Hi! If you have Matt news, write to me at [email protected].)

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

Updated 2/27/99

"Rounders" video is here.

A new "Ripley" photo

Matt Damon is an actor who's flatly impossible not to root for." - Kenneth Turan, . Los Angeles Times Film Critic .

(Here's how Mr. Showbiz put it: "Cruz will play the upper-crust Mexican beauty whose family attempts to discourage her romantic involvement with Damon's hunky farmboy drifer.")
(Thanks to Felicity and Lisa for these items. Word is that Cruz is a real beauty - can you stand it?)

Planet Ice delayed
From the LA Times:
(excerpt) Fox, which had originally planned "Planet Ice" as a late 1999 release, delayed the film ... because of story problems. After launching its new feature animation division with "Anastasia," a rather traditional Disney-like animated musical, the studio was looking toward breaking new ground with an animated science-fiction tale as its follow-up, says Meladandri.
"But we had more problems with the story than we anticipated," he said. Fortunately, he added, many of those issues were ironed out during the development phase rather than during production.
Still, "we were in development for a lot longer than we expected," says Meladandri, which has pushed back the release to 2000...
(As Felicity put it: This means a little less Matt overload later this year. Sigh.)

2/25/99 Things have been quiet, but today there is a paragraph on Billy Bob Thornton in Army Archerd's column in The Daily Variety. Of interest are these mentionings:

• Thorton was asked to also play a role in "Horses" but he declined, choosing instead to concentrate on the directing of "the biggest pic he's directed, involving a lot of action."
• Thorton is "in San Antonio readying to direct ("Pretty Horses")".
• "Pretty Horses" is described as a "1949-set film ... starring Matt Damon, Henry Thomas, Lucas Black and Penelope Cruz ..." So, the female lead is Cruz after all.
• "(Thorton) promises he will wing to L.A. March 21 for you-know-what." Will he take Matt along?

2/23/99 Lisa wrote to alert me of a poster of DOGMA now appearing on the the Dark Horizon site - click on "news". Thanks, Lisa!
(Matt is on it, but only barely; Ben is more prominent on the poster. You will see pictures from Ben's upcoming film "Force of Nature" there as well.)

New York Post Page Six column:
Sightings ... MATT Damon and Ben Affleck wearing baseball caps and trying to go unnoticed as they took a break at Life from filming with their "Boiler Room" castmates Scott Caan and Megan Dillon.
(Note: "Boiler Room" is a movie with an ensemble cast which includes Ben Affleck.)

Yet another report from the San Antonio Express:

Pari may ride into a role in Damon film
Matt Damon. Henry Thomas. Ursula Pari.
Ursula Pari?
If it seems as though the anchorwoman doesn't belong with those other two names, you may change your mind after this:
Pari is so good on a horse that she just could end up in romantic scenes with Damon in the Billy Bob Thornton Western being filmed here next month.
The KSAT anchorwoman, who owns two horses of her own and has been riding ever since she was a youngster, auditioned for "All the Pretty Horses" on Friday. She said the casting folks wanted to see how well she rode, and even more important in this visual biz, how she looked atop a horse.
And she came away with a good feeling, saying she felt comfortable at the audition and everything went smoothly. However, she didn't receive a yea or nay.
The casting folks are considering Pari, along with a couple of other accomplished horsewomen, for the role of riding stand-in for whichever actress is cast as Damon's Mexican love interest in the film.
In the movie, Damon will portray a young Texas rancher who takes an adventurous journey across the Mexican border with friends and falls for a young Hispanic woman from an upper-class family. "From what I recall from the book," Pari said of the Cormac McCarthy novel that is the basis for the movie, "they fall in love on horseback."
Though Pari modestly states she doesn't think she'll land the screen gig, I, personally, don't see how she can miss. She's won trophies for her riding and has been invited to participate in polo matches by none other than Tommy Lee Jones.
And heaven knows, she's got the looking-good- on-camera part down.
I'll keep you posted on Pari's aspiring film career.

Tania wrote:
I have some Matt Damon desktop wallpaper on my homepage... look for it on her personal homepage

From 2/19 Daily Variety (and it's the lead story) :

Affleck, Damon's 'Wheel' set to roll
Lacopo taking lead under Brady's helm
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon will spin the comedy-romance "The Third Wheel" for Pearl Street Prods. and HSI Tomorrow Film. "Wheel" is set to be the first pic to go into production for Affleck and Damon's Miramax-based Pearl Street. The two thesps will exec produce the indie pic, and take supporting actor roles opposite lead Jay Lacopo, who wrote the script. Jordan Brady will direct.
"Wheel" also reteams Affleck and Damon with their "Good Will Hunting" co-producer, Chris Moore, who will produce the pic.
HSI Tomorrow Film is an alliance between production outfit HSI Entertainment and foreign sales company Tomorrow Film. HSI's Stavros Merjos, Adam Rosenfelt and Chad Snopek will produce "Wheel" alongside Moore. Tomorrow=92s Yoram Pelman will exec produce with Affleck and Damon.
Affleck has been loosely attached to "Wheel" for some time. Pic is about two friends, Stanley and Michael (Affleck), who plan an exciting evening for Stanley's date with Diana, the girl of his dreams. But due to a series of mishaps the couple end up spending the evening with a con artist (Lacopo).
The roles of Stanley and Diana are not yet cast. While Affleck's role is substantial, Damon will play the cameo role of Diana's ex-boyfriend. Shooting is tentatively skedded to begin this June in Los Angeles.
Tomorrow's Pelman is arranging financing for the under $10 million pic, which does not yet have a domestic distributor. Moore will rep domestic on behalf of Pearl Street...

2/19/99 From the San Antonio Express News All the pretty . . .
Heartthrob Matt Damon, who'll be here to shoot Cormac McCarthy's "All the Pretty Horses" in March, should drop by the rodeo for cowboy tips.
However, he was spotted in the hip urban Houston Street Alehouse the other night, and he wasn't drinking Lone Star.
"Horses" director Billy Bob Thornton and crew have already transformed Chris Hill's Gallagher Ranch for their set. Now Hill says he hears Damon and Thomas have a nude scene crossing the river there. Head for the Hill Country!

And another item:
For some, casting call is a family affair
By Jennifer Walsh, Express-News Staff Writer (Saturday, Feb 13,1999)

Some came to enhance their careers, some came because they had nothing else to do and some just wanted a chance to catch a glimpse of film star Matt Damon.
More than 1,000 people showed to an extras casting call at the Embassy Suites Hotel on U.S. 281 for the movie, "All the Pretty Horses," starring Damon and San Antonio native Henry Thomas.
For the Coronado family, the casting call for the western-set movie was a quick stop from their St. Hedwig home before they headed to the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo at Freeman Coliseum.
"We live out in the country, so we figured, oh, what the heck, why not?" said Anna Coronado, a teacher who brought her three daughters and her father.
It was the family's first time at a casting call, and each member had a different reason for being there.
Teen heartthrob Damon was 16- year-old Natasha's inspiration, while Annalisa, 14, wanted to show off her bareback riding skills possibly needed in the movie.
"It would be cool if we made it because then we could tell our friends, 'We were in that movie,' " Natasha said.
But the call was more of a career move for Josie, 17, who wants to go into designing clothing for films.
For Ramon I. Ramirez, Anna's father, the casting call was the lesser of two evils.
"Instead of waiting in the van, I thought I would come in here," he said.
After waiting in a line that twisted through the corridors to about 30 feet outside of the hotel, the movie extra hopefuls filled out application forms that asked about everything from physical measurements to whether they can drive a wagon or if they own a dog.
The number of people who show up to a call depends on the movie, who is starring and how much publicity the call receives said Dara Gray, the extras casting director for "All the Pretty Horses."
"When there's big stars and people interested, there's always a big turnout," she said, adding that of the people who came, about 500 to will be used.
For some, the casting calls are a matter of routine.
Robert A. Godines, who has been an extra as a football player in "Varsity Blues," borrowed his father's cowboy hat for the tryout "I never wear a cowboy hat, but my agent told me to come dressed western," he said. "I enjoy doing it. I try not to get too nervous and it's fun when you actually get picked."
Margaret Aguilera, 71, originally went to the casting call to escort her 17-year-old granddaughter. She ended up applying after one of the casting directors asked her to fill out a form.
"They were looking for older Hispanic-looking woman," Margaret said. Shooting for the movie begins in the San Antonio area March 11 and continues through April 16. The extras will be paid $60 for 10 hours of work and will be notified on an "as needed basis."

2/18/99 From the Page Six Column in today's New York Post:
MATT: not going All those women hoping to make time with Matt Damon tonight without interference from Winona Ryder are out of luck. The Tinseltown heartthrob was slated to show solo - Ryder's filming in Pennsylvania - at the "Time For Peace Awards" at the Hammerstein Ballroom to pick up an award for absentee pal Robin Williams. But now Damon can't make it either. He's been called to Texas to work on "All the Pretty Horses" and had to cancel.
(Thanks to Felicity for spotting this item. "Pretty Horses" is not supposed to start filming until next month. My speculation is that Matt was called to Texas for rehearsal or perhaps for tryouts with the female lead candidates. And it sure sounds like he and Robin are keeping in touch.
According to the New York Daily, the award mentioned above is given out by the United Nations - Steven Spielberg and Roberto Benigi are among the other ricipients. )

2/17/99 From the Inside Track Column in the Boston Herald:
Going to the Matt for WW II
Matt Damon of "Saving Private ryan" fame is hopping on Hollywood's World War II bandwagon with a new flick that could be called "Saving Major Gause."
The British press is reporting that Matty and his Cambridge homey, Ben Affleck, are going to be the executive producers of "War Journal", a period flick based on the newly discovered memoirs of Maj. Damon "Rocky" Gause.
In the journal, the Major tells of his escape from the Japanese in the Phillippines and his 53-day sail to freedom across the Pacific amid enemy fire. Sadly, Rocky was shot down over London a year later during a routine air maneuver.
Oops, guess we gave away teh ending!
This item was first reported in Variety on AOL (see below). It just occured to me - seeing it written up like above - that Matt or Ben or both may appear in the film? There's no doubt that these two are history or war bluffs. Who would have thunk?

2/16/99 From the Boston Herald's Inside Track column again, here's another sighting:

Eating their hearts out
Love -- and the smell of baked bruschetta -- was in the air the other night at Trattoria Lorenzo where Hollywood Valentines Matt Damon and Winona Ryder cooed in the corner over a late-night dinner.
The Cambridge homey and his honey held hands all night and were "so syrupy," according to one diner, who deigned not to disturb the couple.
Owner Steve Merola said Matt and his gamine galpal, dressed casually in jeans and jackets, chowed down on salad and bruschetta, then split a veggie pizza, washing it all down with two bottles of Veuve Cliquot champagne. Well, it was Valentine's Day Eve. . . .
"They couldn't have been nicer," said Merola, who added that Matt's mom, Nancy Carlsson-Paige, was the Cupid who rang up to reserve the table.
Because Mom knows when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's amore!

And more from Felicity:
Here's an item I've just found off 'Cinezine' online news. It's a = Boston-based news/movie/entertainment summary. It's just rather amusing (or very sad) because of Rounders' history and also the history that Winona Ryder has dated (I believe) at least one of the members of the band, The Foo Fighters.

Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters (in conjunction with his Roswell Records label, EMI and the publishing company M.J. Twelve Music) has filed a lawsuit against Miramax, charging them with unauthorized use of the band's song "Big Me" in trailers for the movie Rounders. He claims Miramax was offered a 15-second snippet for $86,000 in March 1998 but that no agreement was ever signed, this despite Miramax using the song, albeit without Grohl's vocal track. According to the suit, "Miramax knowingly, willfully, and with the intention of evading the licensing terms offered by the plaintiffs, directly copied the master and composition in creating three versions of the trailer, two of which contained approximately 18 seconds of both the composition and the master..." Grohl and company are suing Miramax for federal and international copyright infringement, unfair competition, conversion, accounting, constructive trust, and injunction. Among the suit's demands is that all of the aforementioned trailers be recalled -- including those on home video cassettes.
(My note; This is truly sad. When something doesn't work, there are bad feelings all around.)

2/14/99 A huge Matt fan wrote:

Found today at the Coming Attractions website: It seems that Matt just did the voiceover work on "Planet Ice" this January in Boston. According to the site, the movie is supposed to have some incredible computer generated animation, and is scheduled for release on November 1999. If you haven't seen this site before, it's worth checking out. It basically has all the rumored scoops on movies at various stages of development (although curiously, there's nothing on "Ripley").

(Felicity wrote:) From the New York Daily News online edition today:

Marathon Night
For 'Good Will' Gamesters

Who needs Gwyneth Paltrow and Winona Ryder when Ben Affleck and Matt Damon have each other? The "Good Will Hunting" team had a late boys' night out on Thursday.
The pair started the evening at Glamour editor Bonnie Fuller's 60th anniversary bash for the mag at SoHo's Van Dam restaurant. The party was decorated with Mira Sorvino, Heidi Klum, Cheryl Tiegs, Iman and Bridget Hall, among other beauties. After midnight - and quite a few shots - the boys rounded up Sorvino, Damon's brother, Kyle, and some other alpha males from Boston and headed to Moomba.
Also in tow was Champagne, a Sorvino pal known for her psychic powers. As more shots went down, the fortune teller grasped Damon's palm and mumbled something about "blockage in your sinuses." Maybe his nasal congestion was clouding her forecast. Or maybe that was her forecast.
As for Affleck, he seems to be keeping his options open as he sorts things out with girlfriend Paltrow. At one point in the partying, Damon handed him a cell phone. Affleck listened, then shouted: "I'll go out with her! I'll go out with her!"
Whoever she is better be ready for some late evenings. The lads rolled home around 5 a.m.

2/13/99 "Horses" going Full-Steam
The following little blurb, discovered by Felicity, appeared in the San Antonio EXPRESS:

'Pretty Horses' seeks hundreds of S.A. extras
By Jeanne Jakle

Imagine spending the day with actor Matt Damon, being directed by Oscar nominee Billy Bob Thornton and actually being paid a salary to boot.
That's just what will happen to hundreds of San Antonians selected as extras for the movie, "All the Pretty Horses," which begins shooting in the San Antonio area in mid-March.
The film is based on Cormac McCarthy's award-winning novel about a young Texas rancher who journeys into Mexico in the late 1940s. Co-starring with Damon will be San Antonio-born Henry Thomas. Other cast members have yet to be announced.
The film, in which San Antonio will portray Mexico, seeks hundreds of extras of Hispanic origin - men, women and children of all ages. Men who ride horses are especially needed.
"We want real-looking, everyday people," says Dara Gray, extras casting coordinator on the film.
Applicants should go to the Embassy Suites Airport Hotel, 10110 U.S. North, between noon and 5 p.m. Saturday. Applicants need to bring a non-returnable photo and are asked not to phone the hotel.
Shooting will last a month in San Antonio and then move on to Sant Fe, N.M.

I finally picked up the March MovieLine issue, the one that has an article on "young hollywood". The article is excellent, and I have the excerpts and my comments here.

I also looked at the latest Vanity Fair: Kate Blanchett is beautiful on the cover. I chose a very long line at Von's this morning just so I could take a look at the "Ripley" article. The magazine is about 600 0pages long, it seems, and the article is way in the back, page 242 or some such. There are a handful of photos from Ripley, including one of Gwyneth in her Matt-Damon T-shirt, several of Matt with the producer, the director, and Jude Law; all are small and Matt has his glasses on. There are a couple of very stylish still shots from the film, it seems, but only showing the extras. It appears to be from a scene in the film and people are on a cruise ship. I just remember, this must be the scene -- SPOILER -- of Matt's character on his way to Italy.

2/12/99 Big news. If you have a chance, pick up a copy of "USA Today" before the weekend is over. There is a big spread "Keeping Stardom Afloat" on the status of Hollywood stars - an excerpt of which is already provided below, thanks to Felicity. But what I didn't know is that there are caricatures on the front page of four pairs of stars, Matt and Gwyneth is one (the others are Will Smith + Julie Roberts, Travolta and Jodie Foster, and Costner and Sharon Stones). Matt and Gwn, as portrayed in the drawing, are boy and girl carrying their knicknacks to the beach, and both smiling and waving. Caption for them: No fear, Matt Damon and Gwyneth Paltrow are newcomers to Hollywood A-list. Will Smith: sitting pretty. Travolta: headed for super-stardom. Costner and Stone: keeping their head above the water.
The drawings show them all on the beach and each pair doing things that are reflective of the captions. Pretty funny.

BUT the big news is this: In the "Sound bite" section of the same issue of "USA Today" , almost unnoticed by me at first read, is a little box with the heading "Song Changes Damon's Tune", and what it says raised by eyebrows. Big Time. To wit:

Look for Matt Damon to make his singing debut with My Funny Valentine in the film "The Talented Mr Ripley". Gabriel Yared, who is working on the music for Anthony Minghella's new film, has been in Rome and Venice, working with Damon and Gwyneth Patrow.
Damon, says Yared, "came in a very shy guy, saying, 'I don't know how to sing.' Then he stepped up to the microphone in the studio and he was great. Immediately. The first time he got it right. I'm sure he's worked more than he says at singing.

Felicity wrote:
USA Today has got a major feature on the top mega-stars/established stars/ and the up and comers. Matt and Ben are mentioned as the top pick of the last section:

Swimming to the top
Call them superstars-in-waiting. Here are some emerging A-list talents who could be a blockbuster or two away from collecting paychecks close to the coveted $20 million figure:
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon: The Good Will Hunting boys will try to solidify their can't-miss status this year. Affleck stars opposite Sandra Bullock in the romance Forces of Nature (March 19), and Damon portrays a suave and manipulative bad guy in the thriller The Talented Mr. Ripley (due at year's end). Both may turn out to be savvy moves. Affleck, whose success has come in ensemble films such as Hunting, Armageddon and Shakespeare in Love, can prove he's a leading man. And Damon, who has played the good boy in Hunting, Rounders and Saving Private Ryan, can prove his range as an actor.

Well I tried to support Matt by going by the neighborhood Blockbuster to pick up a copy of "Rounders" for the weekend. I was taking my sweet time, thinking that no-one else will be interested, if the boxoffice of the film is the indicator. Guess what? All copies were checked out. To be honest, there was only a couple rows set aside on the shelves for this video, whereas GWH had a whole shelf to itself, as I recall. Still, mine is a pretty small town and I consider it a good sign for those 20 or so copies to be all gone. I CAN wait a little. Of course, chances are it won't stay on the chart for long, just like when it was in the theaters.
In fact, in the Blockbuster preview of February releases Rounders was given just a small photo while "Something about Mary" is on the cover and prominently in display. In the Rounder blurb they don't even bother to identify Matt and Edward Norton (nor anyone else in the film). I did catch a trailer of the film just now on TV, however, and it is put out by Blockbuster. Considering that Matt's GWH was the top rental for that chain last year, you'd think they would recognize Matt's potential draw.

From the Texas Film Commission's page:
FILM- AND VIDEO-RELATED ANNOUNCEMENTS
Movie extras are needed for the feature film ALL THE PRETTY HORSES directed by Billy Bob Thornton and starring Matt Damon. Hispanic men, women, and children of all ages are needed, along with Hispanic men who ride horses well. Bring a non-returnable photo to Embassy Suites Hotel-Airport in San Antonio, located at Highway 281 and Jones Maltzberger, on Saturday, February 13, between Noon and 5pm. If selected, extras will be paid for work.
(I know exactly which scene they are casting for. It's a bit of a spoiler for the film so don't read further if you don't want to.
..... . . .
There is a scene in the novel where Matt and Henry Thomas are putting on quite a show, taming dozens of wild horses in record time, to impress the Mexican ranchers that they were hoping to work for. The local Mexicans take to gather around to watch the spectacle. In the novel, the dialog in this scene is hilarious, with Matt playing the shining hero and Henry Thomas sprouting one-liners. This is one of the scenes that I am really looking forward to.

Jeanne Jakle, the San Antonio Express-News:
Matt Damon was here
Though their movie doesn't start shooting here for another month, actors Matt Damon and Henry Thomas already have hung out a bit together downtown.
Last sighting I heard of happened a couple of weeks ago on Houston Street, where the two made the bar scene and put away quite a few beers.
In fact, you may have seen Damon yourself and just didn't recognize him under that baseball cap he likes to hide in while out.
I've yet to hear of a sighting of Billy Bob Thornton, the director of the movie, "All the Pretty Horses," though. He, the cast and the crew will be in town officially in mid-March.
(My note: So now the filming doesn't start until mid-March. That leaves it only about two and a half months before the horrid summer weather there starts.)

Casting Rumor (thanks, Felicity) The Dark Horizon site claims that Matt, along with Andie McDowell, Peter Fonda, and Paul Newman, are performers who are interested in a remake of James Dean's East of Eden. The site also has a review of the Dogma screening which is less glowing than those that appeared on AICN (see below).

DOGMA Check out the Ain't-It-Cool site for some reviews of the screening of Dogma, the Kevin Smith film that Matt and Ben have small roles in. The reviews say that Matt pulls off some deadpan humor, and the chemisty betwen him and Ben in the film is good. (Thanks to Lisa for pointing the way to these reviews.)

This is what we missed A transcript of the 2/10 Access Hollywood segment featuring Matt - compliments of a huge Matt fan:

(Photo of Gwyneth, photo of Matt in glasses, photo of Cate, photo of Jude Law.) "Well, Gwyneth and Cate Blanchett may be facing off at the Oscars for Best Actress, but the two, along with Matt Damon have just finished shooting the Talented Mr. Ripley in Italy. Today we have an exclusive look at the pictures from the set captured by Vanity Fair."
(Scenes of Matt from Venice Film Festival.) "Gwyneth, Matt and Cate: Candid snapshots from the set of 'The Talented Mr. Ripley'. Access Hollywood was in Italy last year when Damon was shooting the movie, and he told us he lost 20 pounds to become Mr. Ripley."
(Interview of Matt wearing a blue jacket and white t-shirt). Said Matt, "It shouldn't be anything kind of jarring. It should just be very subtle, just the way a suit fits him. There's a certain look, you know, that naturally I don't have, so I have to work to get it."
(More photos of Matt, Gwyneth and Jude, with Gwyneth's t-shirt bearing a photo of Matt) "In the movie, there's a bizarre love triangle. Damon, who plays a sophisticated murderer, falls in love with a man, played by Jude Law who just happens to be Paltrow's on screen love, but that's OK with Paltrow. She's one of Damon's biggest fans, just look at her t-shirt. That's right, it's Damon on there."
"It's all about friends. That issue of 'Vanity Fair' with Cate Blanchett on the cover hits news stands February 16th. Meanwhile, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are moving on to a new project with new roles. The two will executive produce a WWII movie. War Journal is based on one WWII officer's actual journals."

Laura wrote:

Just to let you know that Matt is in the March issue of Movieline magazine. The magazine has Angelina Jolie on the cover.
The article is titled "Party of Five" and profiles 5 actors including : Winona Ryder, Claire Danes, Ben Affleck and Leonardo DiCaprio. I found it interesting that Matt's best friend, girlfriend and ex-girlfriend (Danes) made it into the same article.
Matt is the first actor featured and gets the biggest picture, which is one I have seen before. He is described as "Tom Cruise by way of Jimmy Cagney."
Anyway, it's a great article and it's worth it to buy the magazine. The article is very complementary towards Matt.

Here's a nice quote of Matt: In an interview in the December Juice Magazine of Australia (Thanks, Felicity) -

Do you worry about a backlash (from your phenomenal success)?
Matt: I expect it. I expect it. And I'm sure it's on its way. [Laughs] I didn't particularly order the front-lash, so I'm not particularly worried about the backlash.

Click on a column

March 99 Movieline "Party of Five" article
Early Feb. 99 items
Jan. 99 items
mattamorphosis - The Gear magazine article
The "Rounders" Effect
A book review which appeared in the 9/14 This is London and which refers to Matt as a math genius.
The Power of Two
An article by Phillip McCarthy contrasting Matt and Ben
"Good" Moms worry about sons' success
an article which appeared in a Cambridge paper back in Feb., on the moms of Matt and Ben
The Rounders page
The Talented Mr.Ripley page
The All the Pretty Horses page
The Details magazine article, as appeared in the London Telegraph.
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 the Unofficial Matt Damon site or this site.
Some good sources of Matt Info

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