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 6/1/2000

"That Matt Damon is going places", Gregory Peck, 1998. . .

6/1/00

5/28/00

Here's an interesting angle of looking at Matt - his haircuts - it also illustrates just HOW OFTEN Matt spots that black silk sweater that we are all too familiar with. My thanks to Bill for sharing the URL.
From Felicity:
Very little news around, but I've got a few more thoughts on The Bourne Identity. I read it yesterday, and it's a good, intelligent thriller, if a little long (over 500 pages).
The role of Jason Bourne has many similarities to Ripley, in that he's supposed to be a chameleon, always adopting the look and identity of various people. The character in the book is 30-35, with a blank 'everyman' face that has been changed by surgery (all distinctive features removed), and blue/grey eyes.
It is set in France, but also travels to Zurich and New York (climax). A lot of French is spoken by the characters (Bourne can speak French and Oriental languages fluently), and there's a fair bit of killing and martial-arts style fighting of the baddies.
Surprisingly, there's a strong lead female (a beauty who's got a PhD in economics, and is fairly central to the plot). She's also supposed to be French-Canadian, and working for the government. I can't really think of any lead actress who is believably intelligent (and she really has to be). Perhaps Mira Sorvino, but she's not star quality, and I'm lost for any others.
It was printed in 1980, so it is a bit dated, but the main theme of international terrorists is still current. And the character of Bourne is an interesting one: he's seriously injured for most of the book, is constantly in conflict with himself and his memories, and has a dangerous and troubled past (wife and children dead etc). The love affair between Bourne and the woman (Marie St-Jacques!) is also relevant to the plot (she's firstly a hostage and then slowly they fall in love), and could be well developed.
So, it's apparently got a budget of $75 million (same as BV) and could start filming in about September, if not earlier. Definite possibilities as a blockbuster if the script is good, and the plot is tightened (lots of dealings with the government and the White House could be removed). And there are two more books in the series (there's a very 'incomplete' feel to the ending, as if a sequel is just minutes away).
Any other thoughts? I was thinking yesterday of who could have been in the original film if it had been made when the book was released, and I guessed Richard Chamberlain. I just checked IMDB and found that Chamberlain was indeed the lead in a TV movie of the film, made in 1988. Jaclyn Smith was the lead female, and Chamberlain looked about 50! Very funny...
A strange side-note: With BV now being delayed, Winona's new movie 'Autumn in New York' has just been pushed up by two weeks to an August 4 release date. Irony anyone?

5/26/00

Universal Says Damon Has 'Identity' for Lead
By Michael Fleming
NEW YORK (Variety) - Matt Damon has been offered ``The Bourne Identity'' Universal's adaptation of the Robert Ludlum bestseller that will be directed by Doug Liman.
While Damon had been considering a number of possible projects, including the DreamWorks picture ``The Ninth Man,'' sources said there is a strong likelihood that he will commit to the film and that it will begin production in the fall.
In the novel, his character washes up on an island near death from gunshot wounds, with no recollection of what happened, or even who he is. The man finds himself being hunted by a variety of bad guys, and also discovers he's remarkably efficient at killing them. Not knowing whether he is a good guy or a bad one, he struggles to find his identity before the assassins find their mark.
The adaptation has been one of the highest-profile projects in the Universal arsenal, especially since Liman (''Go'') signed on. The project was strongly considered by Brad Pitt, but availability became a problem when he committed to the Tony Scott-directed ``Spy Game'' for Universal and Beacon. Pitt formally passed Wednesday evening, at which time the offer was made to Damon's reps at Creative Artists Agency.
Damon is working with director Jim Sheridan on an outline to see if they might team on a Fox 2000 adaptation of ``I Know This Much Is True,'' the best-selling Wally Lamb novel about a painter who cares for his dysfunctional and destructive twin.
Damon stars in director Robert Redford's ``The Legend of Bagger Vance'' which is set for an August 4 release via DreamWorks.
The story is also on Mr. ShowBiz

5/22/00

I don't know if this is good news or not. From Jeannie Williams in USA Today:
Sneaks: Robert Redford's movie with Matt Damon and Will Smith, The Legend of Bagger Vance, has been given a Nov. 3 release date by DreamWorks, which had considered it for this summer.
At a preview of the studio's summer/fall movies, the studio's production exec, Walter Parkes, said it was decided Bagger isn't ideal for summer audiences: "It's no more about golf than Field of Dreams was about baseball."
Damon is another of Redford's golden boys fallen from grace, a Georgia golfer who has lost his swing. But he's sought for a 36-hole showdown to uphold Savannah's honor against Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen in 1931. Vance is a caddie with mysterious powers. Charlize Theron adds glamour.
What's the competition on that date?? It's better for Oscar contention (and not as much emphasis on BO), but could be very close to ATPH.
Here's some more from David Poland at roughcut.com DREAMWORKING: DreamWorks did a dog-and-pony show for press and exhibitors last Wednesday and it was both encouraging and occasionally concerning. Encouraging because Bagger Vance looks like is could be really great and that the move to a release date of "Unspecified Fall Holiday" could be the start of a successful Oscar run. The studio showed 15 minutes of a very rough cut of the movie right after announcing that we would have to wait longer than expected to see the complete film. And the footage suggested that the move was not panic, but pride. Studio production co-chief Walter Parkes, who emceed the evening in that way that only studio production chiefs can, suggested that the film is tied to all of Redford's other films, with the theme of a young legend falling and rising again for one more grab at honor and glory. I'm not so sure that Ordinary People, which he mentioned by name, fits. However, it is certainly true of The Natural, and The Legend of Bagger Vance seems to fit squarely into that world. It is set back in the 1920s (Bobby Jones is still playing) and Matt Damon's Rannulph Junuh was the greatest golfer anyone had ever seen. Until he put down his clubs. "I lost my swing," he tells everyone. But he doesn't have to tell Bagger Vance (Will Smith). Why? I'd hate to tell you because I consider it a small spoiler, but Walter Parkes said it without worrying about tipping anything off, so I can only assume that the info will be part of the movie's marketing strategy. I'll tell you what. Click here if you want to know. Anyway, in the segment we saw, we meet the child who narrates the story, Captain Junnuh, Bagger and Charlize Theron as Adele, whose history with Junnuh is left unclear in the first 15 minutes. But that doesn't keep her from stripping down to her silk teddy in a New York minute despite the southern location. That should be an interesting character and relationship. You'll never see a rough cut any rougher than this outside of an editing room or first assembly screening. Yet, the feel was already there.
On the concern side, Chicken Run, which is brilliantly made, also happens to be very dark. And not in an evil/dark kind of way. The chickens talk, but yet they are less human than, say, the dinosaurs in Dinosaur. They are chickens. And it's not that they aren't charming and funny and worth watching. But it is very British. Very subtle. And my gut told me that this film is either going to become a phenomena that kids really get into, scrambling as they exit the theaters for "Wallace & Gromit" videos in the excitement of something really revolutionary and new. Or they will go see Dinosaur and Titan A.E. and Fantasia instead. I don't know. But the film has a similar feel to Titan A.E. in that it falls somewhere between kids' fare and adult.
The other extended presentation was about 12 minutes of The Contender, the second film from former film critic Rod Lurie and friend of this column (even after I gave a "Thumbs Down" to his first film, Deterrence, on "Roger Ebert & The Movies"). This small film, which DreamWorks just picked up a few weeks ago, may be the edgiest film every released by the studio. The studio feels that Joan Allen, Gary Oldman and Jeff Bridges could all be award bait, and the clips they show suggest that they aren't wrong. Lurie has opened up visually a whole lot since Deterrence. And he has a crew of major league actors here, who were all clearly relishing a chance to chew over Lurie's dialogue. Sam Elliott's description of one of the sex photos that threatens to derail the confirmation of Joan Allen's Senator Laine Hanson to the post of Vice President, will be one of the most quoted lines of the fall, at least among guys. It might even get Joan Allen the cover of Maxim, if she wants it. I'm not quite sure what Lurie was thinking when he left President Jeff Bridges standing with a sandwich on a plate for 5 minutes in one scene (Actually, I do know, but he should have come up with a better solution and when he reads this, he'll be one of six people who actually know what I'm talking about and so I'm really indulging myself here), but this could be one of those small films that people fight over and raise tensions all through the Oscar season.
The studio also showed a still-on-video trailer for the new Cameron Crowe movie, which is not going to be called "Stillwater," but whose current title, Something Real, is still being called temporary. In any case, amid reports that test screenings aren't going well, it looks f**king great to me. There are a lot of nuances which could make the gentle, smart, personal touches that has made Crowe a near-legend after just three films as a writer/director (which is also true of his "sponsor" in the business, James L. Brooks, who has only made four films, one of which, I'll Do Anything, is considered a car wreck by most). Like many people, I will be praying for the best.
Also shown were trailers of Road Trip, Small Time Crooks and What Lies Beneath. (Beneath has also the victim of bad test screening buzz. But director Robert Zemeckis has never failed me, except maybe with Back to the Future II, but he made up for it with III. I don't expect that he's made a loser here.) They also showed stills from Castaway and An Everlasting Piece, which is a small Irish comedy from a Jewish Baltimorian director, Barry Levinson.
Overall, the reel was impressive. And it didn't hurt that the studio poked fun at itself by running a tape of many of the negative headlines about the studio's lack of direction over the last few years. This is a group with a unique personality. Though there was no film that screamed "commercial!" like Gladiator did and does, everything screamed quality and that is the unique living legacy at DreamWorks. Every time this group dips into the obvious, they fail. At least in perception. So, I'm glad they are reaching for, as they have with most of their films to date, a more sophisticated audience. For quality. They deserve to be rewarded for the effort and it looks like the studio will have three films to run Oscar campaigns for this year, instead of the one that's become a tradition the last two years.
The click goes to: Bagger Vance is an angel (simple text). That's a really encouraging report.
And from Newsaskew: The EW index (pgs. 172-174): Tally of people on EW covers: Matt Damon (12 times), Ben Affleck (6 times), Chris Rock (5 times), Salma Hayek (one time), Alan Rickman (one time), and alas, Kevin Smith (zero times, but there's still time!).

Val followed up with this:
Showbiz also reported the BV move to November. This is very interesting. It will be showing a few weeks after PRETTY HORSES.
Bill wrote - in response to Val's raving about an ATPH still shot shown in the Latina magazine:
Latina is online, but I assume the latest note you posted was about the June issue, which isn't up yet.
The index to May with search capability is at: http://www.latina.com/new/magazine/books/00/may/index.html.
Maybe they only post the June issue June 1?
(My note: Let's do keep an eye on it.)

5/21/00

Some ATPH Spoiler in this item
Val wrote:
LATINA Magazine/June 2000
HOLD ON LADIES--THIS IS THE BEST PIC OF MATT IN HIS JOHN GRADY ATTIRE I'VE SEEN YET! LATINA prints a small but most beautiful (that word isn't enough to describe this photo) of Matt and Penelope in character. It is most likely from the scene at the train station when John meets Alejandra for their last time spent together. Matt's face looks sculptured and his look is pensive. Penelope looks terrific in a white suit with veiled hat and white gloves in hand. Wow! Get me a 8 x 10 blow up of this one! (My note: sorry, I don't have a copy of this photo - I suspect we will see it eventually. BTW the scene mentioned by Val is an extrememly sad scene - I cringe thinking about it.)
Felicity's Monday news:
There was a brief item in the NY Daily News yesterday about Matt being spotted smoking on the terrace of some restaurant in NY.
From Cindy Adams in the NY Post:
MATT AND BEN ARE AT IT AGAIN
TO help other young filmmakers get their shot, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck pitching networks on "Greenlight," a reality show. It follows a first-time director bringing his script to life. They're putting up a Web site where anyone can submit a screenplay. Lone rule: you must read two other treatments and rate them. When it winnows down to finalists, Matt and Ben will read their works, pick five and shoot five minutes of each on digital cameras.
The chosen one gets a $1 million budget from Miramax.
MORE Matt Damon. Baird Jones, a poker-arounder, reports Bostonians say the Matt/Winona Ryder rift is money. He influenced her to invest with the now imprisoned Dana Giacchetto. She lost $1 million. Her last film "Girl, Interrupted" did big for Angelina Jolie but made no money.
Supposedly, Matt blames himself for what happened, but, still, the romance has gone with the bank account.
Bill wrote:
Here's a guess about "Ninth Man" (Note: rumored to be a project that Matt may be interested in.)
The Jesse James Northfield Raid: Confessions of the Ninth Man by John J. Koblas
This is the amazon.com description:
Controversy has dogged the heels of Jesse James through history. Koblas, with superior researching skills, has sorted fact from folk legend and documented the lives of Jesse and his gang. He follows their lives after Northfield, giving a well-rounded picture of the men who made the famous Minnesota raid on the bank in Northfield.

5/21/00 Old news, but I just found the source:

5/20/00

Rainmaker was shown on NBC this evening. Hope you were able to catch it. Click here for a memorable scene.
Felicity wrote:
A really weird mix of half trailer/half ET footage is at dark horizons (BV). It's apparently the teaser trailer, and includes interviews. It's great quality (Quicktime).
Also from Felicity:
I finally got the latest Premiere today, and there was another small bit on Matt that I hadn't read elsewhere. From the story on Spielberg, and how his decisions affect others, there was this:
Matt Damon
Damon was tentatively slated to work for six weeks on Minority Report, as Cruise's co-star. Now the very tired actor (TTMR, ATPH, TLOBV) can get some R&R. Next up might be Dreamworks' 1940s crime-fighter project The Ninth Man, Frank Darabont's Bijou, or Minghella's Cold Mountain (but MGM prefers Cruise in the lead role). By the time he's done (with any of them - or all three for that matter), Minority Report's time may have come again.
Anyone heard anything about The Ninth Man?
A big Matt fan reported:
There's a beautiful Bagger Vance photo of Matt in the new "Boys of Summer" issue of US Weekly. Definitely one of the better ones.

5/18/00

Steph wrote:
Matt and Ben are featured in a very small article in this week's Baseball Weekly. It tells how they might play the rolls of the two baseball players who basically switched lives. It's on the very first page if you want to check it out
Kathryn wrote:
Just wondering if you've heard anything about this. Either I'm more in the dark than I think I am about Matt, or my brain's not working and can't fathom that this is actually a joke. Found it when I was trying to look stuff up about Minority Report. I enjoy South Park, but as a *live-action* movie? You've gotta be kidding...
(My note: Let's do hope it is a big joke.)
From Val:
It's a bit too quiet on the Matt front of late but have a couple of things to share:
- This from Showbiz scoop:
  *Cowpoke your brother: Billy Bob Thornton is embarking on a singing career while he and bride Angelina Jolie plan to star in a dark cowboy comedy with Matt Damon attached.
- PEOPLE (w/Bruce Willis on cover) reported:
  The story we've already heard about the bowling party where Matt, Billy Bob, Angelina and Penelope played billiards and talked projects.
  Also, a note regarding Ben Affleck's latest purchase: A 3 bedroom home on Cape Cod for his mom! That's a little small by Ben's taste--his LA mansion is some 13 rooms and is painted lime green . . . I think Mom might have better taste!
- Short interview on Access Hollywood with the voices for Titan AE. Both Matt and another actor (?) were called back weeks after what they thought was the final cut to re-do several scenes in an attempt to make the content edgier --to appeal to their adolescent boy target audience!

5/16/00

Thanks are due to a huge Matt fan for sharing the following report:
Hello there! Just wanted to thank you for writing about Matt being on the Golf channel...I never would have known had it not been for your site! Anyways, I watched the whole thing, and it was really interesting. (Not really knowing anything about golf, some of the stuff they were talking about was over my head, but oh well.) Matt and Tim Moss (his instructor for Bagger Vance) talked about how they started Matt out with golf, what type of swing you should start with, etc. Matt talked about how he's addicted to the game now, and can't wait to beat his dad at it. He did quite a few demonstrations. He also mentioned the thing about him separating his rib by swinging too hard, like he did on the Tonight Show. Matt's cousin even called in and joked around with him a bit. Overall, it was a good show. Matt was looking cute as always. One last thing, they said that "Baggar Vance" was supposed to come out in August, then Matt corrected them by mentioning that he had heard today that it was getting pushed back to "later in the year". Don't know if that's happening or not though. Thought you might like to know.
From Val:
US WEEKLY and PEOPLE both ran the same photo of Matt and Ben at the Cambridge Rally.
Also, US WEEKLY ran a very nice picture of Matt in his Golden Globe tux placed INBETWEEN Winona and Penelope in a fashion spread highlighting white-hot fashions (interesting that they would do that!)
Felicity reported that Matt is named in a new project:
From EW:
CASTING Newlyweds Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton will star with Matt Damon and Pen�lope Cruz in an untitled ''dark comedy'' which is described as '''Midnight Cowboy' for the new millennium.'' Oscar winning Spanish director Pedro Almod�var is in talks to direct....
From Hollywood Reporter:
USA Films in the dark with Thornton, Jolie
CANNES -- USA Films is ramping up its production slate with a number of high-profile projects, including a dark comedy with Billy Bob Thornton, his wife, Angelina Jolie, Matt Damon and Penelope Cruz attached to star. Additionally, the company has hired Ruth Pomerance from Artists Management Group as a new senior production executive and is in discussions with James Gandolfini ("The Sopranos") to join the cast of its new Coen brothers' feature "The Barber Movie." The untitled Thornton-Jolie feature is being penned by his longtime collaborator, Tom Epperson, for Todd Harris to produce. Thornton and Epperson came up with the idea for the project -- described as a "Midnight Cowboy" for the new millennium -- and then pitched it to Harris, who last month signed a two-year, first-look film/TV deal with USA. Sources said Oscar-winning helmer Pedro Almodovar is being eyed to direct, though discussions with him through Cruz and Thornton thus far are only preliminary. No start date has been finalized for what will likely be a modestly budgeted film. (Beth Laski and Cathy Dunkley)
From Mr Showbiz:
Pen�lope Cruises Into the Limelight � and the Tabloids
Gorgeous Spanish star Pen�lope Cruz is very busy these days making movies in English. She's getting to know several top-list American actors, from Johnny Depp ("one of the funniest people I know," she says of her Blow co-star) to the "very charismatic" Nicolas Cage to Matt Damon, who gossipmongers say dumped longtime girlfriend Winona Ryder for the Spanish beauty.
Cruz has said many times that she has nothing but friendship with Damon, her leading man in All the Pretty Horses. "But everyone says these things [about Matt and me], so both of our [publicists] made statements. � The truth is: We're very good friends. So now we just ignore it. Why do we have to explain and say anything if it's not true?" she wonders. "Why do they print the opposite? It's crazy."
Cruz came to Cannes with the romantic Woman on Top, her first starring role in English. She plays a chef who has men salivating over more than her culinary creations. Obviously, the part's not a big stretch. "Normally, I don't do a character like that. Normally, all this stuff I play is much more crazy."
This week, she's off to Athens to begin filming Captain Corelli's Mandolin, in which Cage plays a Romeo-like lover to her Juliet. "We are rehearsing like crazy. I'm studying a Greek accent, the tango, Greek dance, and, oh yes, how to [ride a] motorcycle. Nic has to learn mandolin, singing, and 15 different things."
Commented Felicity:
That latest Us Weekly is good - the pic of Matt and Winona is probably the best one of them at the Globes I've seen. Twice, however, they said Matt was with Penelope (different articles). But nice again that they said Matt stayed with his mother in Boston while Ben swished it up with Gwyneth at a top hotel.
Monday news from Felicity:
- Penelope's movie has been shown at Cannes and there's a little press. You've gotta love this girl! From USA Today:
  * Penelope Cruz flew into Cannes from Greece, where she is filming a lavish World War II romance with Nicolas Cage called Captain Corelli's Mandolin, to promote Woman on Top, in which she plays a spicy Brazilian chef.
  Spain's leading female star, Cruz is certain to make a big impression in America now that she's starring in English-language movies such as the upcoming All the Pretty Horses with Matt Damon. She and Damon, who worked on the Billy Bob Thornton movie more than a year ago, have denied reports they're dating. ''The truth is, we're very good friends, and so we just ignore it.''
  Cruz has seen Thornton's final cut of Horses and finds herself so moved that she's nearly speechless. ''I saw it and can't talk about it. What he has done with it is amazing and brave. When I see that movie I cannot talk to anybody for hours. It's'' -- searching for the right phrase, she plunged her fist into her chest -- ''like a knife in your heart.
- Final cut of Horses?
  A pro-Matt article from the Boston Globe:
  Subject of workplace fairness has Harvard playing dunce
  By Robert A. Jordan, Globe Columnist, 5/14/2000
  As Harvard University graduates can attest, the school teaches to the highest standards of excellence.
  Some students have learned so well that they have taken on the role of teacher themselves. Such is the case with former student Matt Damon.
  He and fellow Oscar winner Ben Affleck were asked to speak at a recent rally for the Harvard Living Wage Campaign. Damon said in his speech that it was painful but morally incumbent for him to reproach the school for not living up to its own moral standards, just as a son might reproach a parent.
  And that is what Damon, and Affleck, whose father and stepmother worked at Harvard, and hundreds of Harvard students have been doing for the past year - reproaching and educating Harvard on the need to provide its workers with a living wage.
  In this case, that wage is equal to what the parents in a family of four in Cambridge must earn to pay for the rent, utilities, food, and clothing, or what a single parent with one child might require to meet the same bills. It works out to $11.41 an hour in the first case, and at least $17.42 an hour in the second, according to a study by the Women's Educational and Industrial Union, or WEIU.
  Damon told the crowd that the lesson he learned at Harvard has stayed with him, especially when he started a company and began to hire employees. ''I have always tried, in the tradition of conduct becoming a Harvard student, to treat my employees with respect, courtesy, decency, and fairness - which includes a good living wage, one that accounts for the cost of living in the area I am asking them to work.''
  Harvard, he said, ''is showing nary a one of the attributes they threaten to expel kids for not living up to. This conduct is conduct unbecoming Harvard University.''
  It is not just a famous son reminding Harvard of its failings these days. Rather, workers have been joined by students, local unions, and Cambridge city officials to deliver the message.
  The two sides are divided by what amounts to $3.50 an hour and health benefits.
  Cambridge City Councilor Marjorie Decker and others involved in the Living Wage Campaign have repeatedly asked Harvard to boost the minimum wage for its workers from $6.50 to $10 an hour, with health benefits. They are advocating on behalf of the entire work force, including subcontracted workers who may be underpaid by their employers, as well as workers directly employed by the university.
  In a recent letter to the Coalition of Harvard Unions, which joined the living wage campaign, Harvard's office of Human Resources noted that it has been ''carefully examining a great many issues having to do primarily with Harvard's contingent workforce.''
  The letter said that ''with respect to the adoption by the University of tighter controls on the process of contracting with outside service providers, your concerns in this area are well known to us.'' Officials promised to investigate situations where they hear that providers are not meeting relevant laws and ''take action when necessary.''
  But when it comes to the central issue of a living wage for Harvard workers, the response has been disappointing. After a series of meetings over the past 15 months, an ad hoc committee selected by (but not limited to) university officials released a report that acknowledges the school's responsibility to its work force and subcontractors, but - in the words of one student - ''its proposed guidelines are vague at best and damaging at worst.''
  Among the committee recommendations are extension of health benefits and tuition assistance for part-time employees who work, on average, more than 16 hours a week.
  In addition, the committee recommended that Harvard require its nine-month or longer subcontractors to pay their Harvard-based workers who work more than 16 hours a week the same health benefits as regular employees. However, the living wage advocates worry that this would result in some employees having their hours cut back so Harvard could save money to cover benefits elsewhere.
  In effect, the activists argue, Harvard's proposal would ''deteriorate rather than ameliorate'' working conditions.
  What they point to is the fact that the university, with an endowment of more than $12 billion, can afford to establish standards that provide a living wage and health benefits to all workers.
  The campaigners are not going to go quietly. ''We demand more of Harvard,'' they wrote, ''and we will continue to fight for a living wage and benefits until Harvard takes the high road.''
  Damon best summed it up when he said the issue ''isn't about politics or self-aggrandizement or about me.'' He added, ''It's about respect, courtesy, decency, fairness - and it's about time.''
  (Commented Felicity: Interesting that he talks about setting up the company and what he wanted for the employees. )
Val wrote:
Here's a story on the FREQUENCY star related to Matt and Ben in a Hollywood way. I found it ironic that the once "starving for good roles" duo (Matt & Ben) are now taking parts that other actors were starving for--interesting how it all turns out!
From Showbiz Spotlight
Caviezel's Career CRISTO-izes.
You'd think it was just starlets in backless sequins who wrestled over plum roles in Hollywood. But the admittedly slighted Jim Caviezel has at least kept his sense of humor about being blown out of the HARBOR - and bucked from ALL THE PRETTY HORSES- by diabolical duo, Matt Damon & Ben Affleck. Hollywood's heavyhitters all seem to be on the same casting FREQUENCY.
First, Jim wanted to ride wild HORSES into the spotlight, until Matt Damon grinned and got the part. Then Jim was signed to lead a tour of duty on, PEARL HARBOR, when Ben Affleck flashed his Navy/pearly whites and swabbed the role. But just as well that PEARL HARBOR is history for Jim, since the salaries have sunk to balance the prolonged, grueling, budget-bloated shoot. Even with a $130m budget, Affleck is only getting $250K plus a bite off the back end. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer admitted the majority of funding is at the not so tender mercy of ILM special effects and harbor clean-up.
Regardless, Jim Caviezel's starfire is better served replacing Aaron Eckhart in ANGEL EYES with Jennifer Lopez, working alongside Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt in PAY IT FORWARD, and costarring in the upcoming COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO with Guy Pierce. Suppose Jim finally asked himself, "Why bother to walk THE THIN RED LINE when you can keep your bank account safely in the black."
More from Val:
Access Hollywood/Weekend did a short piece on BAGGER VANCE. It showed Matt on the driving range (somewhere in LA) demonstrating his swing. He said that as soon as he signed on for the role he literally left New Mexico (from the PRETTY HORSES set) for the greens where he practiced (with the help of a coach) for up to 4 hours a day. He was swinging so hard that he hurt himself but he filmed anyway concealing his pain . . . [poor babe;we heard that story on Leno]. He also praised "Bob" Redford for his and intuitiveness as related to his actors were experiencing throughout the shoot!
From Kathryn:
Thought you might like to know about Matt mentioned in an interview somebody from AICN did with Kevin Smith. He's mentioned in a section where the interviewer mentions movies and Kevin talks about his involvement, or non-involvement, with them. It's a long interview, but it's about 3/4 of the way down:
[EG]: DAREDEVIL.
[KS]: I worked on the comic and then at one point the comic was up for grabs and I called up Bob and Harvey and said, �There�s this great comic book. It�d be perfect for [Matt Damon] and he�s familiar with it and he used to collect the comic and you could get Robert Rodriguez to direct it and I�ll do a draft.� And they said, �Great, let�s do it.� And they started pursuing it and Marvel�s Avi Arad was asking for ridiculous concessions like they wanted a 60-70 million dollar film with a 40 million dollar marketing budget. And it�s not really a special effects extravaganza, it�s a blind guy in tights, so they never made the deal work and I think it wound up over at Columbia. For a long time, Chris Columbus had it and then it got free of Chris Columbus and that�s when we were trying to option it but we were opposite the guy who was attached to it until recently Mark Steven Johnson. Miramax threw up their hands when Marvel wanted a lot for it, so there was just no way we were gonna pay that much for this movie and I said �Look, I�m with you. Let it go.� So it went to Mark Steven Johnson who did SIMON BIRCH. And I guess he was attached to it for a while, but I heard that nothing�s happening on that either.

5/15/00 News from Felicity:

From the Star magazine online:
Buddy streaks
BEST buds Matt Damon and Ben Affleck went streaking the other day The Good Will Hunting fellas each had highlights put in their hair and were quite the sight sitting outside the Los Angeles salon with tinfoil on their heads while they sipped coffee!
(the photos of that should be something!)
The main Spielberg fansite has put the ET footage of Bagger Vance online. Find it at www.spielberg-dreamworks.com/legendofbaggervance/
As usual, I can't get the sound but I love that 'golf in the ocean' scene.
The site also claims the full website will be open May 19.

5/14/00
News from the usual suspects :-)

Did you see this from the mattdamonlist at egroups? Movie Star and Golf Nut Matt Damon in Studio for Two Nights on The Golf Channel
ORLANDO, Fla.--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--May 11, 2000--Hollywood heartthrob Matt Damon, one of the stars in the anticipated summer release "The Legend of Bagger Vance," is scheduled to make his debut appearance at The Golf Channel studios as a featured guest on the May 16 and 17 telecasts of the golf instructional series, "Academy Live."
Damon, who won an Academy Award for "Good Will Hunting" and starred in other box-office hits "Saving Private Ryan," "Rounders," and "The Rainmaker," will be joined on "Academy Live" by PGA master professional, Tim Moss, who served as a swing coach and technical golf adviser throughout the filming of the movie.
"The Legend of Bagger Vance" is a drama based on Steven Pressfield's novel in which Will Smith stars as Damon's mystical caddie. Directed by Robert Redford, the film is about the game of life, not just golf. Set in the 1930s, the movie also stars Charlize Theron and is narrated by Jack Lemmon, who also makes a cameo appearance as a veteran golfer.
"Academy Live" host Peter Kessler will discuss and demonstrate with his guests the steps Moss took to get Damon in "golf shape" for the movie. Since
Damon's character is challenged for a round of golf with the likes of Walter
Hagen and Bobby Jones, it was necessary that he look the part.
"Matt wanted to really learn to play rather than just playing cosmetically for a movie part," said Moss. "Once he started hitting the ball well, he wanted to play all the time and now has become a true golfer."
Kessler, Damon and Moss will take viewer calls during the 8-9 p.m. telecasts.

Also from the latest Vanity Fair: There's an extract from Lance Armstrong's account of the Tour de France (he's the cyclist who overcame cancer to win the cycle race). At a crucial stage of a race stage, just before the finish line, he writes that he was thinking of 'Good Will Hunting' and the apples line. As he won the stage, he yelled to his crew "How do you like them ___ apples?" That line then became his team's mantra for the rest of the tour.
Just a nice infusion of GWH into a news story, and a good sign of how people still remember it. 5/12/00

5/11/00 News from Felicity and Val:

The NY Post had a section yesterday on friends of Penelope saying she definitely is (still) going out with a handsome guy called 'Thomas'.
From Roger Friedman at Foxnews.com I am told that no matter how you slice it, Daddy and Them is quite a failure. Luckily, it had a very small budget � $4 million.
In the meantime, questions abound concerning Billy's follow-up directing effort, his adaptation of All the Pretty Horses. Star Matt Damon hemmed and hawed when I asked him about it recently, preferring instead to talk about his upcoming Robert Redford movie about golf, The Legend of Bagger Vance with Will Smith.
(Thus noted Felicity: "That's quite worrying..." And I concur.)
From Ted Casablanca at eonline: According to my Cambridge bureau, Ben Affleck and his longtime companion Matt Damon fled out of their recent speaking engagement at Harvard--where Affleck's papa once worked as a custodian--and into a waiting Mercedes SUV, chauffeured by none other than Fish Stick Paltrow.
"No autographs!" Ben snapped at the crowd of eager youths.
Well, Matt promptly disobeyed that edict and happily obliged with his John Hancock. Gwyneth, however, was much more in a Ben frame of mind and proceeded to speed off with her pretty passengers, nearly running over a coed or six. Peasants (and pedal) be damned
Ben Affleck's Official Web Page has posted articles on Ben and Matt's Cambridge visit. Previous articles for which Ben was interviewed which include 'Matt stuff'(Vanity Fair) are also posted on this page. Click on http://www.affleck.com/mindex.html

5/10/00

the article here

5/9/00

Val wrote:
ACCESS HW had coverage of Matt and Ben's appearance at the Cambridge rally. They showed a rather large crowd gathered outside a university building and on the lawn including Gwyneth wearing 1970's style shades and very blonde hair--again). Both Matt and Ben read from prepared statements calling for higher wages for the university's maintenance personnel. Matt's final statement was something like "...a university's reputation lies in good public relations" intimating that the poor salaries at the university were a negative for its image. I suppose both Matty and Ben felt the need to relax in their home town because neither one of them looked very good! If you've seen the pics, they literally looked like they had been sleeping in their clothes and Ben, in particular, looked as if he had a rough night! Partying a bit too much perhaps?
ET ran coverage of the duo at the formal benefit for the repetory company. They did look quite gorgeous in this clip--both wearing formal black and white attire. The interview ET ran asked both of them about being in the public eye and loss of their personal privacy. Ben asked the interviewer if he/she liked being asked who he was seeing or who he slept with last night . . . Matt stated that the less the public knows about one's (an actor's) personal life the better opps for being cast in a variety of roles.[I found this thinking a bit perplexing! I suppose his recent Matt/Win headlines have made him even more guarded. That is really too bad because alot of his initial appeal for me was his openness and conviction not to be affected by stardom.
The other story ET ran was a brief review of BAGGER VANCE. Will Smith, who plays the mystical caddie, said the storyline was too complicated to discuss but promised the movie would be great! The clips of Matt and Charlize dancing were gorgeous. He looks tanned and almost boyish (his hair was combed in bangs). The cinematography looked good in the clips shown of the Georgia setting and golf course.
Sabrina wrote:
... I watched the ET thing last night, and maybe it's just me, but Matt really looks like a young Robert Redford, did you see it? ciao!
(I agree that Matt was very Redford-like in those clips they showed. )

5/8/00

Monday news from Felicity:
- From the Boston Globe:
  Stars unveil working plays at ART gala
  By Julie Hatfield, Globe Staff, 5/8/2000
  Often a big star such as Matt Damon or Ben Affleck will pop into the cocktail reception of a fund-raiser and pop out as quickly, disappearing so fast that the star-struck paying guests wonder if they really saw them. But Damon, Affleck, and brother Casey Affleck were still charming the sold-out crowd toward midnight on Friday when they joined auctioneer and Four Seasons general manager Robin Brown for the live auction to benefit the American Repertory Theatre at its pA.R.T.y 2000. This is after all three of the actors, along with company members from ART, presented a trio of original acts of plays not yet completed and never seen before Friday. All this while Gwyneth Paltrow watched from her table in the center of the grand ballroom.
  There was a tableful of Rosovskys from Newton, with the extended family of Henry Rosovsky, former dean of the faculty of arts and science at Harvard University; his wife, Nitza, noted writer of books on Jerusalem; their daughter, Leah McIntosh of Newton, who works in the Harvard development office, and her husband, David McIntosh, who works at the Center for Business Innovation, a business think tank; one of his two sons, Michael Rosovsky of Newton, who teaches at Emerson College, and Michael's wife, Rachel, a fourth-year Harvard Medical School student. Rosovsky is cochairman of the board of ART, along with attorney Philip Burling of Cambridge and his wife, Hilary.
  Among the others at this glittery event: actor Joaquin Phoenix of ''Gladiator'' soon-to-be fame; philanthropists-Patriots owners Myra and Robert Kraft of Brookline; and Back Bay venture capitalist Andy Goldfarb and his wife, Rachael. Gwenn Cohen was chairwoman of the party.
- Some other things - Remember that article in Newsweek where Harvey Weinstein was interviewed on Ripley's Oscar snubs? Here's the full quote: "So I feel like Matt Damon and Anthony Minghella got robbed because I was away {sick}. I think I could have added something. I'm really disappointed for Anthony and Matt. I'm shocked."
  And, in a surprising twist, Matt could have been the one, instead of Leo, who got slammed for participating in the Earth Day meeting with Bill Clinton. I found an article at the Washington Post which claimed the committee (comprising the CIA and the Voice of America) in choosing a spokesperson for the event were looking at "someone like Barbra Streisand, Madonna or Matt Damon." However the television station covering the event, ABC, chose Leo.
  Strange choices there...
Kathy wrote:
I found this on the ET web site
Monday, May 8, 2000
TONIGHT ON ET!
WILL SMITH and MATT DAMON, clowning around as they pair up for a swinging new feature! It's another ET first, as we have the new interviews and candid moments from the set of the 'Legend of Bagger Vance!'
(My note: Thank you, Kathy. Somehow no one saw this coming (that I knew of), but by chance I tuned in and they did show clips from BV and the filming of it. Matt was shown intermittenly and, well, looked dashing in his vintage outfits - the film looks to be artistically filmed ala Redford's other gems.
Shortly before that segment, ET showed a quick interview with Matt and Ben, all dressed up at that play that they were in back home in Beantown, where Ben was asked about the plane crash that occurred during the filming of his new pic "Pearl Harbor", and Matt was sitting by him. Matt was asked something about protecting his private life and said something to the effect that for any actor, the less the public know about them the better it is for them professionally (which is certainly true for actors.)
And Valerie wrote:
Entertainment Tonight is running an interview w/ Will Smith re BAGGER VANCE--possibility of seeing some clips of Matt in this one!
Don't forget Matt's appearance on a re-run of Conan O'Brien on Tuesday night's show.
Also, Ralph Lauren will soon be launching Penelope Cruz as it's "it Girl" model. Penelope is well-known in Spain and Europe as both a model and actress and now she'll try to extend her audience to the states. If you took notice, she wore two of Ralph's designs--the white, angelic-like gown to the GLOBES and the gorgeous blue gown to the OSCAR's. This lovely is on her way!!!
Check out these photos of Matt & Ben in Boston promoting higher wages for Harvard labor crews!
Click here and use the search box to search for Matt Damon. (My note, the photos are shown above.)

5/7/00

My thanks to Meghan sending the photo above, and to all others who sent news about the Harvard rally. Read on.
Felicity news:
- From the Boston Herald:
  Hunks show Good Will to janitors
  by Gayle Fee and Laura Raposa
  Sunday, May 7, 2000
  Harvard dropout Matt Damon and his fellow celebrity Cantabrigian Ben Affleck added the star power to a jampacked rally yesterday to urge the Ivy League university to start sharing the wealth with its workers.
  The Oscar-winning ``Good Will Hunting'' hunks, sporting golden tans and scruffy work boots, delivered impassioned speeches about the Little Guy's need for a $10.25-per-hour living wage. The Harvard Living Wage Campaign claims the school pays workers an hourly wage as low as $6.50 an hour.
  ``Make this school a place where you don't have to avert your eyes in shame when you encounter a janitor in the hallway,'' said Affleck, whose father was a janitor and whose stepmother was a cleaning woman.
  As a former privileged resident of both the Ivy League's ivory tower and the city's less-than-chic streets, Damon acknowledged the ``strained relationship'' between the two.
  ``I'm a proud child of that rocky marriage,'' the Talented Mr. Damon said, flashing that megawatt movie star smile. ``I'm terminally optimistic that marriage can work.''
  After the toothsome Tinseltown twosome spoke, their favorite radical historian, BU prof Howard Zinn, took the stage. Apres Zinn's spin of the sorry salary situation at Harvard, the trio shared hugs, worked the crowd and then repaired into Old Littauer Hall for a round of interviews.
  Even the school's spokesman, Joe Wrinn, admitted he was in awe of the colossal crowd the Cambridge homeboys-cum-social activists attracted.
  ``I've got to hand it to them, it's the largest (rally) I've ever seen,'' said Wrinn, who defended the salary structure by saying wages should be set ``through collective bargaining.''
  Not social activism, in other words.
  ``I've got to credit the kids for their creativeness,'' he said. ``(Matt and Ben) appeared very sincere and admirable.''
  And speaking of admiration, sitting next to Affleck's mom, Chris, at the rally was his off-again-on-again galpal Gwyneth Paltrow, dressed in her '60s radical denim duds, flip-flops and hobbling with a red cane!
  Now, we're not Harvard Medical School grads, but from the look of a bandage on the toes of her left foot, it appears Miss Shakespeare in Love has a broken tootsie. Do you think she got her piggy caught in a pair of Sliding Doors?
  As we told you soooo many times before, the Hollywood hotties were in town this weekend to lend their famous faces to an All-Star American Repertory Theatre benefit at the fab Four Seasons.
  During the glitzy gathering, Matt, Ben and ``Committed'' star Casey Affleck acted in scenes from stage plays written by Newton's own David Mamet, Steve Martin and Christopher Durang. Their acting teacher, David Wheeler, is now an ART director.
  Also seen applauding in the hoity-toity throng was the boys' good pal, ``Gladiator'' guy Joaquin Phoenix, who bolted out of Boston yesterday morning.
  Good Will all around!
- And from the front page of the Boston Globe:
  Damon, Affleck back minimum wage fight against Harvard
  By Anne Thompson, Associated Press, 05/06/00
  CAMBRIDGE - Sporting Hollywood tans and scuffed-up work boots, native sons Ben Affleck and Matt Damon brought celebrity sheen to a rally Saturday urging Harvard University to raise its minimum wage to $10.25.
  The "living wage'' campaign, pushed by the city council and student activists, is the latest showdown in a long-running feud between the wealthy, uber-elite university and a city so liberal its nickname is "The People's Republic of Cambridge.''
  The Ivy League vs. the little guy was the theme of Affleck and Damon's 1997 film "Good Will Hunting'' about a working-class math genius. The two starred in the film and wrote the screenplay, based on personal experience: Affleck's parents worked at Harvard, while Damon attended Harvard - but dropped out - and both went to the un-elite public Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School.
  "Make this school a place where you don't have to avert your eyes in shame when you encounter a janitor in the hallway,'' said Affleck, whose father was, in fact, a janitor and whose stepmother was a cleaning woman.
  He and Damon, standing in front of a banner declaring "You can't eat prestige,'' drew cheers from a crowd of more than 500 that included girls - and a few women - there chiefly to snap photos of their favorite leading men.
  Activists said they held the rally to show they weren't going to drop the issue after a Harvard committee earlier this week recommended policy changes that included increased health coverage and workplace education but failed to address the minimum wage. The city last month raised its minimum wage to $10.
  The Harvard committee said less than 3 percent of its workers earn less than $10.
  University spokesman Joe Wrinn on Saturday repeated Harvard's stance that wages should reflect union negotiations and that paying for education, and allowing employees to take classes during work time, will help them escape low-wage jobs.
  While this particular argument has been going on for 15 months, Harvard continually finds itself under attack from a city that benefits from the tourism and wealth the university brings but resents its financial and administrative power.
  "A lot of it is paternalistic,'' said Donene Williams, a brings but resents its financial and administrative power.
  "A lot of it is paternalistic,'' said Donene Williams, a Harvard secretary and union leader attending the outdoor rally near the university Science Center.
  "Harvard says, 'We, up in the ivory tower, will decide what's best for you. And the workers don't want that.''
  As a former resident of both the ivory tower and the disgruntled city, Damon acknowledged the "strained relationship'' between the two. "I'm a proud child of that rocky marriage,'' he said with a brilliant grin. "I'm terminally optimistic that marriage can work.''
  Damon also accused Harvard of not setting a good example for its students - a view shared by some students in the crowd.
  "It's absurd,'' said Shanya Dingle, 21, a senior social studies major sitting cross-legged on the lawn. "This is an institution that comes out of the Enlightenment - liberty, equality and the right to pursue happiness - and it denies its workers the very values it tells its students to pursue.''
- Added Felicity: There's photos of the pair (looking fairly scruffy) on yahoo. You can barely recognise Ben in one of the photos (also photo of the day on Jam Showbiz).
And Shelly wrote:
Check out the harvard crimson online site to learn about matt and ben speaking out about the minimum wages paid to harvard empolyees. (See here.)

5/6/00

News from Felicity:
Firstly, there's a series of three pics of Matt in the British 'Hello' magazine (Catherine Zeta-Jones cover). It's of Matt at the awards dinner in Rome (very closely cropped haircut, wearing a tux), where he received the David of Donatello award for Ripley. The focus of the story is "Matt and the mystery woman", as he is shown warmly embracing and speaking with an unknown dark-haired woman called Raffaella. She was probably connected with the studios or movie production - it's the look of "I really liked you, but I haven't seen you for twelve months" as he greets her.
Next: the advance poster for Bagger Vance has been released (was apparently in the NY Times last Sunday, probably with the summer movies guide). It can be found at www.movie-list.com, www.BlueThunderMovies.Simplenet.com, or the www.spielberg-dreamworks.com fan-site for BV.
Will Smith does have first billing, but there's no photos from the film yet. On a mostly blue background it's a pic of a golfer looking to the sunset(?), with the tag-line 'It was just a moment ago'. Huh? Also just gives a release-date of 'Summer'. Pretty simple poster, which gives absolutely nothing away. The real poster and the trailer should be released soon.
Thirdly, the play in Boston is on tonight, if Matt and Ben are back from Hawaii.
I've missed the announcement of Ripley on DVD, but it's already for sale on ebay and Amazon - release date of June 27. And it includes extras, just not the ones I want (extra scenes). Should include trailer, behind-the-scenes featurette, cast and crew interviews, making of soundtrack, music video and commentary by Minghella (if for the whole film would be really interesting). As my DVD player is nicely settled in Australia, I'll look forward to getting the reviews!
Also: there's a section on the Sony 2000 site which has an interview from Showest with Billy Bob, Penelope and Henry Thomas. I couldn't access it, could anyone else?
And a big Matt fan immediately checked out the section mentioned above and reported thus:
The stage presentation begins with a woman describing the film and introducing the director and cast, including "the talented Matt Damon." Billy Bob talks about how making the film was a great experience and that he didn't want it to end. They then nudge Matt to the podium. He says that he can't really add anything to Billy Bob's comments except to say that he hoped it would fulfill the exhibitors' needs as it fulfilled the artistic needs of the people involved in the film. He goes on to say quietly that it's the best movie he's ever been in and probably will ever be in. With that, he and the others leave the stage. Afterward, a woman interviews Billy Bob. He talks about how great it was making a movie with friends. When asked about how it was to work with Matt, Billy Bob says that he wis "a great guy," "a pal" and a "professional." He also says that it was tough role, and that Matt's in everything, but that he's "amazing." I don't remember much from the Henry or Penelope interviews beyond general comments about the talent of everyone involved and enthusiasm for the film as a whole.
Billy Bob may not have been quite as gushing as Minghella in his praise of Matt, but he sure seems to like him personally. Remember how he told Premiere that he felt a "big brother connection to him immediately"?
A reader wrote:
Matt was hanging out on the island (Oahu) where I live last week- we had a few spottings, I got to meet him after one of his golf games. Got a great pic!
More scoops from Felicity:
- From the Boston Herald:
  Damon, Affleck bring good will to Hub
  by Dana Bisbee
  Saturday, May 6, 2000
  It was a night of good will for theater last night as film actors Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and his brother, Casey Affleck, appeared at the Four Seasons Hotel for an all-star American Repertory Theatre benefit.
  ``We've had quite a bit of previous stage experience, but in local theater,'' said Ben Affleck, who shared a screenwriting Oscar with Damon for ``Good Will Hunting.''
  That screenplay began as a workshop play for their acting teacher David Wheeler, now directing at the A.R.T., the Cambridge-based repertory company founded by Robert Brustein.
  ``David is why we're here,'' Affleck said. ``He was our acting coach.''
  Damon and the Affleck brothers, all from Cambridge, put their stage experience to the test at last night's party, acting in scenes of works in progress by playwrights David Mamet, Steve Martin and Christopher Durang.
  Applauding in the audience were Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow and another family friend, ``Gladiator'' co-star Joaquin Phoenix.
  Four Seasons manager Robin Brown also displayed his stage skills, running the dinner party's live auction.
  Gwen Cohen, wearing a Chanel gown, chaired the event.
  A.R.T. actor Jeremy Geidt, Alan Dershowitz, Anne and Graham Gund, Sally Cottingham, Cokie and Lee Perry, Jean Rudnick and Barbara Lee were among the guests gathering before the event for a private reception staged for the movie stars.
  The film actors found their one night's close association with stagecraft alluring, Ben Affleck said.
  ``I wouldn't mind it,'' he said, ``but I'd want to do it in a small format. Perhaps something I wrote.
  ``Acting on stage was the best life experience I've had.''
- Funny story here in the Times of India (originally appeared in London's Sunday Times, which I missed):
  
  Oh no, that's not you again!
  By ROBERT JOHNSTON
  I used to get excited when an invitation to a society party landed on my desk. The thought of rubbing shoulders with movie stars and tycoons while guzzling vintage champagne and canapis was rather attractive. Now, however, whenever a stiffie lands on my desk, I can barely be bothered to open the envelope. I might sound spoilt or show-offy, but I can't bear the thought of spending another evening watching Tom Parker Bowles stuffing free food into his mouth, or Stacey Young eagerly striking a pose for the attendant paparazzi.
  Whether it is a party to promote paint effects (yes, really) or a bash thrown by a rap star, you'll see the same crowd of D-list liggers. Before you even arrive, these days, you know who'll be there, what they will be drinking (champagne or sea breezes), eating (tempura prawns and goat's cheese bruschetta) and talking about -that's if they have anything to say to each other at all, since the same people see each other at the same parties night after night.
  London is supposed to be the most exciting city on earth, so how come every party is packed with celebrity hairdressers and society decorators? It makes you long for the days when the likes of famed socialites Bunny Rogers and Bubbles Rothermere threw parties where the bright young things would mingle with the eccentric Establishment. Today's ballrooms seem to be populated by a bunch of nobodies whose sole raison d'jtre is to appear in OK! magazine.
  Take the recent Chanel party. To launch its new range of sunglasses, the fashion house linked up with The Face magazine, itself celebrating its 20th anniversary. Together, they threw a lavish bash at London's trendy Avenue restaurant. With limitless booze and endless trays of canapis, no expense was spared. But why, you asked yourself as you looked round the room at a sea of nonentities, would they want to spend money putting free food and drink inside a bunch of wannabe models who'll probably only chuck it back up again later anyway?
  "The truth is that there are only about four or five companies in London who organise these events," explains one party planner, who prefers to remain anonymous. "They all have the same contact books, so the old reliables will crop up again and again. For example, everywhere I go I see Anna Ryder Richardson from Changing Rooms. She's the new Christopher Biggins." Once someone gets onto one of these lists, it's impossible to get rid of them. Alexandra Aitken, Petrina Khashoggi, Kelly Hoppen, Henry and Lili Dent-Brocklehurst, Andy and Patti Wong, Lady Victoria Hervey, Ben Elliot and Beverly Bloom are all regulars. Ever heard of them? And even if you have, would you really want to spend an entire evening with them?
  So where are Elton John and Madonna, who, according to most pre-party rumours, are definitely turning up? "Real celebrities won't come unless it is a personal friend," explains the top party planner Anouschka Menzies. "People like Leonardo DiCaprio rarely even turn up to their own parties."
  And that's where the liggers fit in. The point of a party nowadays isn't to have fun, but to get publicity in the following day's tabloids. Inexplicably, one snap in the Daily Mail of Tom Parker Bowles pulling a face and the whole event is deemed a great success. The biggest horror for a party planner is that nobody, however low down the social scale, will turn up. So while it is impossible to guarantee the presence of Cate Blanchett or Joseph Fiennes, you can rely on the likes of Marie Helvin, Jemma Kidd or an ex-EastEnder.
  A truly successful party, according to Menzies, has less to do with celebrities than atmosphere. More importantly, the guests must include a good sprinkling of pretty single girls. "Then everyone mixes," she explains, "because all the men want to talk to them. You also need at least 10 per cent of the guests to be total eccentrics." (As long as it isn't the Marquess of Bath; he's too smelly, claims one of her rivals.) "Americans are very good mixers," she adds. "Matt Damon is great at a party. And some old faces, such as Iman, can be interesting, too."
  Sadly, I don't fall into any of her categories. The truth is, I'm probably one of those sad liggers who would turn up to the opening of an eye. And just the sort of nobody I'm bored of. Never mind: after this, the invitations will soon dry up. (The Sunday Times)
- Matt's welcomed in London party circles!
  From the National Post Online:
  We like our stars stupid
  A conference looks at Hollywood's reluctance to glorify intellect
  John McKay The Canadian Press
  TORONTO - Hollywood and brains in the same breath?
  To many cynics, putting the two ideas into one sentence is a contradiction of the highest order.
  Apart from the extreme theory that many movies are made by, and designed for, the brain-dead, there is considerable evidence that the American film industry has long had a problem conceptualizing intelligence and prefers, instead, to glorify stupidity. From the Three Stooges to Jerry Lewis to Homer Simpson, films and TV have a history of putting down intellect and revering the goof, the idiot, the loser.
  All of this represents a big part of Brainwatching: Intellect and Ideology in Media Culture, a conference of pop-culture academics being held this weekend by the Media Studies Working Group at Ryerson Polytechnic University.
  "The whole issue of the way mind is represented in the media," is how the theme is described by Murray Pomerance of Ryerson's sociology department and one of the conference chairs. "In the '60s-'70s-'80s, by and large, mass culture was not really addressing the human mind as though it were something worth talking about."
  Pomerance points to Good Will Hunting (1997) as a new and rare exception in the movies in which the hero, played by Matt Damon, is a bona fide genius and where the most exciting scenes actually involve his brilliance.

5/3/00

Felicity wrote:
Another mag here has a "exclusive" front-page story on Matt/Winona (Now magazine). Basically it's the same stuff, but says they got engaged after six months and have been in a trial marriage since. Includes two photos of Matt and Penelope at the Globes party (I think - probably the Sony one), in which they do 'appear' close - holding hands (seemingly), and acting friendly, but it's nothing much. It runs the same conspiracy theories (Crowe, Cruz), but says nothing really new. Also includes a b&w photo of Matt/Penelope in ATPH (on horseback) - think I've seen it before, but it's a good shot.
A big Mat fan wrote:
just came across this at http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com. Doesn't say which network is going to run this, but if it is production, they probably have some type of agreement with someone. Hope it goes well...
Affleck and Damon's GREENLIGHT Green Lit?
El Cosmico here, word is that Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Chris Moore's company, Pearl Street Productions, has a new show in the works, already in production, by the name of "Greenlight".
The premise? Well, Miramax will be running a contest over the internet, in which contestants will be able to submit scripts for feature films. Gradually winnowing away contestants, the final writer will have their picture funded by Miramax with a budget of 1 million dollars. Ouch. That's a DAMN tight budget. But, it's more than most people ever get to make their movies, and certainly enough to make a nice indie.
The series is to follow the finalists and the contest, and then follow the winner through casting, production, and post, all the way to the premiere of the film. Following the lucky winner/poor sap everywhere he or she goes.
Well, doesn't that just sound like a bunch of fun, kiddies? Maybe.
-El Cosmico
Kathryn wrote from Edinburgh:
Got this from http://www.empireonline.co.uk/news/news.asp?story=2256. It's concerning an apparently new trailer of Titan AE. What I'm wondering is, is it new for us across the pond? The Titan UK site is located at www.earthwatch.co.uk as opposed to www.afterearth.com, so maybe it's not new for peeps in the US. Just thought you might want to know.

5/3/00

Kathryn in Edinburgh wrote:
Channel 4 (United Kindom) is showing "Mystic Pizza" this Saturday 6 May at 9.05pm. I'll be watching it for Matt this time, as I didn't know about him when I first saw it...
(My note - don't blink or you will miss him - he only shows up at the end and only utters one line.)
From Felicity:
From Mitchell Fink's column (thanks to a big Matt fan):
In Hawaii, Britney Finds
Affleck a Big Attraction
Teen sensation Britney Spears made a big splash in Hawaii � and Ben Affleck noticed.
A Spears confidant said the singer has a bit of a crush on the movie star, but Affleck's girlfriend, Gwyneth Paltrow, need not worry.
Affleck was among about 20,000 people who watched Spears tape her first TV special on the beach at the Hilton Hawaiian Village hotel. He's filming "Pearl Harbor" on Oahu with Alec Baldwin and Cuba Gooding Jr.
Matt Damon, hanging out with pal Affleck after his breakup with Winona Ryder, took a rain check on the show.

5/2/00

Reader Evie wrote, regarding an alleged upcoming rerun of Matt's recent appearance on one of the talk shows:
its conan o' brien show. The date is 5-8-00.I'm not sure if it is the 8th or 9th.
Tuesday news from Felicity:
- Typical British influence in this Times story:
  No escape from US Colditz story
  BY MICHAEL EVANS, DEFENCE EDITOR
  THE story of Colditz prison, which for much of the Second World War held mainly British prisoners, is to be retold in a Hollywood film starring big-name American actors. After the Americanisation of other British wartime heroics, the proposal to produce a Hollywood version of The Colditz Story, written by the escapee Peter Reid, has caused astonishment among surviving British prisoners of war.
  By the end of the war, 186 PoWs, of whom 109 were British, had tried to escape from Colditz. Only 31 succeeded in getting back home, 11 of whom were British. At the end there were just eight American PoWs at Colditz and none tried to escape.
  Kenneth Lockwood, 88, who spent four years and five months in Colditz, said yesterday: "It would be a nonsense if the film showed a bunch of Americans trying to escape. But there's not much we can do about it."
  The new film is to be made by Miramax, which has bought the rights to Mr Reid's two books. Harvey Weinstein, the head of Miramax, is reported to have approached the American stars Tom Cruise, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck to take the lead roles. But Mr Weinstein has promised that some British actors will be recruited and Ewan McGregor's name has been mentioned.
  A 1954 British film of the story, about a PoW escape through a tunnel from the supposedly impregnable Leipzig castle, starred Sir John Mills. The British television series Colditz was a hit in the 1970s.
  The proposed new project follows complaints about the film U-571, starring the American actor Harvey Keitel. It is about the US capturing a German Enigma cipher machine. But the Royal Navy played the pivotal Enigma role by capturing a cipher machine in 1941. The US captured an Enigma machine later, in 1944.
- Yet more here from William Goldman. This is (from the UK Daily Telegraph) an extract out of his latest book: Doctoring is tricky, particularly when it comes to taking credit for success (or blame for failure). Of course, what I'm best known for of late is the the doctoring job I did on Good Will Hunting. If you go on the net and look up my credits, there it is, the previously uncredited work on that Oscar-winning smash.
  The truth? I did not just doctor it. I wrote the whole thing from scratch. Though I had spent at most but a month of my life in Boston, and though I was 65 when the movie came out, I have been obsessed since my Chicago childhood with class as it exists in that great Massachusetts city. My basic problem was not the wonderful story or the genuine depth of the characters I created, it was that no one would believe I wrote it. It was such a departure for me.
  What's a mother to do? Here was my solution - I had met these two very untalented, very out-of-work performers, Affleck and Damon. They were both in need of money. The deal we struck was this: I would give them initial credit, they would front for me at the start, and then, once we were set up, the truth would come out.
  You know what happened. Miramax got the flick, decided to use them in the leads, decided I would kill the commercial value of the flick if the truth were known. [Miramax boss] Harvey Weinstein gave me a lot of money for my silence, plus 20 per cent of the gross.
  Which is why I'm writing this from the Riviera.
  I think the reason the world was so anxious to believe Matt Damon and Ben Affleck didn't write their script was simple jealousy. They were young and cute and famous; kill the ****ers.
  The real truth is that Castle Rock had the movie first, and Rob Reiner, no fool he, was given it for comments. Rob had one biggie.
  Affleck and Damon in an early draft had a whole sub-plot about how the government was after Damon, the maths genius, to do subversive work for them. There were chases and action scenes, and what Rob told them was this: lose that aspect and stick with the characters.
  When I read it, and spent a day with the writers, all I said was this: Rob's dead right.
  Period. Total contribution: zero.
  But I'll bet in some corner of your little dark hearts, you're still saying bull****. I mean, it's been five years and what else have they done? Nada.
  Now I'll tell you the real truth. Every word is mine. Not only that, I'm the guy who convinced James Cameron that the ship had to hit the iceberg...
  (My note: Once again, Goldman is a very cynical person - his little speech has been quoted many times - what he really meant, in spite of all that digression, is that he had nothing to do with the writing of GWH.)
- I've been checking out the major Italian papers looking for some news on that award ceremony last week. Nothing yet, but many Matt stories on site: www.repubblica.it site
  From Jeff Wells at www.reel.com
  Tracking Horses
  Billy Bob Thornton's All The Pretty Horses still doesn't have a firm release date. The epic-length $60 million Western is listed as a "third-quarter release," which under usual circumstances might indicate hesitancy or uncertainty on the part of Sony Pictures, its domestic distributor. An L.A.-based publicist tells me Sony is "just playing chicken � they're waiting to see what the [other distributors] are doing" with their fall release dates. Several weeks ago, I wrote about Sony's alleged concern over the film's longer-than-three-hour running time, and reported slow pacing and arty pretensions. These could make it a tough sell with mainstream audiences, unless it earns the distinction of being a year-end Oscar contender.
  Thornton finished shooting it 10 months ago, on June 24, 1999. More than enough time has elapsed since then to allow him to fine-tune it and start showing it around. So why haven't I heard anything? Why isn't it being shown at Cannes? If anyone can fill in a blank (a review from a recruited screening, say), I'd love to hear it. I'm a major fan of Cormac McCarthy, who wrote the original novel and co-authored the screenplay with Ted Tally and Billy Bob.
  I was told earlier this year one of the concerns about Horses has to do with Thornton, the film's director, having shot the Matt Damon-starring Western with a preponderance of master shots (i.e., wide-angle compositions with all or most of the main characters included in the frame), which means fewer editing choices than usual for those slapping the film together.
  Nothing wrong with this, in theory. Thornton did a superb job with Sling Blade. I wrote earlier, "There's no reason to think he hasn't done just as well here," but now I wonder. Ten months of silence is a lot.
- On useless book news, Penelope Cruz has got a great role in Captain Corelli's Mandolin (starring a miscast Nick Cage). Will become yet more famous... (and she's made People's USA top 25 most beautiful list - not bad for one without a really successful American hit). And Cate Blanchett will also have a great role in the adaptation of Sebastian Faulks' Charlotte Gray, to be directed by Gilliam Armstrong. No other casting for that one yet.
And this from a huge Matt fan (thanks!):
If you're looking for the fully packed version of Dogma with all the special features, then don't buy the one that just came out yesterday....it's of course the full length feature, but without all the extra features...from the view askew website, I learned the version with all the extra stuff will be out later this year...

5/1/00

Several readers have written to enquire about the Sony ATPH clip mentioned here a couple days ago. And here it is (http://www.sonypictures2000.com/frm_2000.html), thanks to my ever-reliable correspondents :-)
And it even comes with a user's guide:
Per a big Matt fan:
- The new People magazine has a story on the Matt and Winona break-up. They mention the Penelope Cruz rumor, and note that the two did spend some time together during that bowling party with Thornton, Jolie, and Henry Thomas. Supposedly, the two took cigarette breaks together outside the bowling alley and were seen engaged in "intense conversation," but that during the evening, they demonstrated no "VSI" - "visible signs of affection." The story also reports that friends of Winona say that she and Matt were close until just a few days ago, and that she enjoyed their vacation. Apparently, they went to the Caribbean, after which Matt flew to Rome to attend an awards show there.
- there's a full page photo in US Weekly of Matt and Ben under the title, "Sexy is Cool." It shows the two at one of this year's Oscar parties, and the accompanying text has familiar quotes from Michael Bay and Anthony Minghella describing their appeal. ("There's something so apple pie about him...") Surprisingly, Matt appears to be absent from this week's gossip section.
Wendy wrote:
"Access Hollywood" had a brief clip about those rumors that Matt and Winona broke over an investment with Giacchetto. Winona's reps said the claim that Matt encouraged her to invest $1,000,000 with Giacchetto were "absolutely false", and Matt's reps said they had no knowledge of the story.
Also-- according to Matt's May TV schedule, there will be a repeat of his interview on David Letterman Tuesday, May 9, for those that missed it the first time around.
(Note: There's some confusion about this - it may be the Conan O'Brien show rather than the Letterman show, and even that may be just a myth - if anyone knows about this firmly, please email.)
And this Tuesday is the release of "Dogma" (on video)!!! YAY!!!
And news from Felicity:
- From the NY Post:
  Take my wife
  OSCAR-winning buddies Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are hoping to hit a home run with a movie based on the wife-swapping antics of Yankees pitchers Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich. The hurlers made national headlines in 1973 when they went public with their switcheroo. Affleck and Damon - fresh from giving galpal Winona Ryder the heave-ho - have optioned a script about the scandal based on the new book by former Post sports scribe Maury Allen, "All Roads Lead to October: Boss Steinbrenner's 25-year Reign Over the New York Yankees."
- The Matt/Winona break-up is on the cover of Australian NW magazine - I can see it on the web-page but can't access the full story. I'll have a copy in a few weeks.