyone laughed; he seemed relieved! It always strikes me how fantastic he looks when he is simply himself! What a gorgeous guy he is ...

• From Felicity:
  Another SNL note from http://www.livejournal.com/users/maddiehayes:
  Mango. It was reported that Matt Damon was seen leaving NBC at 1am Saturday morning, so I knew he'd have a cameo. The Grease song (Summer Nights) was done just right, and the flashback to high school was great as well. But the funniest part of this was the Matt Damon-Mango interaction. The cat-fight noises made the sketch. This could only be enjoyed to its full potential if you saw the Ben Affleck Mango sketch, where Mango was obsessed with Matt Damon so Ben dressed up like him and tried to seduce Mango.
  ***
  From Us Weekly (found online at rollingstone.com)
  Damon Shops For New Digs
  Good Will Hunting star Matt Damon went house-hunting recently with a mysterious brunette. The two checked out four houses in the hip Los Feliz section of Los Angeles, where Damon's buddy Ben Affleck already owns a home. Damon, who had been living out of duffel bags for ages, bought a place in New York last year because he said he was "tired of being a gypsy." His spokeswoman denies he's planting roots on the West Coast and suggested that maybe he was just accompanying a friend.
• Kathryn wrote:
  I was curious about Matt's appearance on SNL, so visited saturday-night-live.com and checked out some of the reviews of the episode. Mainly all made good to fair comments on Matt; one even said he should host it. It's too bad we don't get it over here. When I was in New York I visited NBC and the set of SNL (it was very cold on-set), and I understand the tickets are like gold dust. Too bad - I would've been on the first plane ;). Matt should come over here more often. :)

• From Felicity: Did anybody watch Saturday Night Live hosted by Gwyneth Paltrow?
  Matt was in a skit with Gwyneth and Mango (Chris Kattan), and it would be his first appearance on the show.
  First summary from a Gwyneth fan:
  But the biggest surprise was in one of the last skits; Matt Damon appeared in it!!!! He greeted her and said that they hadn't seen eachother since they broke up. Gwyneth agreed and then she realised it and said 'Hey you're not the one I went out with.....' HILARIOUS
  ***
  For info: Billy Bob Thornton is the host next week.
• Echoed Steph:
  I'm sure you've already heard this but I thought I would write seeing as how it wasn't posted today. Matt was on Saturday Night Live last night when Gwyneth Paltrow was hosting. He was in a Mango skit. I(t) was really funny and I was very excited at the surprise of seeing him. He was on a date with Mango. He even slapped his butt. He then turned to Gwyneth and said, "I haven't seen you since we broke up." Gwyneth agreed but then realized, "You're not the one I went out with". Matt then left hastily. It was really cute. I suggest you watch out for re-runs.
• And word has gotten around:
  My friend told me that Matt Damon was the mystery guest on last night's saturday night live episode with host Gwynetth Paltrow. I'm so dissapointed I missed it, do you have any more info or pictures about this?

  I too missed the show - sigh. There's a good chance that there will be some pictures and such from this appearance. Stay tuned.

• Sent in by Felicity:
  • An article with the top stars of Ocean's 11, and a photo in the LA Times today: here.
    Nice byplay with all of them making fun of the movie and each other.
  • At the Newsday site, if you click on the Ocean's 11 cast photo (same as LA Times) you can see it in a larger size here
  • A competition for Ocean's 11 tickets for an early screening in Atlanta: here
  • The NY Post story is spreading - from the Philadelphia Daily News:
    Shhh, don't say a word
    Boston homeboy Matt Damon fesses up to the New York Post that he rooted for the Yankees during the World Series. Did we mention that he's a loyal Red Sox fan who abhorred the New York team? Ahh, but his celebrity status got him some special face time with some of the players.
    "I think getting to know the Yankees in person may have affected me," Damon told the paper. "A lot of those guys in person are just incredibly nice guys. How can you keep hating them?" He's a lover, not a fighter.
    "But if word gets back to Boston that I said any of this I'm going to get strung up by my thumbs," he said. Get ready to take a jet plane to Ouchland, bub.
  • And it was top story in the Boston Herald:
    Damon cozies up to the Yankees
    by Gayle Fee and Laura Raposa
    Sunday, November 11, 2001
    
    Say it ain't so! Rabid Red Sox fan Matt Damon rooting for the hated New York Yankees?????
    It's true! Damon made the startling admission at the opening party for ``King of the Jungle'' in the Big Apple the other night.
    ``For the first time in my life, during the ninth inning of Game 7 of the World Series I was shocked to find myself rooting for the Yankees,'' Damon told NYC man-about-town Baird Jones. ``As a die-hard Red Sox fan who has hated the Yankees all my life, I thought I would never utter such words. But my flimsy logic is that the Yankees are from the same division as the Red Sox.''
    Yeah, that's pretty thin. How about this one: The Red Sox were a bunch of whiny brats this year and the Yankees (with the exception of Roger Clemens) were a class act!
    ``I think getting to know the Yankees in person may have affected me,'' said Damon, who lives part time in New York. ``A lot of those guys are just incredibly nice guys. How can you keep hating them?''
    Still, Matt is smart enough to know that when he's home in Cambridge he'd better keep his lips zipped about his new-found loyalty!
    ``If word gets back to Boston that I said any of this I'm going to get strung up by my thumbs!''
    File Under: He Loves New York.
  • I had to do it...
    Matt's t-shirt in Silvy's photo: it's for Shawmut Aquatic Club, based in Framington, Massachusetts. It's a parent-organised swimming club coached by professionals, based out of a high school. No idea of the connection, but it's presumably a family member or friend who coaches or was once a part of the squad.
  • Re the agency query - Matt's left CAA and is now with Endeavor due to his agent Patrick Whitesell, who was offered a partnership with the newer company.
  • On the LA Times interview - love that Jerry Weintraub gave Matt a photo booth for his birthday. That's certainly unique.
• From Kathryn:
  Various things from this month's edition of Empire:
  FIRST LOOK: Ocean's 11
  THE PITCH: George, Brad, and Julia are the new Rat Pack
  THE TALENT: Steven Soderbergh (director), the above, plus Andy Garcia, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle ETA: January 2002
  After Traffic nabbed its director the Oscar, Steven Soderbergh decided his next gig would mark a visual change. "Ocean's is a different way of shooting than what I've been doing for the last few years, culminating in Traffic, which was a very down and dirty kind of film. This was exactly the opposite. I thought it should be a very composed and theatrical kind of film." Judging by the funky trailer, the results are certainly going to swing, but being both cinematographer and director on such a complex project wasn't easy. "There were a lot of times," Soderbergh smiles wryly, "when, as cinematographer, I was waiting for the director to figure out exactly what he wanted to do."

  Also from Empire:
  Oscars 2002 - It's Never Too Early...
  The article begins with speculation on current releases as possible contenders - Harry Potter, Moulin Rouge, AI, etc, then "...if the Academy is looking for a certifiable crowd pleaser to fill one of the Best Picture slots, odds are it will come from one of two all-star projects: Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's 11 or Cameron Crowe's Vanilla Sky". It's interesting to note, though, that in their 'tips for the Big Four' column, O11 is dumped in favour of Vanilla Sky for Best Picture. Their other possible contenders are The Shipping News, Ali, Lord of the Rings and The Majestic.

  Here's their trailer review (as mentioned in the first article):
  Ocean's 11
  Yes, it's all a bit Out of Sight - Clooney the lovable rogue, Julia Roberts the Lopez-a-like - but that can only be a plus. Throw in that stellar cast (Matt Damon, Brad Pitt) and a super-sexy mood, and this has smash hit written all over it. Five stars.

  Also in Empire is a review of Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back (reviewer called it "uneven", but "Matt Damon and Ben Affleck stand out, seen here on the 'set' of GWH 2, bitching about their careers"); and an article on the film ("a bickering Matt and Ben turn up in a scurrilous GWH spoof").

  I also found a very insightful and humorous 011 article on Fametracker (a link to it was located in the George Clooney thread). Here's : the URL. Near the end, Matt "acknowledges" his "hunk" status (courtesy of George Clooney and one of those pocket books which capitalise on that status).

• Ryan wrote:
  I stumbled across an article today that seems to indicate two things:
  -- Matt isn't using the same agent anymore, and
  -- his agency isn't responding to fanmail because of the anthrax attacks.
  The article is at http://news.excite.com/news/r/011024/04/people-anthrax.
• A reader wrote (thanks! :-):
  Is it just me or have you noticed that Matt's outfits off the set are comprised of free T-shirts that he gets....look at the pictures...man I should send him a T-shirt. Just an observation. Keep up the good work! Love this column..

• Silvy sent in this happy news:
  Matt is trying to quit smoking! In the pic (right) you can see a nicotine path on his arm and his cap reads 'retired' and a pac of cigarettes. Being an asthma patient myself, i LOVE it! Good luck Matt!!!!
  Silvy :)
  http://TheRedfordPitt.homestead.com/
  http://Cruise2Report.homestead.com/
  http://angiejolie2001.homestead.com/
  
• Felicity wrote:
  • Jeffrey Wells at reel.com on Oscar hopefuls:
    Of all the Oscar maybes, there's agreement on one thing: Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's 11 (Warner Bros., December 7) - the star-studded caper flick with George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Julia Roberts that began to be shown to critics and media people starting last week - will be wildly popular, but has almost no chance of taking anything home except money.
  • Another Ocean's review from Corona's Film Listings:
    November 6, 2001... To say our next scooper loved Ocean's 11 is probably an understatement. They really, really loved it.
    "Greetings. I caught a screening of Ocean's Eleven and I wanted to pass on the word that this is a hell of a fun movie. I have read in previous screenings that people thought this movie was too slow or boring. Not so! If you are expecting Snatch, go watch the DVD. If you want a mature, well-acted, intelligent film that uses a dynamite cast to its potential, definitely give Ocean's Eleven a try.
    "The plot: Danny Ocean is fresh out of a years-long stint in a New Jersey clink for robbery. His first move after getting released? Call together a band of idiosyncatic thieves to help him pull off the mother of all Las Vegas heists: three casinos (owned by one man) in one fell swoop. The story is great, and all of the characters are given the chance to develop. See, that's the key to this movie. Development! Sure, it doesn't have rocket-fast editing or big explosions. What it DOES have are a dozen or so great actors who make their characters unique. Examples? Brad Pitt as Rusty. He spends nearly EVERY scene he's in eating something. I know it's nothing, but it gives his character something special. And Don Cheadle? He sports an almost-passable Cockney accent. All the characters in the movie are great, and the way they interact is wonderful. I remember watching The Score with DeNiro and Norton and hoping it would be like this movie. Twists and turns, possible betrayals, never knowing what is in store or who to trust... The difference is that The Score, as one of my friends put it, was 'one long pre-ejaculate.' This movie, on the other hand, has the long, fun development and THEN sticks around to give you a satisfying heist sequence. THe brilliant plot sets up a reason why EACH AND EVERY character may accidentally jeopardize the heist (such as the little acrobatic Chinese guy breaking his hand). The suspense is delicious! I sat there with a smile on my face waiting to see how the plan would unfurl. Clooney, Damon, Pitt, Garcia, Roberts, Reiner, Cheadle... everyone turns in a great performance. Mind you, some of them aren't long performances, but they are great. Do A-list stars have to be on camera all the time? This film proves not. As long as they play together well. There are some great cameos as well, as in an early scene where Pitt's Rusty is teaching rookie Hollywood actors (such as Joshua Jackson and that kid from That 70's Show) how to play poker - one of them thinks he's won because he's got 'all Reds!'
    "Is this film for everyone? I'd say yeah, sure. Unless you want an instant gratification, big SFX, overblown popcorn movie. This is not such a movie. It is smartly paced, allowed to breathe. It is a mature heist film in the old grand style. If you get into the characters and pacing - and it is very easy to - you will be in for a treat. I wouldn't say I was so blown away that this film should immediately be a shoo-in for Oscars, but I will say it is one of my favorite movies of the year. Top notch performances, a great script, and a satisfying moviegoing experience. What more could one ask?"
    [Review sent in by 'Ocean's Twelfth'.]
  • From a press release:
    Give the Holiday Gift that Gives Back: Conservation Company's Trendy Clothing Provides the Gift of Hope for Endangered Species
    SAUSALITO, Calif., Nov. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Catherine Zeta-Jones has a couple of Wildlife Works' endangered sports tees; Charlize Theron has a dozen; HBO's Sex-and-the-City stars can be spotted around town in theirs. The list of high-profile celebrities and conservationists who have worn the company's apparel goes on and includes such notables as Helen Hunt, Dan Rather, Lucy Lawless, Dr. Jane Goodall, Matt Damon, Alyssa Milano, LeAnn Rimes, and Julia Butterfly Hill.
  • Quotes from Matt in the Brad Pitt Vanity Fair article - the Vegas shoot must have been so much fun...
    But Matt Damon, another of his Ocean's 11 co-stars, recalls watching Hard Copy or some such show seven years ago, and at the end of it, along came a segment called "Pitt Stop." "They said, 'Today Brad Pitt, like, went and bought a gallon of ice-cream. And a pizza,' and I remember thinking, What the f---? Do they do that everyday? Say what this f---ing poor guy did? He had nothing to do with it. Brad got caught in this thing where it was way beyond his control. You see a lot of people desperately trying to get press, and you see him desperately trying not to."
    and later
    For the actors, on the other hand, the shoot was pure fun, at least in part because of the pranks. Says Roberts, "It was like being the only girl in a family with 10 boys. At some point, you just go, O.K., yeah, my door has shaving cream all over it? O.K. My phone has Neosporin is the earpiece? O.K. 'Hello?' Squish - you just surrender." Even in this crowd, Clooney stood out - a prankster's prankster. "George's practical jokes border on the divine," says Matt Damon. "They're beautiful, and he rolls them out over the course of years. He meets somebody and he tries to figure out what their worst fear would be, what would really get them." Pitt was especially worried about Clooney's prowess, as Damon discovered. He and Pitt were staying next door to each other at the Bellagio while on location in Las Vegas. Damon had some friends visiting for the weekend, and Pitt was leaving, so Pitt - nice guy - offered to let them stay in his room. Back on the set Monday, he mentioned, in an offhand way, "Hey, man, can I have my room key back?"
    The fact of the matter was that the keys - plastic cards - all looked the same and had gotten mixed up. Damon didn't know which one was Pitt's, but promised to return it later. Tuesday they had the same conversation. And Wednesday. By Thursday, Damon noticed that Pitt looked a little peaked, dragging on the set, bags under his eyes. And when Pitt once again asked about the key, trying hard to be casual, Damon detected a note of desperation. On Friday, Pitt finally sat Damon down and explained, "I can't get any sleep, man." He was convinced that Damon and Clooney were holding his key because they were going to prank his room. Pitt, who knows every conceivable trick, confessed, "I get home from the set, it takes me two hours, I rip my room apart like f...in' Harry Caul, man" - a reference to the Gene Hackman character in The Conversation. Pitt went on: "I check the closet, check the toilet, that it isn't Saran Wrapped. I pick the phone up to check for Vaseline." Damon ran off to tell Clooney, who said, "Don't give him the key - this is better than any prank. But Damon finally told Pitt the truth: "Brad, I don't know where the f... your key is, just get your room rekeyed." But Pitt still didn't believe him: "No, man, you're bullshittin' me - you guys have something planned." Says Damon, "He was convinced George had a prank running on him, and he was probably right."
  • From the NY Post:
    Thumbs Up
    MATT Damon is finally 'fessing up to rooting for the Yankees. The Boston native is a diehard Red Sox fan who used to "hate" the Bronx Bombers, but found himself bursting with pinstripe pride during the World Series. "I think getting to know the Yankees in person may have affected me," Damon told Webster Hall curator Baird Jones. "A lot of those guys in person are just incredibly nice guys. How can you keep hating them? But if word gets back to Boston that I said any of this I'm going to get strung up by my thumbs."
  • The Ocean's 11 site has been updated again with new pictures and additional features.
  • The ET website is promoting a story on Ocean's 11 on Thursday. It could be just the trailer, but may be more.
  • A Blockbuster survey: Veteran's Day Survey By Blockbuster Names Tom Hanks America's Favorite Movie Soldier
    Updated: Wed, Nov 07 2:32 PM EST
    DALLAS, Nov. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Tom Hanks is America's favorite movie soldier, according to a Veteran's Day survey by Blockbuster. The two-time Oscar winner, who portrayed Capt. John Miller in "Saving Private Ryan," was chosen by 28 percent of respondents, followed by John Wayne, 20 percent, and Sylvester Stallone, 4 percent.
    "As this Veteran's Day holiday approaches, and we recognize America's real-life military heroes, we were curious to find out which on-screen soldiers enjoy the most appeal," says Jim Notarnicola, Blockbuster executive vice president and chief marketing officer. "What we found was a powerful group of actors and films spanning more than 50 years."
    AMERICA'S FAVORITE MOVIE SOLDIERS
    Actor Favorite role(s) as a soldier
    1) Tom Hanks "Saving Private Ryan" (1998)
    "Forrest Gump" (1994)
    2) John Wayne "The Green Berets" (1968)
    "The Longest Day" (1962)
    3) Sylvester Stallone "Rambo: First Blood" (1982)
    4) Mel Gibson "The Patriot" (2000)
    5) Clint Eastwood "Where Eagles Dare" (1969)
    6) Arnold Schwarzenegger "Predator" (1987)
    7) Tom Cruise "Top Gun" (1986)
    8) Kurt Russell "Soldier" (1998)
    9) Matt Damon "Saving Private Ryan" (2001)
    10) George C. Scott "Patton" (1970)
• From the Big Matt FanL
  Reminder:
  The unedited(!) version of "Saving Private Ryan" airs this Sunday, November 11, at 8:00 pm (7:00 Central) on ABC. Good film that becomes even better in the third hour. ;)

• Sent in by both Diana and Felicity (thanks, thanks!):
  article from Roger Friedman's column in foxnews.com:
  Tuesday, November 06, 2001
  By Roger Friedman
  Clooney and Pals Party the Night Away
  Newly minted director George Clooney and some members of his cast from Confessions of a Dangerous Mind hunkered down for some good-natured hard partying last night.
  And why not? They're about to leave town for five months of shooting this Miramax movie in Montreal, where production is cheap and the language is French. The movie they're making is about the biggest goof of all time, Chuck Barris, host of the Gong Show.
  (The script, adapted by Being John Malkovich writer Charlie Kaufman from Barris's nutty memoirs, details the host's work as a spy, among other things.)
  At the Park nightclub in Manhattan, various upstairs rooms and the downstairs bar filled up quickly around midnight. The real occasion was the dual birthday of actress Famke Janssen and Confessions star Sam Rockwell. Sam, who's sporting a full and wild, spiky beard these days � perhaps to get in character � plays Barris in the film.
  Also on hand for late-night dancing and general ebullience were Clooney's Ocean's 11 co-star Matt Damon, plus Marisa Tomei, rocker Moby, former model Rachel Williams � who's Janssen's sister-in-law � actors Griffin Dunne, Fisher Stevens, Casey Affleck, Rory Cochrane and Michael Panes, as well as Rosie Perez and her husband, director Seth Rosenfeld. The latter two were on hand already at the Park, toasting the premiere of their own terrific new indie movie, King of the Jungle, which opens Friday.
  Indeed, the two parties were supposed to be separated by some amount of time, but as things happened, they weren't � and there was some consequent confusion.
  "When I got here, I went upstairs for the birthday party," a bewildered Matt Damon said, "and suddenly photographers were taking my picture and asking me how I liked the movie. I didn't know what they were talking about, so I got right out of there."
  Damon, an Oscar winner who's very personable and unaffected, wound up spending a good hour pinned against the Park bar chatting with diners and Jungle guests he'd never seen before in his life.
  When one local woman told him she'd been evacuated from her downtown apartment for a month beginning Sept. 11, Damon replied: "I moved into my new apartment in New York on September 10th at 1 a.m." He shook his head. "The phone was ringing off the hook the next morning."
  Elsewhere around the Park, Clooney � who's making his directorial debut with Confessions � shared a couple of tight bear hugs with Tomei before she had to leave.
  "I've got an early flight," she exclaimed and exited reluctantly.
• Felicity wrote:
  ... see this cute pic (above) from People (and note the name on the jacket): http://people.aol.com/people/pop_up/0,10772,180009_1_gallery,00.html

• Felicity's finds:
  • From the NY Post (Tuesday) :
    GEORGE Clooney and Matt Damon leaving Suite 16 minutes before Howard Stern showed up with John and Rebecca-Romijn Stamos . . .
  • Matt's been doing radio interviews today (Tuesday) for a new Sam Adams competition (to write and direct TV ads). Further info on projectgreenlight.com next week.
  • From Variety:
    Attendance, exhib declines mark confab
    by Carl Diorio Variety 11/4/01
    ORLANDO -- ShowEast 2001 was marked by attendance and exhibit declines, but the somber showgoers who did attend were bucked up by surprise appearances by A-list thesps George Clooney and Matt Damon. The well-received celeb visits highlighted a Warner Bros. dinner staged prior to distrib's screening of ensemble laffer "Ocean's Eleven" Friday. They followed another pep rally of sorts earlier in the week by Hollywood cheerleader Jack Valenti. But a prevailing sense of sadness over the nation's current preoccupation with war and terrorism seemed to cling to ShowEast proceedings this year. In all, nine films were screened in their entirety at ShowEast, and three -- including "Ocean's Eleven" -- were presented digitally. The digital screenings were meant to hype various new technology systems, but the sneaks of holiday pics are an established tradition of the trade show.
    Clooney and Damon joined "Ocean's Eleven" producer Jerry Weintraub onstage during the Warners dinner to help celebrate the presentation to the showbiz vet of the ShowEast 2001 Kodak Award for career achievement. "What can you say about Jerry Weintraub that hasn't already been said in a court of law?" Clooney deadpanned. Damon played more to the marketing task at hand and told the exhibs of "Ocean's Eleven," "It's gonna make you guys a ton of money."
    ***
    Rainmaker flashback anyone?
  • More on ShowEast from the Hollywood Reporter:
    ShowEast ends on high note
    Nov. 05, 2001
    ORLANDO -- At Friday night's presentation of the ShowEast 2001 Kodak Award for career filmmaking to veteran producer Jerry Weintraub -- the social highlight of the convention of more than 1,000 exhibitors and distributors held this year in Orlando -- spirits were high as Weintraub's "Ocean's Eleven" stars George Clooney and Matt Damon entertained the crowd with their imitations of the producer's Bronx accent. But underneath the frivolity, the convention, which had to contend not only with the shadows cast by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks but also anxieties about the future of exhibition, also was quite serious. First, the fun: As Weintraub accepted his honor, Clooney clowned around behind his back, interjecting wisecracks about Weintraub's age. Weintraub then recounted a purported contract that he had coaxed Clooney into signing. "Twenty years from now, when I'm 84, he's going to wheel me out onto the set, and I'll say, 'OK, let's get started,' " Weintraub said. "I agreed to 20 years because I figured I was safe that way," Clooney parried.
  • There's nothing of (Matt) interest in the George/Julia Esquire issue. Brad Pitt's on the next Vanity Fair cover.
  • Kerry wrote:
    HI Ebay has tribute mag for sale, With a full page pic of Matt (see right), and loads of pics of the others, At this address
  11/4/01
  We all owe Felicity a big thanks:
  Here's the full article from the Wall Street Journal about Ocean's 11 - taken from Gina's George Clooney site at: http://itallea317.tripod.com/id241.htm
  Chance to Work on 'Ocean's 11' Had Actors Cutting Their Fees by Tom King Wall Street Journal 11/2/01
  What do you get when you combine Julia, George, Matt, Andy and Brad with Hollywood's hottest director?
  A logistical nightmare, a toilet seat covered in Saran Wrap, and a remake of an old film that wasn't very good the first time around.
  While everybody else is focusing on Warner Bros.' coming "Harry Potter" movie, Hollywood's most closely watched experiment may be the studio's other big picture, "Ocean's 11." With moviemaking costs at record levels, and niche films misfiring, the studio has put together what may be the most star-studded cast since "The Towering Inferno." The secret: In an extraordinary feat, they got five of the industry's top stars to appear for a total of less than $30 million -- a real bargain by Hollywood standards, considering that some of the actors get half that much or more each for a movie.
  They also tried a clever, but unproven strategy aimed at attracting a diverse audience. The cast boasts four leading men -- George Clooney, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia and Brad Pitt -- plus Julia Roberts, the biggest female star in the world. In addition, Warner is hoping to lure African-Americans with Don Cheadle and Bernie Mac. Scott Caan (James's son) and Casey Affleck (Ben's younger brother) may draw teenagers, while Elliot Gould, 63, and Carl Reiner, 79, could reel in folks old enough to remember the original movie. The cast "reaches an audience from 18 to 80," says Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Warner's president of production.
  Caste System
  But the risk is that in trying to appeal to everyone, the moviemakers may please no one. Not to mention that even Jerry Weintraub, the movie's producer, concedes the original, an action-comedy starring the Rat Pack, wasn't great. Plus, there were the hassles of juggling all the stars' schedules. Mr. Pitt, for example, refused to shoot on Thursdays at 8 p.m., so he could watch his wife, Jennifer Aniston, on "Friends," according to the producer. Others had to commute to Los Angeles to shoot TV pilots, and Ms. Roberts, busy on another film, missed the first few weeks of shooting.
  Further complicating the mix was an unusual caste system that divided the actors into three separate categories. While the idea had the benefit of making sure all the "A" players got the same pay scale, it also labeled other actors as "B" and "C" players. (Mr. Weintraub won't say which actors were in which of those categories.)
  How they pulled all of this off is a story of what can be accomplished when the stars -- not the studio -- find a project they really want to make and a director they really want to work with. It began when Warner sent the script to Mr. Clooney, hoping he would play Danny Ocean, a likable felon who recruits 10 other crooks to help him rob three Vegas casinos on New Year's Eve. The shocker came when Steven Soderbergh, a director known for dramas such as "Erin Brockovich" and "Traffic," raised his hand to direct.
  In the single most instrumental move in the process, Mr. Clooney said he would cut his fee -- and court other stars to do the same. He and Mr. Soderbergh, who had become tight with Ms. Roberts during the filming of "Erin Brockovich," sent the actress a copy of the script, along with a $20 bill and a note that read: "We hear you make twenty a film now." Ms. Roberts, whose per-picture price tag is $20 million, agreed to sign up, at a much lower rate.
  Perks and Pranks
  Once she was in, the buzz heated up, and others agreed to cut fees, too. Casting was finalized just as "Traffic" opened late last year, and every actor and his mother wanted to work with Mr. Soderbergh. (He received two Oscar nominations for best director in the same year; he won for "Traffic.") Because of the stars' concessions, "Ocean's 11," which opens Dec. 7, ended up costing just under $90 million -- less than the $125 million "Harry Potter," which has no marquee names in it.
  Why would top actors agree to work for less? In addition to the chance to work with Mr. Soderbergh, the idea of an ensemble cast was appealing, some people close to the movie say. No actors felt pressure to "carry" the picture or would have the finger pointed at them if it didn't fly.
  Of course, top players still got plenty of perks. Each actor in the "A" group stayed in a three-bedroom villa, with its own private pool, at the Bellagio Hotel. "It was more expensive than housing should have been," Mr. Weintraub says. But he says the villas created a "dormitory-like atmosphere," resulting in camaraderie he claims shows up on screen. So what kind of mature bonding went on? Mr. Clooney played such pranks as having a pail of water dropped over a target's head as a door was opened. Other stars retaliated by putting Saran Wrap over his toilet seat. Mr. Pitt joked that it took him two hours every day when he returned to his villa to get through all the booby traps Messrs. Clooney and Damon had set for him.
  Mr. Weintraub, who produced '70s hits such as "Oh, God!" and "Nashville," also served as the company baby sitter, a necessity with such a big roster of stars and their accompanying egos. "I'd get them from their trailers and hand them over to Steven," he recalls fondly. "He'd shoot them and then I'd take them back."
  • The Project Greenlight film, "Stolen Summer", has been accepted into Sundance next year (will not be in competition as it already has distribution).
  • This is just unnecessary - from the NY Daily News:
    Rumor control: Matt Damon has not joined his pal Affleck on the wagon. Damon's rep says that, contrary to published reports, the actor has not quit drinking "because he doesn't have a drinking problem." ...
    **
    Why are they following up on a tabloid story, except to try and nip the rumor quickly (and of course the possible assumption that it might have had a more serious implication)??
  11/3/01
  Lots of great finds, compliments of Felicity:
  • Here's a scan (seen above) of a promotion for the upcoming Ocean's 11 special with Barbara Walters. It's in People mag, and taken from a post by Laayla at a Brad Pitt fan forum: http://bpjacenter.homestead.com/files/ppl0022.jpg
  • Here's the text of an interview with Ben and Matt about Project Greenlight and other things from extratv.com. There's also video footage at the site with Matt and others being interviewed - go through the news archives or try here.
  • Monday October 23, 2001
    Ben is back and talking to "Extra" about his first big project since his highly publicized summer stint in rehab for alcohol abuse. He says, "If I wanted to be controlling about my image or worried about how I came across, this would not be the right thing to do."
    With up and coming writer/director Pete Jones at his side, Ben wanted only to talk about "Project Greenlight," a 13 episode documentary series debuting on HBO in December, chronicling the making of an upcoming independent film called "Stolen Summer." As executive producers of "Stolen Summer," Ben and his longtime friend and writing partner Matt Damon are featured in the revealing behind-the-scenes documentary.
    Ben tells "Extra," "We put ourselves out there, we look like idiots sometimes on the show. We lose our tempers, we look foolish, we get into arguments, Matt and I pick the wrong ideas to support."
    Ironically, as Ben and Matt will star in a reality show about filmmaking, their eagerly awaited reality project "The Runner" has been taken off the schedule at ABC. Matt and producing partner Chris Moore say ABC was concerned that now is not an appropriate time for a staged manhunt. Matt says, "'The Runner' had nothing to do with the show. It just had to do with external circumstances, and in light of those it's the last thing we're going to complain about."
    As for Ben, he has kept a low profile since entering alcohol rehab last July. He did make it to Damon's 31st birthday party held at a New York nightspot a few weeks ago, but Ben hasn't gone public with any relationships since he broke up with Jerry Seinfeld's ex Shoshanna Lonstein earlier this year. It appears that for now, work is the love of his life and getting to teach rookie writer/directors like Pete Jones about the ups and downs of show business. It appears his prot�g� Pete is learning fast.
    Pete says, "I got a paycheck for directing a movie where I didn't think that was going to be possible. I even get to hang out with superstars like Ben and Matt."
  • A press release announcing the Bourne Identity date:
    Universal Pictures to Release 'The Bourne Identity,' A Suspense Thriller Based on Robert Ludlum's Best-Selling Novel, Starring Matt Damon, on May 31, 2002
    UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., Nov. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Universal Pictures has set a May 31 release date for director Doug Liman's big-screen adaptation of acclaimed novelist Robert Ludlum's best-selling spy thriller, "The Bourne Identity," starring Matt Damon and Franke Potente, it was announced by Nikki Rocco, president, Universal Pictures Distribution.
    In announcing the release date, Ms. Rocco said, "We think 'The Bourne Identity' will be the perfect film for summer movie audiences -- an exciting, fast-paced adventure-thriller based on a classic work of fiction with a real movie-star hero, lots of dramatic European locations and big production values."
    Ludlum's 1980 novel "The Bourne Identity" is the first in the famed writer's trio of international thrillers featuring master spy Jason Bourne. In this story, an amnesiac (Damon) is rescued, near death, from the ocean by the crew of an Italian fishing boat, and finds himself being pursued by hired killers. He is completely without identity or background ... but does possess a range of extraordinary talents in fighting, linguistics and self-defense that speak of a dangerous past. He sets out on a desperate search -- assisted by the initially rebellious Marie (Potente) -- to discover who he really is, and why just about everyone he encounters wants him dead.
    "The Bourne Identity" also stars Chris Cooper ("American Beauty"), Clive Owen ("Croupier"), Brian Cox ("The Boxer") and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agabaje ("The Mummy Returns"), and is directed by Doug Liman ("Swingers," "Go") and produced by Liman, Patrick Crowley and Richard N. Gladstein. The executive producer is Frank Marshall. The film's writers are William Blake Herron, Tony Gilroy and David Self.
  • From People online:
    How George Took a Backseat in Vegas
    STEPHEN M. SILVERMAN
    The collective salary for the all-star "Oceans 11," starring George Clooney, is impressive: $30 million. Bear in mind, notes the Wall Street Journal, which looks into the making of the movie remake of the '60s Frank Sinatra "Rat Pack" favorite, that most members of this new "11" earn nearly as much as that all by themselves: Clooney, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts. But they all took cuts to be part of this party, thanks to Clooney's wooing . . . and producer Jerry Weintraub's bowing to some of the demands that the actors made. For instance, Roberts missed the first few weeks of filming, because she was working on another movie. And Pitt would not shoot any scenes on Thursday nights, so he could watch his wife, Jennifer Aniston, on "Friends." But no one could stop the pranks on the Las Vegas set, said the producer. Clooney loved to boobytrap doors with pails of water. Pitt said that it took him two hours every day to undo the set-ups in his hotel room that had been left for him by Clooney and Damon. But the guys got back at Clooney. They wrapped his toilet seat with Saran Wrap. "Ocean's 11" opens Dec. 7.
  • (mostly) new pictures not seen previously from the Corbis agency:
    • Baseball all star game
    • Berlin Film Festival 2000
    • Berlin Film Festival press conference (an oldie but I like it): here.
    • Vanity Fair party this year: here.
  11/2/01
  
  • Thanks, Silke, for the pictures shown above. She wrote:
    Here are some pictures I found in the German magazine "Gala". Hope you enjoy them.
  • Vicki (thanks!) wrote:
    I ... decided to contribute (to this site) with a little article I found in British Empire film mag (Oct. 2001). I'm not sure if you already have this info but I'll give it to you just in case!!!
    "D-Mon and F-Leck (Stars to misspell their names for boy band flick)
    What with it being, oh, a good five minutes since Matt Damon and Ben Affleck last shared the screen, the Terrific Toothsome are gearing up for another collaboration. This time Matt 'n' Ben (TM) will dive headfirst into an as-yet-untitled project mocking boy bands. Affleck has already dyed his hair blonde for the movie which could lens next year - by which time, of course, Matt 'n' Ben (TM) will be too old to convince as gyratin', thrustin' boys. But maybe thats the joke. "I dyed my hair for photo tests," says Affleck. "I kept it because when will I ever get the chance to be blonde again?" He's also thrown himself into researcg for the part, checking into a rehab clinic just weeks after the much publicised olight of Backstreet Boys' AJ. Now thats dedication.............................
  • News sent in by Felicity:
    • A show to watch out for, from NY Daily News. There will also be an E! True Hollywood Story on the original Rat Pack.
      Book 'em, Jules
      It helps to have boyfriends in high places.
      Jules Asner knows how this works. Asner, a co-host of "E! News Daily," has been chosen by the cable network as anchor of a prime-time biography show, "Revealed With Jules Asner."
      Getting the cooperation of boldface names can be a nightmare, given the muscle of competing shows like "Access Hollywood" and "ET." But because Asner's boyfriend is Academy Award-winning director Steven Soderbergh, she is getting some help in the booking department.
      To wit: The lineup of her first show includes Julia Roberts, George Clooney and Matt Damon - who, not so coincidentally, star in Soderbergh's next film, "Ocean's Eleven."
    • Upcomingmovies.com now reports that Bourne Identity will be released next summer (that's got to be better than March??)
    • From the Mr Joaquin site, here's the pic of Joaquin, Casey and Sam Rockwell at Matt's party: here
    • The benefit still looks to be going ahead, and it's now got a major sponsor:
      FEATURE/Thomasville Furniture Shares Center Stage With Meryl Streep, Paul Newman, Robert De Niro, Julia Roberts and More in New York Benefit Gala
      Updated: Wed, Oct 31 6:36 AM EST
      THOMASVILLE, N.C. (BUSINESS WIRE FEATURES) - Oct. 31, 2001--Thomasville Furniture Industries Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Furniture Brands International, headquartered in St. Louis, has signed on as lead sponsor for an extraordinary one-night-only, star-studded production of The World of Nick Adams.
      The performance will take place November 19th, 2001 on the stage of Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall in New York City.
      Based on the immortal short stories by Ernest Hemingway with incidental music by Aaron Copland, the benefit performance features an all-star cast including Paul Newman, Meryl Streep, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, Morgan Freeman, Brian Dennehy, Alec Baldwin, Robert De Niro, Joanne Woodward, Gwyneth Paltrow, and James Naughton. National Symphony Orchestra Music Director Leonard Slatkin will conduct the Orchestra of St. Luke's.
      More than 2500 theatergoers are expected to attend the performance.
      The evening benefits the Association of Hole in the Wall Gang Camps, retreats for many thousands of children stricken with cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Founded by Paul Newman in 1988, the Association operates camps in five states, including the Victory Junction Gang Camp in Randleman, NC, and three in Europe. All children in all the camps are enrolled free of charge.
      In addition to its role as primary sponsor, Thomasville is also providing furniture personally selected by the show's director, set director and Paul Newman to be used on-stage as part of the production's stage set. In particular, the set will feature pieces taken from the Ernest Hemingway Collection(R) by Thomasville. Those pieces used on-stage will be autographed by the show's cast after the production and auctioned off to further benefit the camps.
      Chris Pfaff, President and CEO of Thomasville Furniture Industries, Inc., said that Thomasville's involvement with the production is especially fitting as the company launches the latest chapter in the Ernest Hemingway Collection, named Windemere.
      "Thomasville is proud to sponsor this event, and we're delighted to be part of this outstanding collaboration of efforts to benefit the Hole in the Wall Gang Camps," Pfaff said. "The sponsorship is also especially timely as we introduce customers to Windemere, a collection inspired by Ernest Hemingway's youth spent at Windemere cottage on the waters of Walloon Lake. It was during these years that the great writer discovered his inspiration for such memorable characters as Nick Adams."
      The World of Nick Adams has not been heard or seen since it was originally produced by the legendary John Houseman for a live broadcast on CBS television. A.E. Hotchner, who created the dramatization of the piece, has reworked his original dramatization into a concert presentation. Copland House is Creative Consultant, with House Artistic Director Michael Boriskin serving as the event's Music Advisor, the evening is produced by Kevin Duncan.
      Tickets can be purchased by calling 212.573-6933.
    • And a quote from Ethan Hawke in USA Today:
      ''I don't know if you do ever handle the success of a Julia Roberts or Matt Damon, where nobody's heard of you and then, overnight, everyone has. I've been blessed, to plug slowly and never been too hot.''
  10/27/01
  News from Felicity:
  • Another negative review of Bourne Identity is at Corona's Film Listings:
    October 26, 2001... It seems a test screening of The Bourne Identity was conducted in a San Diego theater last night -- and the movie did nothing to cheer on our reviewer.
    "Last night in San Diego, they held a sneak preview of what they called a 'work in progress' for Matt Damon's The Bourne Identity.
    "Let me tell you this. I was very disapointed with the rough cut. It unfortunately succumbed to the demise of many movie problems, too many plot holes and unanswered questions.
    "Matt Damon did a reasonable job in the role of Jason Bourne. Their were times when he began to regain his memory that became sheer genious. The script needed some serious work for his role though. Their were a lot of moments that could have been very powerful if the right script had been written.
    "The car chase scenes in Paris are excellent, as is the sniper game in the woods but the lack of use for 2 of the best supporting actors in the biz, Brian Cox and Chris Cooper is unexcusable.
    "On top of that, the ending left everyone very upset and did nothing for the movie.
    "My last comment is the casting of Julia Stiles as Nikki? What the hell were they thinking. She had no place or point in the movie what-so-ever! It was as if they threw her in there for a cameo or something. Terrible.
    "They had a temporary score but I recognized a lot of music from American Beauty and other films."
    [Our early review was sent in by 'The Riddler'.]
    Prospects for that movie aren't looking good... Expect more reviews in the next few days.

  • More info on the Nick Adams project, from the Hole in the Wall Gang's website:
    THE HOLE IN THE WALL GANG CAMP TO BE ONE OF THE BENEFICIARIES OF THE WORLD OF NICK ADAMS PERFORMANCE
    On Monday, November 19th at 7:30 pm, an extraordinary galaxy of luminaries from the worlds of film, music, literature, theater, and opera gather on the stage of Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall for the first and only performance of the concert version of The World of Nick Adams , based on the immortal short stories by Ernest Hemingway with incidental music by Aaron Copland, dramatized by A. E. Hotchner. The all-star cast will include Paul Newman, Meryl Streep, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, Morgan Freeman, Brian Dennehy, Alec Baldwin, Robert De Niro, Joanne Woodward, Gwyneth Paltrow, and James Naughton, among others, and will be directed by Frank Corsaro. National Symphony Orchestra Music Director Leonard Slatkin will conduct the Orchestra of St. Luke's. Copland House is Creative Consultant, with House Artistic Director Michael Boriskin serving as the event's Music Advisor, the evening is produced by Kevin Duncan. The work has not been heard or seen since it was originally produced by the legendary John Houseman for a live broadcast on CBS television. Hotchner has reworked his original dramatization into a concert presentation.
    Nick Adams, the popular protagonist of over 30 Hemingway stories, is the semi-autobiographical 19-year-old who leaves home seeking adventure. He enlists as a World War I ambulance driver in the Italian army, where he is traumatically wounded. After being rehabilitated and returned to action, he relives events that have led him to his moment of truth, and, having faced them, comes to grips with his mortality and destiny.
    Composer Aaron Copland was approached by the young Hotchner about writing the music for the production. "I had admired Hemingway since the twenties," Copland later recalled, "and I found the idea of composing for the new and exciting medium of television intriguing." The score for chamber orchestra harkens back to Copland's award-winning film and incidental music of the 1930s and 1940s in its spare lyricism and grandeur.
    The evening benefits the Association of Hole in the Wall Gang Camps, retreats for many thousands of children stricken with cancer and other life-threatening diseases. First founded by Paul Newman in 1988 these non-profit residential camps are located in Connecticut (The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp), New York (The Double "H"- Hole in the Woods Ranch), Florida ( The Boggy Creek Gang Camp), Ireland (The Barretstown Gang Camp) and France (L'Envol), with new camps in formation in California (The Painted Turtle Camp), North Carolina (The Victory Junction Gang Camp), and Israel ( The Jordan River Village) attended by children from the various countries of the region. All children in all the camps are enrolled free of charge. At the camps they find camaraderie, joy, and a renewed sense of being a child. Newman recently said "it isn't that the children say 'thank you for a great time'.It is that they say 'Thank you for changing my life.'"
    Tickets can be purchased by calling 212.573.6933.

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  This is a no-frills web site dedicated to a weekly (or so) column on Matt Damon , the actor.
  The columns are written by a fan of the actor and are stricly for the reading pleasure of others who admire Matt. Each column will address a specific topic, along with tidbits and news on Matt.
  Readers' emails are welcome. Write to me at [email protected].
  Guest columns are invited. If you have a column that you want to be considered to be published here, write me.
  

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  Click on a link

  Still photos from Good Will Hunting.
  USA Weekly November 2000 article, "Ace of Clubs" y by Craigh Barboza.
  Local boys making 'Good' a Boston Herald article from the GWH days
  The Advocate (12/99) interview by Brendan Lemon.
  Some of my personal favorite pictures of Matt
  The Talented Mr.Ripley page
  The All the Pretty Horses page
  The Bagger Vance page
  Matt at Fenway Park for the 1999 Major League Baseball All Stars
  The Details magazine article, as appeared in the London Telegraph.
  Janel Maslin's NY Times Review of GWH , in which she called Matt "very much the supernova".
  An article about pre-GWH videos of Matt Damon/
  Archive of Past Matt Columns

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  I hope you enjoy this site. Sorry if you looked for Matt photos in vain. If you like photos, see Elise's site, which has an excellent photo gallery.
  Some good sources of Matt Info
  The greenlight project link: The site created by Matt and Ben for online screenplay submission.

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