From Lisa:

Ain't It Cool News had Ripley and Dogma photos 3/24. www.eonline.com TEA WITH TED 3/25 says Matt and Ben are alone? I thought he was still with Wynonna. Ted also says they should get Matty to play Charlie in the Charlie's Angels remake

Matt, Winona still have Good Will by Gayle Fee and Laura Raposa Sunday, March 28, 1999 Quash those rumors that Cambridge cutie Matt Damon and his Hollywood honey Winona Ryder have gone the way of best bud Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow.
According to Matt's dad, Kent Damon, the two are still an item. They just don't have much time to spend together.
``It's tough because she's on a set and Matt's on a set and that's the way life is in that industry,'' Damon told the Track. ``And working is all that Matt seems to like to do.''
Speculation arose that Matt and 'Nonie had split after she was a no-show at the Academy Awards last week.
``Winona Ryder's absence from the Oscars prompted questions over the state of her relationship with reported love interest Matt Damon (who was in Los Angeles to be a presenter with his pal Ben Affleck),'' People Online wrote.
According to Matt's dad, Winona was in Pennsylvania, where she's making a movie, ``Girl, Interrupted.''
Matt, on the other hand, has been in San Antonio for weeks working on ``All the Pretty Horses.'' After he finishes in Texas, he's off to Santa Fe to complete the film - probably by mid to late June.
Damon says Matt hopes to take some time off this summer and catch a few Red Sox games. But he hasn't decided what his next project will be, and that will ultimately decide his schedule.

April 5, 1999
Red Fox?
The Unlikely Union of Murdoch and Zinn
by TOM GOGOLA

The contracts are signed, the treatment is being written and Fox Television plans to fast-track production on a ten- to twelve-hour miniseries based on lefty historian Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States, scheduled to run early next year. With celebrity muscle provided in amply hunky doses by Zinn allies and series co-producers Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, Fox is banking on Page Six sex appeal to sell Zinn's sobering tales to the tabloid masses.
Skeptical media watchers have been clucking about this project since Rupert Murdoch's minions first started negotiating with Zinn and company last spring. After many months of wrangling, all parties recently agreed on a six-part dramatization of key sections of Zinn's book, based around the individual exploits of average Americans caught up in major historical moments.
This unlikely venture finds its genesis in a scene from Damon and Affleck's 1997 breakthrough film, Good Will Hunting, in which Damon praises Zinn's book. As it turned out, the Zinn and Damon families were old friends from Newton, Massachusetts. ("I went to his high school plays," says Zinn.) A producer at Fox, Marci Pool, who had read and enjoyed the award-winning book in college, got her bosses' OK to negotiate to buy the TV rights, which previously had been held by Globalvision executive producer Danny Schechter. After a couple of marathon sessions in Los Angeles, attended by Zinn, Affleck, Damon, Good Will producer Chris Moore (the "Gang Of Four," as Zinn calls them) and Fox Television Studios brass, a contract was hammered out late last year. Zinn says he was adamant that the final product adhere to the "class, race and antiwar consciousness" of the book, and the contract contains language to the effect that "the series will be true to the point of view of the book," says Zinn.
The studio ponied up $50 million for the series, and the Gang of Four quickly hired screenwriter Jeremy Pikser (who's up for an Oscar for his work on the Fox-produced Bulworth) to produce a treatment. When that's completed, it goes to Fox for approval. Bob Dylan and Winona Ryder have already signed on--he's singing, she's acting--and John Cusack and Danny Glover are negotiating for roles. "That's a huge help," says Pool. "To get that level of interest from talent is very unusual and very difficult in television."
At the time of this writing, the contours of the treatment are taking shape. Zinn reports that some of the storylines being contemplated are a dramatization of the resistance movement in the abolitionist period, as seen through the eyes of a slave, and a section devoted to a deserter (or, at the very least, a dissenter) from the American Revolution. According to screenwriter Jeremy Pikser, "You can't dramatize a textbook, and you can't fake a docudrama as a drama, so I've invented a whole life story for a dockworker in the Revolution, and his great-granddaughter turns up later as a Lowell millworker. It's just about the most exciting project I've ever worked on."
Taken individually, these are interesting subjects with populist appeal and built-in gravitas that goes deeper than the surface-skating entertainment generally offered up on the Hitler, er, History Channel. But Zinn is acutely aware that in presenting historical moments as seen through the eyes of just plain folks, he runs the risk of losing the populist forest for the trees. "That's been a worry from the beginning, and we're going to work to overcome that, and find a way to make connections and larger points that put the individual episodes into broader contexts."
You'd think Fox would rather those links not be made. After all, the archconservative Rupert Murdoch isn't going to sell Zinn the rope the amiable socialist professor would hang him with. Even though Zinn says he hopes his final product "doesn't pass Murdoch's political litmus test," some wonder whether even Matt Damon's pearly whites will be enough to save A People's History if it strays too far to the left.
"That's not the right question, frankly," says Pool. "Putting a miniseries on the air is a business, and the bottom line is that this is a good project for the network. The book is history as told by people who didn't win the battles or the wars, and that is something that Fox audiences can identify with. Our audience is young, and they identify with struggle. No one inside the company has said anything to me about the politics--not that they won't at some point, but I don't see why they would." As Zinn observes, "To simply do another history is not going to excite a lot of viewers, and the fact that there's a controversial set of messages is precisely what might attract a large audience, which is really what Fox cares about." But, as Pikser points out, "As Fox has made clear, our audience is not the PBS audience. We've got to make it play. It has to be an entertaining, interesting story that you'll want to watch."
It also must be said that Murdoch has shown some restraint in meddling with his network. He did drop the BBC World Service from his Star TV in China a few years back, claiming it posed a potential threat to his Asian business interests; more recently, he canceled a biopic on Anita Hill because it strayed too far to the "We Believe Anita" side of things. But as Fox sponsors Zinn's critical look at the unseemly corners of American history, it is also looking ahead to the next epoch with Futurama, the year-3000 Matt Groening cartoon series that debuted in March. With unapologetic doses of Simpsons-style archcynicism, the series typifies the profitable niche Fox has carved for itself. It remains the "little-guy network," airing programs that are by turns scrappy, hip, craven, pointlessly violent and willfully lowbrow. Everyone loves an underdog, and Fox plays its youthful, rebellious status like a fiddle.
In that sense A People's History is a perfect fit for Fox: Murdoch is to Zinn what Pat Buchanan is to Jerry Brown--the flip side of the same populist coin. And "coin" is what it's all about.

This was in an article about Cannes Film Festival candidates in today's Daily Variety:
Among the other leading contenders for the Competition are Atom Egoyan's thriller "Felicia's Journey," based on a William Trevor novel; Alan Parker's adaptation of Frank McCourt's "Angela's Ashes" with Emily Watson and Robert Carlyle; Anthony Minghella's adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's "The Talented Mr. Ripley" starring Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law and Cate Blanchett; Kevin Smith's "Dogma" with Ben Affleck" ...

• The spanish network Telemundo dedicated an hour long show to the Oscars last night. Several notable stars were interviewed by Telemundo's entertainment guru. (I still don't know his name). Not to be outdone by anyone, Matt and Ben figured prominently in the piece. The best part was a clip of Ben and Matt walking the red carpet. The interviewer (who has said that Ben is one of his favorite celebrities) called Ben over to his microphone. Ben immediately "stole" the mic from the interviewer and proceeded to introduce himself to the world (speaking beautiful Spanish, I might add). He was such a cut up. Then Matt appeared with that trademark smile of his and egged Ben along. Ben began to interview Matt asking him who he was, what he was doing there, and how he was enjoying the event. In what was a bit of an enjoyable surprise, Matt (smiling and laughing all the while) responded to each question in perfect Spanish!!! I was just floored. He had the accent down alright!
  From what I heard, Matt has been brushing up on his Spanish and has got it down! If the script of ATPH remains true to the book, he will be speaking some Spanish. We know what a perfectionist he is, I am sure he is determined to get it right.
  When I meet him (and God knows I will move mountains to do that), I plan on speaking to him in Spanish initially . . . just to make him feel at home in my part of the world!!!
• This little bit of news from the Sunday, March 28, edition of the Albuquerque Journal:

  ASPIRING EXTRAS ANSWER THE CALL by Jennifer Archibeque

  Hopefuls line up for a chance to appear in ALL THE PRETTY HORSES.
  Hollywood hopefuls filled the North Valley Senior Center on Saturday hoping to land roles as movie extras.
  "Not many people can say they've been in a movie, even as an extra," said London Emery, a University of New Mexico graduate student who was there to apply.
  ATPH a MiraMax/Columbia movie directed by Billy Bob Thornton and starring actor Matt Damon, will be filmed in NM for 12 weeks, said Kelly Cosandaey, deputy director of the New Mexico Film Office.
  Filming will begin April 16 in Las Vegas, NM and surrounding ranch land in the general Santa Fe area, and on Indian reservation land, north and south of Santa Fe, said Cosandaey.
  Men, women and children of all ages and ethnicities applied to be extras int eh film based on a novel by Cormac McCarthy.
  Teresa Neptune of Rainbow Casting Service said she was looking for 700 extras.
  "We already did calls in Las Vegas and Santa Fe," she said. "We are looking for mostly Hispanics and Native Americans to fill up the state penitentiary."
  Neptune was referring to a Mexican jail scene that will be filmed at the Old Main Penitentiary of New Mexico, south of Santa Fe.
  There is one last call for extras the first week in April said Neptune. Aspiring male extras must be willing to cut their hair and grow sideburns down to their ear lobes to match the 1940's era in which the film is set. Applicants will work up to 12 hours a day anad receive $60/day if they are chosen.

  (Just as I thought, New Mexico will be the location for the last, darker, half of the film. I shudder to think about some of the scenes that will be filmed there. Brace yourself, Valerie.)

[This is at the end of an article on Harrold Ramis, director of "Analyze This" and an actor in "The Ghostbuster."] Time marches on, ..., and though Ramis has no plans to do a drama, he says he's consdiering another "Ghostbusters" flick, which would be the series' third.
A minor sticking point: The original gang- Ramis, Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Ernie Hudson - are relative geezers now...
"Danny and I talk about doing another 'Ghostbusters' on a regular basis," Ramis says. "the studio would like to make a deal. The dream plan was that Danny and I would produce and I would direct it and we would recruit some newer, younger, popular ghostbusters."
Any suggestions?
"Sure," says Ramis, his permanent grin widening. "Leo DeCaprio, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Will Smith." ...

(Ramis was apparently just joking. However, today the news came that Affleck and Smith have indeed agreed to co-star in a yet-to-be-penned buddy film for Buckheimer and Michael Bay, the great :-( team who gave you that cinematic prize "Armageddon". Anyway, the idea of teaming those four is quite an intrigue, no?)

3/24/99 A lot of Oscar stuff, bunched together below:

[email protected] wrote:
ok... HOW HOT IS MATT DAMON! if you caught the oscars, you saw how incredibly cute he looked presenting and sitting in the audience! what a night!
(My note: Matt did look better than when he was at the Golden Globes last month. Looks like he has put back on some of the weight. That's good news, because he is filming "All the Pretty Horses" now and this is what he will look like, at least at the beginning of the film anyway. Let's keep our fingers crossed.)

From [email protected]:

On Entertainment Tonight they had a brief shot of Matt posing for a photo with his arm draped over Spielberg's shoulder--a surprisingly chummy move considering that Spielberg is one of the most powerful men in Hollywood and Matt has always seemed to be in such reverent awe of him. I don't want to read too much into this, but perhaps it's a sign that Matt has reached a level of comfort or even (dare we say) friendship with the great director that could lead to future projects together (such as Minority Report). True, Spielberg didn't mention him during his acceptance speech, but then, the only cast member he did mention was Hanks who I believe was instrumental in getting the Saving Private Ryan script to him in the first place.
From Felicity:
A posting by Ben Affleck on his site (post-Oscars): He says Matt and himself had a few drinks at the Vanity Fair party, and then Matt left with Billy Bob to Texas (they had to shoot today).

Boston Herald:
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, a year after their ``Good Will Hunting'' success on Oscar night, arrived together in traditional tuxes.
EYEBALL-TO-EYEBALL IN BEVERLY HILLS
IT was High Noon for Tina Brown and Graydon Carter when the two rival editors came face-to-face at Barry Diller's house in L.A. on Saturday - and neither of them blinked.
Brown, the editor of the upcoming Talk magazine, and Carter, who succeeded Brown at Vanity Fair, were both in Hollywood for the Oscars, both schmoozing with the studio bosses and the stars they put on their covers, both throwing parties they hope will be the most talked-about and star-studded of the year.
Vanity Fair traditionally throws the hottest post-Oscar bash at Morton's. It's a tradition Carter started soon after he took over the glossy from Brown, who had built the monthly into a huge success. Carter was filling the void left by the death of superagent Swifty Lazar, whose Oscar party at Spago was always the place to be.
But this year, Brown may have launched her own tradition with a party the night before at Le Mondrian with such Hollywood royalty as Sophia Loren, Steve Martin, Rene Zellweger and Lisa Marie Presley.
California Gov. Gray Davis parked himself in the middle of the room. Matt Damon patted Brown's dripping shoulders after a clumsy woman dropped a martini down her back. And Warren Beatty danced with Tina. The guest of honor seemed to be Disney chairman Michael Eisner - or was he the host of honor, since Disney owns Miramax, which is launching Talk with Hearst.

$75M laugh
GWYNETH Paltrow brought down the house at the party Miramax threw Saturday, when the studio's Oscar nominees performed each other's roles, plus a skit, ''Tina Brown and Two Gentlemen from Queens,'' written by Tom Stoppard. Geoffrey Rush as Miramax chief Harvey Weinstein (with Matt Damon as younger brother Bob and Gwyneth as Tina) got a big laugh on the subject of Talk magazine's $75 million start-up costs when he asked, ''What do you care? It's [Michael] Eisner's money.'' Paltrow stole the show when she came out in a Groucho Marx mask for an exuberant impression of Roberto Benigni, shouting in an Italian accent, ''I want to make love to you over and over.''

New York Daily News Online:
Some Good-Natured Cross-Dissing
The Italian director and Gwyneth Paltrow did a little role reversal on the night before the awards.
In what has become a hilarious Oscar ritual, Miramax Films threw a party where its stars are dragooned into improvising scenes from one another's movies.
Dame Judi Dench donned a red wig to play Brenda Blethyn's brassy blabbermouth in "Little Voice." Begnini slipped into Joseph Fiennes' "Shakespeare in Love" duds to scream, "I want to kiss your Golden Globes!" And Paltrow aped Benigni's character by donning a plastic nose and glasses.
Teaming with Benigni's wife, Nicoletta, Paltrow declared: "I want to make love to you!"
The best shtick, though, had to be "Two Gentleman of Queens," a playlet that "Shakespeare" co-writer Tom Stoppard penned especially for the occasion.
The sketch featured Best Supporting Actor nominee Geoffrey Rush wearing an enormous prosthetic belly to play Miramax honcho Harvey Weinstein, and Matt Damon sporting a frizzy black wig to mimic Harvey's partner-brother, Bob.
The setup: the Weinsteins' first meeting with former New Yorker editor Tina Brown to discuss her new magazine, Talk, which is being bankrolled by Disney-owned Miramax.
"Listen," growled Rush in a dead-on rendition of Harvey, "when she gets here, let me do the talking."
"But Harv," said Damon's Bob, "you must be joking. We know movies, we don't know magazines. Plus, she's basically into English faggots."
Harvey: "English faggots are a big market, Bob."
Bob: "Harvey, what kind of title is Talc [sic]?"
Harvey: "What do you care? It's [Disney chairman Michael] Eisner's money."
Bob: "He doesn't know that. And $75 million is a lot of cash just to start up a magazine."
Harvey: "No, the $75 million is Tina's salary."
Enter Tina, played by a plummy-accented Paltrow.
Tina: "I've got this incredible, fantastic idea for the Christmas cover: Monica Lewinsky's baby."
Bob: "Omigod, is she pregnant?"
Tina: "This is what I have to talk to you about. . . . Bob, I think Monica will have your baby if Harvey gives her the leading role in 'Elizabeth's Loves.' She has to deliver by November because of the [magazine's] lead time."
Harvey: "We're dead. I already asked her and she won't do it unless I give up my producer's credit."

Reuters story on Miramax:
``Good Will Hunting'' made media sensations of up-and-coming actors Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. Affleck is now among the industry's hottest actors with starring roles in current hit ``Forces of Nature'' and past summer blockbuster ``Armageddon.

Reuters story on the parties:
After a long Oscars ceremony, they partied like it's 1999.
Winners, losers, also-rans. Famous, infamous, unknowns. They vamped, got kissy-faced and celebrated at post-Oscar parties raging into the wee hours today.
After the official academy Governors Ball at the downtown Los Angeles Music Center, limousines fanned out across Southern California. Many headed to West Hollywood, the most popular destination with six major bashes.
Best-director Steven Spielberg his ``Saving Private Ryan'' star Tom Hanks showed up at the DreamWorks-Paramount party at Barnaby's, where guests dined on raw oysters, shiitake mushroom pizza and chicken pot pie.
Handshaking. Hugs. Air kisses. Make that big wet kisses from Italy's ``Life is Beautiful'' Oscar-winner Roberto Benigni.
...It was an eclectic crowd: Madonna dancing with Ricky Martin, Edward Burns of ``Saving Private Ryan'' arm-in-arm with actress Heather Graham and ``Sling Blade'' star Dwight Yoakam with actress Bridget Fonda.
Anthony Hopkins, Jim Carrey, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Steve Martin, Tim Allen, Willem Dafoe, Mariah Carey were all there. Steven Baldwin - blond hair slicked-back, wearing black leather pants and an ankle-length overcoat - also showed up. So did Ed McMahon.

Reuters story on Hanks:
When Hanks, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck met up, all three hugged each other at once, and another roar went up.

LA Times story on red carpet arrivals:
For that matter, how could Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Tom Hanks drag a barely qualified reporter across the invisible line and nearly invisible hedge that separates the stars from everybody else, pose for a picture with him, and, in the process, break his cummerbund?

And that's about it so far. It was good to see Matt seated so close to Spielberg and Billy Bob (also Benigni). Very funny to note that when Benigni sat up on the chair, it was Billy Bob's seat, and that you could see Matt laughing at the back of the shot. Also you could see that Matt was sitting next to Laura Dern (and Billy Bob), but next to Kyle, his brother and then Ben Affleck. I think that good looking guy was Kyle (wasn't it?), of if it isn't, it's another of their friends (Soren?) It is definitely the same guy who the camera panned on when Matt and Ben won last year (standing next to Matt's father). Any guesses? It's quite funny, because that guy (Kyle?) was in shot a lot - had quite a bit of screen time.
Definitely a lot more of Matt than the Golden Globes - but no Winona.

And this in a Miramax post-Oscars article in the LA Times:

Instead of crowing about how well Miramax did, Miramax marketing and publicity executive Marcy Granata talked about beginning her promotion of "The Talented Mr. Ripley," which stars Gwyneth Paltrow and Cate Blanchett (as well as Matt Damon and Jude Law) and was directed by Anthony Minghella ("The English Patient")--another Miramax best picture winner
Don't like the order of names there, but it's good to see that promotion for the movie will begin. Although who knows, at this stage, if there will be an anti-Miramax feeling next year. (Note: I too am worried that there will be a backlash on Miramax next year. However, that shouldn't hurt Matt's chance for getting a nod for his acting.)

An article on AP seems to suggest that Matt will be at the Oscars. The article talks about what the stars will wear, and Matt and Ben are said to "remain loyal to Armani". We know that Ben is one of the presenters but perhaps Matt will be there as well.

Opened a copy of "In Style" to look at the pictures from the Golden Globes night. Matt is in one of the small pics, and, I am worried. He looks guant: all eyes and lips on a thin face. And if Ted Cassablanca of E! is to be believed, Matt is still working out while filming in San Antonio. If he loses any more weight, he will look like the way he did on "Courage Under Fire". Yike. Will someone knock some sense into that Harvard head! It's the Will-Hunting look that gets you where you are, Matt, trust me.

3/16/99 "Saving Private Ryan" promotional segment on "The View" is being repeated TODAY, according to Deja News and as reported by Felicity - sorry that I didn't hear about it until just now. If you have not seen this one and if it's still not too late, make every effort to do so. Matt was adorable in this show, taped sometime in June last year.

3/14/99 A couple of real finds from Felicity:

'Horses' saddles up in SA
By Jane Sumner / The Dallas Morning News, 3/5/99
Film & TV outtakes
Set-building is under way in San Antonio for the screen adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel All the Pretty Horses, winner of the 1992 National Book Award.
The four- to five-week shoot, beginning March 15, will star Matt Damon (Saving Private Ryan) as John Grady Cole and San Antonio native Henry Thomas (Legends of the Fall) as his friend Lacey Rawlins. They strike out for the border and, after many adventures, land at a vast Mexican ranch - the Hacienda de Nuestra Senora de la Purisima Concepcion.
Also cast are Lucas Black (Sling Blade) as young misfit Jimmy Blevins, Penelope Cruz (The Hi-Lo Country) as the hacienda owner's lovely teenage daughter, Alejandra, and Bruce Dern (The Haunting of Hill House) as a Texas judge.
After filming at beautiful Gallagher Ranch near Pipe Creek and in San Antonio, the joint project of Columbia Pictures and Miramax Films will move to locations in Santa Fe, N.M.
Oscar winner Mike Nichols will produce. Robert Salerno is executive producer. Oscar nominee Billy Bob Thornton (A Simple Plan) will direct. Barry Markowitz (The Apostle, Sling Blade) is director of photography. The production designer is Clark Hunter (Sling Blade). Ted Talley (Silence of the Lambs) wrote the script.

And, from a San Angelo paper online:
San Angelo paper January 29
>Matt Damon visits city: Hollywood heartthrob researching latest movie By HOLLY HENRY, Staff Writer
Celebrity sightings are fairly rare in San Angelo, but those who know their Oscar winners had a special treat this week.
Matt Damon came to San Angelo in what seemed to be a research visit for the filming of his upcoming movie, ``All the Pretty Horses.''
His publicist's office would confirm only that Damon is visiting Texas, preparing for his movie.
Employees and patrons at Fuentes Cafe Downtown recognized Damon and Henry Thomas, who played Elliot in the 1980s movie hit ``E.T.,'' having dinner Wednesday at the downtown establishment.
A waiter at Fuentes, who asked to be identified only as Nathan, was the first to recognize the celebrities. He said he couldn't believe none of the other employees realized who was in their midst.
Nathan didn't talk with Damon or Thomas. He said he didn't want to bother them.
``People who are in the spotlight probably don't want every single person coming up to them,'' he said. ``I was trying not to go `Hey, Elliot, what's happening?'''
Nathan did tell his boss - Fuentes owner John Fuentes - about the celebrity diners, and Fuentes approached the two actors. Damon and Thomas then visited with the restaurant staff and posed for pictures with them. Fuentes gave them two restaurant T-shirts.
``I talked to them, and they were looking at different sites for a movie in West Texas,'' Fuentes said. ``We highly recommended Concho Street.''
Damon has appeared in ``Saving Private Ryan,'' ``The Rainmaker'' and ``Good Will Hunting,'' for which he and Ben Affleck won an Oscar for best original screenplay.
Damon will star in ``All the Pretty Horses,'' which is based on Cormac McCarthy's novel. Billy Bob Thornton will direct the film.
The Texas Film Commission visited San Angelo over the summer as it scouted locations for the film.
San Angelo would seem to be a natural fit for the movie, as the story in the book opens on Chadbourne Street in 1948. But, according to the film commission, it appears that the filmmakers have settled on San Antonio and Santa Fe.
Marion Szurek, vice president of the Convention and Visitors Bureau, said she wasn't aware Damon was coming to town and didn't see him while he was here.
Szurek doesn't expect filming plans to change and include San Angelo, but ``nothing's done until the fat lady sings,'' she said.
(Note: apparently San Angelo was not selected for the shooting of "Horses". But it's amazing how far Matt goes to prepare himself for a film.)

3/13/99 Things have been quiet again. Following is a batch of items from Felicity and others:

There's a big film festival in Austin from this weekend. As a guide, this was in an Austin paper:
SXSW (South By South West, the film festival) co-director Louis Black has taken a page from the playbook of promoter French Smith, who used to drum up interest in his annual T-Bird Riverfest by denying music's biggest names as his "special guests." (One year the rumors were Robert Plant, Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello. When Smith denied them, he was right: the "special guests" turned out to be the Antone's house band). At any rate, Black denies that Matt Damon will be at SXSW this year, but I see Beantown blondie making the scene, at least in a partying capacity. Damon is just down the road in San Antonio filming "All the Pretty Horses," so look for him to hook up with pal Casey Affleck (Ben's bro), who'll be here for Friday's "Desert Blue" premiere and "Pretty Horses" director Billy Bob Thornton, who's down for a panel Saturday. By the way, Louis denies that Ben Affleck will be in town.
So, Matt may make an appearance at either the above or the premiere of Ron Howard's Ed TV next Tuesday.

In other news, Planet Ice has had a name change to ... Titan A.E. - apparently standing for Titan After Earth.

As expected, nothing has happened on any of the Matt/Ben scripts. This is from Thursday's Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith column:
MEANWHILE: Miramax is still trying to get Matt Damon and Ben Affleck to take advantage of the first-look deal the studio struck with them when they were flush from last year's Oscar triumph for writing "Good Will Hunting." But as it's turned out, says Weinstein, "They've been too busy -- they each go from making one movie to another." Which is what they're doing now, with Matt in San Antonio to make "All the Pretty Horses," and Affleck in Vancouver, Canada, starting "Reindeer Games." But relief could be on the way. "Ben will have some free time," says Weinstein, "and the plan is for him to come to Matt's set, where the two of them could start writing the romantic comedy 'Like a Rock."'

Off Ted Casablanca's column on e-online:
The Eyes Have It
Matt Damon, in San Antonio, Texas, near the set of All the Pretty Horses. The dude was going home to his exclusive rented condo when he was stopped by a local resident and peppered with horsey questions about what it's like to be famous. Matt was kind (as I hear he is to few other non-horsey types).

3/8/99 Apparently there was a sketch on Saturday's Mad TV show where the film "Saving Private Ryan" was the target of some satire, and Andrew Bowen did a Matt Damon impression. Probably just as well that I didn't see it, but if you did and want to share what you saw, email me.

3/7/99

The Los Angles Times's Sunday Calendar section carries a lengthy article on Ben Affleck. It seems that Ben is getting $6 million for his film "The Reindeer Game". That's more than Matt got paid for "All the Pretty Horses". If you are an Affleck fan, read all about it.
(Okay, if you haven't already sensed it, I'll 'fess up and say that I am not a big fan of Matt's best buddy. I just don't have much respect for someone who did a film like Armageddon. So, yes, I am not too pleased that the spotlight is on Ben just now.)

3/5/99
Rounders is 8th on the video rental chart.

3/4/99
A very excited Valerie (who lives in New Mexico) wrote on Planetdamon (can't you just hear her shouts of joy? :-)

DAMONITES: IT IS NOW OFFICIAL!!! The NM Film Commission just announced that ALL THE PRETTY HORSES will be filming in the Santa Fe/Las Vegas NM area in late April for approximately 8 weeks.

Production crews are being sought immediately and a casting calls will take place on March 12 & 13 at the Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas, NM. Open casting will take place on March 20 and 27 in Albuquerque.

I am there!!!!!

On auction at EBAY until 3/7. Current bid is $7.99. Brand new and factory sealed:

John's Grisham's THE RAINMAKER laserdisc directed by Francis
     Ford Coppola
     Mr. Coppola's best and sharpest film - Janet Maslin, New York Times
     The most enjoyable of Grisham's movies - Mike Clark, USA TODAY
     Starring Matt Damon, Jon Voight, Danny DeVito, and Claire Danes
     Brand New and Factory Sealed
     Dolby Digital 5.1 AC-3 - experience TRUE 5.1 channel surround
     137 minutes, Color, Rated PG-13
     2.35:1 Widescreen Aspect Ratio
     2 disc CLV format
     $39.98 Retail Price!

3/3/99 Mr. Showbiz rates Good Will Hunting as the 4th all-time best "shrink" movie. The article is lead with that familiar poster photo of Matt and Robin.

Don't remember where I saw this, but somewhere in Cyberspace it was reported that last week Rounders was either 7th or 8th on the top DVD list. I don't beleive it made the top 10 video rental list, however.

3/2/99 The March 1 syndicated column by Stacy Jenel Smith and Marilyn Beck reported that "Pretty Horses" is budgeted at $40 million.

Val wrote on planetdamon:

DAMONITES: Check out the March 1999 issue of MADEMOISELLE Magazine. There are two articles of interest about our Matty.
• Snipet #1: Ben versus Matt: A synopsis of what each has done since GWH. (Personally, this comparison bothered me! They are both successful in my view)
• Snipet #2: How to read Faces: Breaks down Matt's facial composition and translates the analysis into personality traits. Hmmm. By the way, Minnie is anlayzed as well.

3/1/99 Felicity sent in a full description of the Ripley article that appeared in the March issue of Vanity Fair:

In the contributors section:
While photographing the cast of Anthony Minghella's The Talented Mr. Ripley, Pamela Hanson battled bad weather and hordes of German tourists who had descended on the Italian island of Ischia. "I kept thinking, this could get intense," recalls Hanson. "But everyone remained completely calm."
There's another photo of a smiling Gwyneth in the contents section.
Title: Getting away with murder
Comments with cover page: No wonder director Anthony Minghella's next movie, The Talented Mr Ripley, based on Patricia Highsmith's chilling 1955 class of murder among expatriate Americans, is one of this year's most eagerly awaited releases: it stars Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Cate Blanchett, and reunites the editor, photography director, costume designer, and composer from Minghella's 1996 phenomenon, The English Patient. On the Mediterranean set, Pamela Hanson captures a blaze of young Hollywood royalty.
Julian Symons, writing in The Sunday Times of London about his fellow crime novellist Patricia Highsmith's most chilling creation, described Tom Ripley as "an apparently nice young American, in whose emotional equipment some moral governor has been left out." In the more forthright terms of Ripley's (and Highsmith's) native land, Ripley is a sociopath. Over the course of five books he inherits someone else's fortune, settles in the French countryside, marries the beautiful Heloise, and collects art - all the while killing people who tip his delicate mental balance or threaten his ultra-civilised existence. But the most appalling thing about Tom Ripley is that somehow the reader ends up rooting for him. Highsmith's subtly empathetic portrait of madness is that good.
The Talented Mr Ripley, in which Highsmith introduced her hero without a conscience, is getting the red-carpet treatment for its second translation to the screen (the first was Rene Clement's 1960 Purple Noon, while another Highsmith novel, Strangers on a train, became one of Alfred Hitchcock's finest). Director Anthony Minghella is sticking with the editor, director of photography, costume designer, and composer from his previous, nine-Oscar outing, The English Patient, which will ensure a lush celebration of the movie's 1950s Mediterranean backdrop, shot in Rome, Venice, Tuscany, Naples and Sicily. Matt Damon should be a splendid Ripley, with a face capable of alternately lighting up with Tom's "innocent-looking American smile" and registering his twitchily paranoid pulse as he murders - and then assumes the identity of - expatriate golden boy Dickie Greenleaf (played by Jude Law). Gwyneth Paltrow and Cate Blanchett are the female stars: Paltrow as Marge, who is in love with Greenleaf and distrusts Ripley from the moment he arrives in the Italian village of Mongibello; Blanchett in a role that was added for the movie. Mr Ripley may be frighteningly talented, but so is this crew.
Elise O'Shaughnessy

(Added Felicity: I really like the photos - the two-page photo of Matt, Minghella, Jude and Gwyneth is this lovely, open shot of everyone caught as they're = smiling and laughing; and the others are just stylish, classy photos.
[The pictures shown are] definitely [from] the first scene in Italy, with Matt meeting Cate on the boat (ocean liner) as they collect their luggage, and shots of Jude and Gwyneth in Mongibello. I can't place, however, the shots of Matt in the very long black coat, while Dickie is in shorts.

Another tidbit from Felicity (who by the way is also responsible for finding the new Ripley photoc):
Ben Affleck's been announced as a presenter at the Oscars (on the Oscars website). Matt wasn't mentioned.
(My speculations: Matt seemes to have taken a backseat to Ben in publicity these days, possibly to give his best friend a chance to shine on his own. My guess is that Ben will be paired with Paltrow as presenters.)

2/27/99 Off Daily Variety:

Cruz to take 'Horses' lead
Thesp cast as Damon's love interest
Penelope Cruz has been cast to star opposite Matt Damon in Miramax/Columbia's "All the Pretty Horses," to be directed by Billy Bob Thornton and based on a novel by Cormac McCarthy. In the film, to shoot shortly in Texas, Cruz plays a Mexican girl from an upper-class family that discourages her romance with Damon's character. Cruz's casting in "Horses" confirms her as Spain's hottest international actress. Having co-starred in Stephen Frears' Berlin Competition player "The Hi-Lo Country," she has inked to star later this year in Fox Searchlight's "Woman on Top," to be directed by Fina Torres.

(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?)

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.

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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 column

March 99 Movieline "Party of Five" article
March 99 items
Late Feb. 99 items
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.
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 the Unofficial Matt Damon site or this site.
Some good sources of Matt Info

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