The Matt Damon Column Archives
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Updated 7/31/2002

Matt in Good Will Hunting .

7/31/02

Issa wrote:
Just received the new Teen People double issue with Josh Hartnett on one side and Mandy Moore on the other. There is a tiny article and picture about Matt and how he gave his dad an awesome gift for his 60th birthday: an African safari and a tour of France.... I think that is totally sweet! This is what the article says:
This summer MATT DAMON gave his dad an unforgettable 60th birthday gift: a safari through Africa and a tour of France... sure beats a necktie.
From Felicity:
- Here's a link to the transcript of the "Australian Story" program featuring Geraldine Cox, which Matt introduced. There's also a still of Matt from the show:
- I missed this interview earlier from the Philadelphia Inquirer during the Bourne press trip, and it's still worth looking at. Excerpts: here.
  "Right now, I don't have anything to do for the rest of the year. I've been reading stuff, but nothing seems too good." So, instead of capitalizing on the fact that he's heading up a potential blockbuster, Damon is laying low, waiting for the right script, the right director, to come along.
  "In a business sense, it's dumb," he concedes. "I basically maximized my earning potential and right at the moment when I did, I'm not doing anything... . Yeah, it's a little frustrating in the sense that I want to work, but realistically, looking at the roles that are out there, at least at this moment, there's nothing that's worth it. It's such a huge commitment to do a movie. There's so much time and research and then shooting, these long days... . I've been on a movie set where I was not emotionally invested in it, a movie that I was not eventually proud of, and I just don't want to do that again."
  and
  In Boston, he raised money for International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War - "my mom's husband works for the group."
- Here's a link to the above group's site, and some information on Doug Kline, "mom's husband": here
From a Big Matt Fan:
Here's an interesting little exchange from the forum at boxofficemojo.com, in a thread entitled "Damon vs Affleck":
Damon vs Affleck
Which film will end up with the higher gross? Bourne Identity or Sum of All Fears?
This looks like an incredibly close race (in a summer full of close races!), but I think given the fact that Sum is down to just 295,000 this weekend, it will bottom out at about 119 mil. Meanwhile, Bourne made 2.6 mil and is already at 110 mil total. I think it will end up with about 122 million and eke by Sum. I think this finally proves Damon's star power. He took a 20 year old book and made a hit film out of it, where he was the only mainstream selling point, and built a great start for a new franchise.

7/30/02

A couple of readers have responded to Shannon's call for the TRL tape. Thanks. I think she has her tape now :-)
From Felicity:
- Matt was in Lake Placid over the weekend to watch brother Kyle compete (and finish) the Ironman USA event.
- Quick box-office update - Bourne is still doing pretty well, and came in at 11th for the weekend, just ahead of "Lilo & Stitch", and behind "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" on estimates. Total is now $110,249,000 after seven weeks, with "Sum Of All Fears" only ahead slightly on $117,649,000, and in 21st place.
From a Big Matt Fan:
I saw the (Box Office) standings and was delighted that Bourne had actually risen two slots (from 13 to 11), bobbing up over a slew of much newer releases (Lilo, Halloween, 8 Legged Freaks, Crocodile Hunter, etc.). I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Last Friday, I had nothing to do, so I used my free AMC Moviewatcher ticket to see Bourne (yes, again!). Thinking I'd have no trouble finding a seat, I arrived at the theater just minutes before the show. It was packed! Maybe 90% full. Mainly couples, women and teen girls. I had to sit in the fourth row, which is a little close for me. Admittedly, this was one of the smaller theaters in the multiplex, but for a film in its seventh week of release, that kind of turnout seems more than respectable.
More from a Big Matt Fan:
Actual weekend figures came in, and Bourne is back down to #13, still with $2.6 million. (Lilo and Halloween moved up.) However, not to be obsessive or anything, but here's a per screen average comparison for this last weekend:
Scooby Doo (week 7): $805
Lilo & Stitch (week 6): $1,536
Mr. Deeds (week 5): $1,839
Bourne Identity (week 7): $2,255
Minority Report (week 6) : $2,289
Men In Black 2 (week 4): $2,393

Note that in its 7th week, Bourne is still pulling in numbers comparable to newer releases with much higher openings. And here's an interesting little comparison:
Minority Report in its 6th weekend: $3.1 million / $2,289 per screen average
Bourne Identity in its 6th weekend: $3.8 million / $2,335 per screen average
These two have a fairly similar audience, and can you believe it? Bourne actually made MORE in its sixth weekend than the more highly hyped Minority Report! Without much fanfare, this little sleeper has been stealthily creeping forward. Remember when people thought $85 million was the most it could gross? Then the revision to "almost, but not quite $100 million"? Now, it's at $110 million with a bit of steam still left. One can't help but wonder what the gross could have been if the initial screen count had been a little higher.

7/29/02

Shannon wrote:
Hi, I was wondering if you recorded Matt Damon's appearence on TRL on 6-13-02. I was a member of the audience on that date and am desperately searching for someone who has it on video. Please e-mail me (me) if you taped it or know someone that did. I will pay any price. Thanks so much.
I don't have such a tape, but if anyone does and wants to share with Shannon, please email this site.
This drawing appeared in a recent issue of the New Yorker magazine:

7/26/02

Thank you, Natasha, for writing:
I don't know if you've heard this or posted this yet, but aint it cool news has reported that it has insider information that Jude Law has been cast in the role of Superman, and Colin Farell has been cast in the role of Batman. So it looks like the Matt may be out of the running for this movie.
Here's the link.
And thanks to Natasha again, for following up on that:
(E)arlier today, I emailed you a message re: reports of Superman vs. Batman casting on ain't it cool news. Well, according to a peice on scifi.com, Warner Brothers has denied this report.
here's the link.
And I agree with K., who wrote:
Hello, I read your article comparing the current status of Ben and Matt's careers. Where Ben lives in L.A. and Matt lives in NYC, I have wondered for quite some time if they would ever write another screenplay together. It doesn't suprise me to see an announcement that Ben will write one without Matt. Ben has written various magazine articles as well as a T.V. series without him, a movie was the natural next step. It would be good to see Matt write something, I would hate to think that after all the attention he received for writing GWH, that his contribution was less than equal to that of Ben.
From Catherine:
In an article I found about the starting of the move Daredevil, there are little pieces of information about Matt once being considered for the lead role. I guess he was a top contender...according to the producer. But the role ended up going to, who else, but Ben Affleck.
May 15, 2000... Ain't It Cool printed a Kevin Smith interview that covered pretty much everything Mr. Smith has ever been even remotely hinted or rumored at being attached to. Here's Kevin's side of the story regarding his involvement with this particular film: "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.'
August 28, 2001... Daredevil producer Gary Foster spoke to Popcorn about plans to begin shooting the feature film version of Marvel�s Man Without Fear starting this November. And as for which leading men he might be looking at to don the crimson costume, the producer certainly isn�t short on ideas. �I'd like to see Edward Norton do this movie, I'd like to see Guy Pearce do this movie, I'd like to see Matt Damon. There are a lot of people who would be great - Mark Wahlberg.� **Do you think Matt would have seriously considered the part?? Do you think he would have done it? All I can say is that I think that Matt would have been a lot better than Ben and I haven't even seen anything from the movie yet, but I still don't know if it is his type of movie...
As for the box office...The Bourne Identity brought in $481,000 on Wednesday to bring the total up to $108,198,000...I wonder what the final amount will be!

7/25/02
From Felicity:

NY Post sighting:
MATT Damon wishing lovely Lacoste rep Gigi Howard a happy birthday at Bungalow 8 ...
From Michael Fleming in Variety:
The last time Ben Affleck wrote a movie, he and writing partner Matt Damon shared an Oscar for "Good Will Hunting."
Affleck is negotiating to write another feature, and if he likes the results, he will make it his feature directorial debut. The project is "Gone, Baby, Gone," a novel by Dennis Lehane, the author whose "Mystic River" has morphed into a Clint Eastwood-directed film with Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon and Tim Robbins. "Gone, Baby, Gone" is part of a series of five mysteries involving a pair of Boston private eyes named Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro.
The book was optioned this year by Paramount and producer Alan Ladd Jr. in hopes that Affleck would star. Ladd has the rights to another book from the series, "Prayers for Rain," and the hope is that it will add up to another Paramount franchise for Affleck, who scored a hit in his first turn as Jack Ryan in "The Sum of All Fears."
Affleck has been doing some writing in television, working with Sean Bailey to script "Push, Nevada, " the ABC series they co-created. On the acting side, Affleck just completed the title role in "Daredevil"; he's following that with the Kevin Smith-directed "Jersey Girl" and then stars in "Surviving Christmas."
The premiere of "Signs" is in NY next Monday, and Matt could intend (Joaquin connection).
Matt and Ben seen to be on quite different paths at the moment. Ben's working in a string of movies with little time between them, and is now taking on solo writing and directing projects. Matt says he is taking time off to write with Ben, and that he would only ever direct something they had both written - both options look very unlikely. Meanwhile, Ben's happily flaunting his relationship with Jennifer Lopez, and bought her a diamond bracelet for her birthday!
Getting even more gossipy - Odessa should have a very strong opinion of what Lopez is like, after being Ben's assistant on the set of "Gigli", where they co-starred. And Matt and Ben certainly don't seem to be collaborating/connecting too much lately.
Ben's 30th is on 15 August

7/23/02
From Felicity:

Boston Globe: BAVIS REMEMBERED More than $250,000 was raised in the name of former hockey scout for the Los Angeles Kings Mark Bavis, who was aboard one of the hijacked planes that crashed into the World Trade Center. Bavis was honored at a golf tournament yesterday in New Seabury. A charity auction at his alma mater, Boston University, Sunday night featured appearances by several players from the NHL, including former Bruins player Lyndon Byers, as well as actor Matt Damon, and comedian Lenny Clarke.
From the NY Daily News: Matt Damon and about 10 pals drank and yacked at Whiskey Park on Friday till 4 a.m. Matt picked up the tab...
A photo from the event in Boston is now up at the Boston Herald's site: here.
Photo is at: here
Text: Ted Williams isn't the only jock worthy of a Boston send-off this week. A horde of hockey hunks, friend Matt Damon, left, and brother, Mike Bavis, hunkered down at Boston University last night to pay tribute to Mark Bavis. The former Terrier iceman, who was a scout for the L.A. Kings, died Sept. 11 aboard United Airlines Flight 175. The NHL greats, including Tony Amonte, Mike Grier and Ted Donato, will golf today at the first-ever Mark Bavis Leadership Foundation golf tourney at New Seabury Country Club.

7/20/02

Hi, ya! I've been away for a while and my mailbox was jam-packed. I am back now. Following are news items that came into my overflowing mailbox during my absence:
From Felicity:
- From the Boston Herald's Inside Track column: And finally, we hear Cambridge cutie Matt Damon is expected to put in an appearance along with dozens of NHL stars at tonight's Mark Bavis Leadership Foundation benefit at Boston University. Bavis, who played hockey for the Terriers, was a scout for the LA Kings who perished on American Airlines Flight 11 on Sept. 11. Damon, we're told, knew some of Bavis' hockey pals.
- From an interview with Steven Soderbergh in the NY Daily News - 'The Informant' seems to be on hold: here.
  Other than his producing duties (he's partnered with George Clooney in an outfit called Section Eight), Soderbergh won't be making anything anytime soon. Although "Solaris," a sci-fi chamber piece he directed, will be released in December, he's taking a year off to catch his breath, having spent the last five years feeling as if he's been on the deck of a speedboat, as he puts it.
- Here's Moriarty from AICN and his take on Matt's career and Bourne: here.
  Matt Damon�s a freakin� action star! Who knew?!
  This guy keeps surprising me. I first really noticed him in COURAGE UNDER FIRE. He does great work in a small role in that film, and I remember actively figuring out who he was in the credits and making note of his name. Obviously, GOOD WILL HUNTING took him to a different level of awareness, and one of the very first articles of mine still archived on this site is a review of that movie.
  THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY is a film that I think grows with repeat viewings, and one of the things that seems more impressive each time I see it is Damon�s dedication to the role. He�s a twisted little man in that film. He�s tied in knots, and there�s no confidence, no sense of charisma like in HUNTING. I thought it was brave that he didn�t shy away from any of the subtext of the piece, that if anything, he played it more as text. Since then, he�s made a lot of films that didn�t work for one reason or another, like ALL THE PRETTY HORSES and THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE, and it was getting easy to dismiss Damon.
  I�m glad, then, that he and director Doug Liman worked so hard with Tony Gilroy to make THE BOURNE IDENTITY something more than your average spy thriller. It�s a sleek piece of business, cold around the edges, with a hard heart. It�s also better than 99% of the crap that clutters the genre these days, and one of the best pieces of pure entertainment I saw in a theater all year.
  The film paints in broad strokes, but it isn�t lowest common denominator. The opening is simple, spare, striking. There�s something almost elegant about the way Liman�s put together this essentially pulpy story. He�s got taste as a filmmaker, and he made some excellent choices here with casting. Franka Potente grounds the film with a winning performance as Marie. She takes a role that could easily just be window dressing and turns it into something better, something more memorable. She makes the most of every line, and she�s magnetic. It�s easy to see why she becomes more important to him than just a mere ride to Paris. Chris Cooper, Clive Owen, and Brian Cox all do strong work with standout scenes. Julia Stiles seems almost wasted in her nothing role, but Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (infamous as Adebisi on HBO�s OZ) stands out in a very brief appearance.
  There are two moments where I fell in love with this film, and neither one is the slightly overrated car chase. Instead, the moment where I decided I liked the film was when the two cops roust Damon in the park. I have always mourned TOTAL RECALL and what could have been if only they�d cast someone besides Arnold Schwarzeneggar. When he snaps and kills five men barehanded, it�s to be expected. There�s nothing surprising about the moment. Quaid should be freaked out by his ability to kill. In this film, Liman and Damon get that moment right. Damon reacts without thinking, and he hurts those two cops. It scares him, and it also exhilarates him. At least it�s a clue to who he is. Same thing as the moment where he climbs down the wall. It�s not a giant improbable DIE HARD style beat. It�s quiet. It�s very realistic. And it ends with him simply walking away.
  The car chase is good, not great, but that�s okay. There�s an exceptional scene with Clive Owen that is as memorable a suspense set piece as any studio release has boasted all year. And the knowledge that they�re really going to try and make a franchise out of this is actually exciting. Jason Bourne, like Tom Ripley, is as unconventional a lead as one could ask for. Damon�s staking a real claim for himself as a movie star worth paying attention to, and I hope he continues to make strong, difficult choices in the years ahead.
- More Star Magazine gossip in a story on Jennifer Lopez:
  A different kind of relationship that's in danger of being busted up is best buds Ben Affleck and Matt Damon!
  As Star revealed earlier this year, Affleck and Lopez had a fun flirtation on the set of the movie Gigli.
  It became clear that Affleck was smitten with her when he placed a gushing ad in Variety in March praising her "graciousness of spirit, beauty and courage, great empathy, astonishing talent, real poise and true grace."
  And then in June, she was seen spending the night at Affleck's house, and he was caught slipping into her Hollywood Hills mansion under cover of darkness.
  While Affleck and his Bourne Identity buddy are both straight, sources say Damon fears Lopez could cut into the quality time he spends with his best pal. "Ben and Jennifer have this special thing between them, and she knows this has Matt all riled up," says another source. "But this is all fun and games to Jennifer. She enjoys playing the field."
  And now that she's free, she plans to keep doing just that. So be warned ladies, says the insider.
- A report from the Houston Chronicle on Push, Nevada: here
- From the ET newsletter:
  Big movie stars made their star power known in this year�s Primetime Emmy nominations. Oscar� winner BEN AFFLECK told us he's thrilled with his first Emmy nom for his HBO documentary series, "Project Greenlight." "It was a hard sell to say that making a movie was interesting," he said. "And it wasn't easy to get done and made, so this is nice."
  Ben is still stretching his wings, and that of the TV industry, with a new breed of shows. "Push Nevada" is a quirky mystery drama featuring an IRS agent as its star. But audiences get to play home detective. By logging on to the show's website, viewers will be able to put together clues for a chance to win over a million dollars.
- Don't you love completely implausible rumors? From The Sun's Bizarre site: HARRISON FORD is to play Jeff Tracy, leader of International Rescue, in the movie version of the classic Sixties puppet show Thunderbirds. BEN AFFLECK, MATT DAMON, CUBA GOODING Jnr and Friends stars MATTHEW PERRY and MATT LeBLANC will play the rest of the team. A source said: �This has been in the pipeline for years and it looks like it�s finally getting the go-ahead.� The film � directed by JONATHAN FRAKES, aka Star Trek�s Commander Riker � is due to reach our screens next year.
- Have you read about this little legal dispute? A play has been created, titled 'Matt and Ben', in which Matt and Ben become famous after a play called 'Good Will Hunting' falls out of the sky. Lawyers for M&B are now trying to prevent the play going ahead, claiming defamation and slander. Here's the site - check out the legal section: here.
- Reactions to the Emmy nomination in Variety:
  Garnering a nod in the nonfiction program (reality) category was the "perfect way to kick off our next season," according to "Project Greenlight" executive producer Chris Moore. Moore, who with HBO and Miramax plans to announce the sophomore installment of "Greenlight" next month, told Daily Variety: "The only thing missing from the moment are Ben (Affleck) and Matt (Damon); I keep calling. I can't reach them!"
- From the Boston Globe - Matt's protesting the closure of the Mass. Film Office:
  Damon is a stand-up guy; from 600 60.406, in honor of Williams By Carol Beggy & Stephanie Stoughton, Globe Staff, 7/19/2002 ACTION! DAMON SPEAKS Oscar winner Matt Damon yesterday decried the impending closing of the Massachusetts Film Office, calling it ''baffling'' that the state's Legislature would shutter an office that helps bring in revenue. ''I don't understand it,'' said Damon, who phoned us to express his concerns. ''If you compare the budget to health and hospitals, then sure, it looks bad. But the money for the film office comes from the hotel tax.'' The state's film office operates under the Office of Economic Development, which includes tourism. As of last night, the state budget did not include the film office's roughly $500,000. A state official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said there may still be hope for saving the film office. ''The process is not finished; we've seen a great deal of support,'' the official said. Damon said that without the office there is no advocate for those who want to make films in a particular city. ''There's already industry pressure to make a movie on a [sound stage] or in Canada and do as little as possible in the city,'' Damon said. ''Eastwood's coming to town soon; you can bet that he won the argument to get that film made there.'' Clint Eastwood 's ''Mystic River,'' like Damon's ''Good Will Hunting,'' is set in Boston. ''No question it would have been harder'' to make that Oscar-winning movie here, Damon said. The film office ''is keeping movies in the area because they are so good at helping you make your movie. They are actually getting studios to spend more money there by making it easier for them to film.''
- The lawsuit over the "Matt and Ben" play has been revealed as a hoax: here
- Back to Bourne for some useless trivia: There's at least two deleted scenes that I can work out, and there's probably lots more, considering the number of re-shoots. Spoilers ahead.
  In early interviews, Julia Stiles said her character was killed, but there's no evidence of that in the movie. And a photo that's not in the final cut has Matt, sitting down in the hotel room, burning something, maybe a passport.
- And just to show that people still remember "Good Will Hunting", a piece from a story on troubled sportsman Allen Iverson in the Miami Herald:
  You know that scene in Good Will Hunting? When the two psychiatrists are talking about why genius Matt Damon would surround himself with so many dumb street kids? Robin Williams says it is because any one of them would take a bat to the head for Damon. That's where Iverson lives. He trusts the thugs who were in his life before he was famous far more than he does the 76ers, who wouldn't love him at all if he couldn't play. And those thugs, incidentally, have never been caught stealing money out of Iverson's jeans in the locker room, the way the brother of former team president Pat Croce was.
- Bourne's website even made the top new sites of the month:
  Thebourneidentity.com, a site intended to help promote Matt Damon�s action-adventure film of the same name, also made the Top Newcomers list with 658,000 visitors.
- I promised earlier to write out parts of the Us Weekly stories, although they almost seem out of date now.
  The story about Matt and Ben: The Big-flick buddies
  Yet as their careers escalate, their lives remain entwined. Though Ben lives in LA and Matt in New York, "whenever Matt's in town, he stays at Ben's house," says Keith Quinn, a vice-president at Ben and Matt's production company. In between, they keep in touch daily on matching BlackBerrys and by phone.
  For play, "They like sports. They play some video games. They're pretty boring that way," jokes Stolen Summer producer Chris Moore, adding wistfully, "I wish I had that special thing that they do."
  "The biggest thing that would have hurt their friendship is if, after that [Oscar], they didn't come together equally," says Moore. "They need each other."
  Says pal Kevin Smith, who directed both in 1999's Dogma: "They're still the same guys. Just a little more tired now."
  - Familiar pictures with the article of them both as youngsters, including the Humpty Dumpty pic, a shot from Matt's birthday bash last year, and a photo gallery of "Girlfriends come and go, but friends are forever" - with Minnie, Winona, Penelope and Odessa. Also a box on "The boys at the box office", focusing on Ben's big-earning pics, with "Matt's latest, Ocean's 11, racked up $183 million, but The Bourne Identity could be BIG! See review ..." (which was positive)
  - Photos also in the magazine of the Bourne premiere in LA: of Matt, with Franka, and four pics of the Matt and Brad Pitt hug.
  The following issue had the two-page special on "Where the world is Matt... Damon?" It was a series of photos from newspapers across the country (with most of them previously available on the web) of Matt at the various stops - with fans, with Franka at the MTV Awards, on the set with Diane Sawyer, drinking a beer with Frank Marshall in Boise, resting at Pizzeria Uno, Chicago.
  The text (not completely correct), listed the dates, locations and some quotes, eg: Wednesday, June 12: To New York: "I literally just got off the plane from Philly and came here right from the airport," he said at the NY Bourne premiere. "I'm zapped".
  A text box stole a quote and a few lines from the Boston Globe:
  Is Matt seeing anyone?
  At the question-and-answer session after the Boston Bourne screening, a fan asked, "Are you single?" A flustered Damon responded, "No," paused, and added, "That was a total boxers-or-briefs moment!" Damon has been dating Odessa Whitmire, Ben Affleck's former assistant, for about a year now.
  Another box: What's next for Damon?
  "I'll probably hit the London pubs all night long and then sleep for a week. Ben and I will start working on another script this summer - late nights, pizzas, no stress. And we're starting Project Greenlight 2 in July."
  Also in the magazine:
  In the Loose Talk section, and as an answer to the question: If Hollywood becomes its own city, who should be the first mayor?
  Matt: Ben Affleck would make a great mayor. He'd keep everything in order. Did you see him in 'The Sum of all Fears'? That's the kind of mayor they need out there.
  In an article on "The Perils of mating and dating a star"
  - Under "The Perks of Star Dating":
  Odessa Whitmire: First she's Ben Affleck's former assistant. Next she's Matt Damon's girlfriend. Now she's driving a $45,000 BMW, a gift from her beau.
  In the article - Matt Damon fiercely guards the privacy of his girlfriend, Odessa Whitmire, who is Ben Affleck's former assistant.
  And that's all - nice coverage, but there's very little original material.
- With Bourne now passing the $100 million mark, expect a celebratory ad to appear in the trade papers soon (if it hasn't already).
- From the Hollywood Reporter's Emmy preview of likely nominees:
  - writers:
  Jon Kinnally and Tracy Poust, "Will & Grace -- A Chorus Lie" (NBC): Both Kinnally and Poust are seeking their first Emmy nomination for this hilarious episode of "Will," which figures to receive serious consideration.
  - director:
  James Burrows, "Will & Grace -- A Chorus Lie" (NBC): Yes, 34 nominations, 10 wins, more recognition than God. The world could well stop turning on its axis were Burrows somehow passed over for a nomination during any given Emmy year. Don't expect that this will be that year.
- Gerry will receive its European premiere at the Locarno International Film Festival, from 1 August in Switzerland.
- Information about the upcoming Project Greenlight 4-DVD set is outlined at here.
- Matt wasn't nominated for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, but Project Greenlight's producers (including Matt and Ben) got a nod for Outstanding Non-Fiction Program (Reality).
  Look at who got the noms in Matt's category:
  Adam Arkin - Frasier
  Anthony LaPaglia - Frasier
  Brian Cox - Frasier
  Brad Pitt - Friends
  Michael Douglas - Will & Grace
  
  Glenn Close, Susan Sarandon, Lili Taylor, Illeana Douglas, all got nominations in the guest category. Some of those had virtually no time on camera!
  Matt's episode of Will & Grace was nominated for:
  - Cinematography
  - Directing
  - Multi-Camera Picture Editing
  Also in Greenlight's category:
  American High
  Frontier House
  The Osbournes
  Taxicab Confessions
  Trauma: A night in the ER
  The full listing for Greenlight:
  Project Greenlight � HBO � Miramax Television
  Ben Affleck, Executive Producer
  Matt Damon, Executive Producer
  Chris Moore, Executive Producer
  Sean Bailey, Executive Producer
  Harvey Weinstein, Executive Producer
  Bob Weinstein, Executive Producer
  Billy Campbell, Executive Producer
  Liz Bronstein, Co-Executive Producer
  Eli Holzman, Producer
  Tina Gazzerro, Producer
  Tony Yates, Producer
  I thought the Emmys loved stars, and would have chosen Matt in his category, almost regardless of quality. Any chance that Matt would have removed himself from the voting (we never did see any trade ads)? But the W&G episode didn't receive a nomination for its writing.
- From Cinema Confidential:
  "The Bourne Identity 2" in the works
  POSTED ON 07/15/02 AT 2:00 A.M.
  BY THOMAS CHAU
  Universal just loves to throw out these sequels, don't they?
  Variety reports that Universal Pictures, pleased with the box-office performance of "The Bourne Identity," is looking to get a sequel moving forward.
  Titled "The Bourne Supremacy" and also based on a novel by Robert Ludlum, the sequel to the book "The Bourne Identity" has the assassin on the run again after a high-ranking Chinese official is assassinated, with many fingers pointing at him.
- Clarified by this report in Corona's Film Listings - www.corona.bc.ca:
  July 15, 2002... In an article talking about Universal's delight over the success of The Bourne Identity, Variety's Michael Fleming reports that the studio is developing two new projects based on Robert Ludlum characters. While a script for The Sigma Protocol is being written right now, development on The Bourne Supremacy is also happening. Matt Damon is expected to reprise his role as the secret operative who is now suspected of assassinating a Chinese official. [Source: Variety.]
- There's more talk about Leo and Tobey taking over Youth at Variety's website.
- From Variety, a report on the making of Speakeasy, which was the second-placed Greenlight script. Not a bad cast!
  Matt & Ben wrap low-budget indie
  Mon Jul 15, 3:41 AM ET
  By Dana Harris
  HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - With none of the fanfare that accompanied the first Project Greenlight title, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's Liveplanet Prods. will Monday wrap "Speakeasy," the second project to stem from its much-publicized screenwriting competition.
  Written and directed by tyro filmmaker Brendan Murphy, the picture tells the story of a random accident that brings together a struggling magician, his estranged wife, her deaf father, a quack psychiatrist and a mysterious stranger.
  "Speakeasy" stars David Strathairn ("Blue Car"), Nicky Katt ("Full Frontal"), Stacy Edwards ("In The Company of Men") and Christopher McDonald ("Requiem For A Dream").
  "Speakeasy" was the runner-up to Pete Jones' "Stolen Summer" in the Project Greenlight competition held in early 2001 by HBO, Miramax Films and Liveplanet. While Liveplanet had no obligation to produce the second-place project, they liked the script and Murphy enough to finance the low-budget film independently.
  HBO, Miramax and Liveplanet plan to announce the second season of "Project Greenlight" early next month.
- Matt introduced the "Australian Story" show briefly, and made some comments at the end on the 'heroine' Geraldine Cox's unconventional nature. Producer Janine Hosking on the hosted Internet forum after the show wrote this regarding Matt's involvement:
  matt hosted a fundraiser for Geraldine after watching the documentary My Khmer Heart. He intends to visit Geraldine's children later this year and has donated to the cause.
From a Big Matt Fan:
- RE: Box office. Yes, it's easy to obsess on Bourne's box office. I've done it, myself. Glad to see that the Hollywood Reporter, among others, is taking note of its leggy run. BTW: BoxOfficeMojo.com currently has a day-by-day comparison of Bourne and Sum (http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=vs-bourne-sum.htm). It expects Sum to finish with $121 million, with Bourne at $119 -- not bad considering this film opened in far fewer theaters.
- Speaking of Matt vs. Ben, in Zap2It.com's "Battle of the Summer Movie Stars," Matt actually defeated Will Smith in Round 3, and now faces Ben Affleck in the next round. You can vote here.
- Remember ancillary revenue? FYI: "Ocean's Eleven" has now grossed $131 million in DVD/VHS revenue according to Variety.
- As for "Speakeasy," it's gratifying to see this tiny film noticed in the trades. In PGL, this was the film Matt supported most passionately. It would be fitting, but ironic, if it either got better reviews than or made more money than "Stolen Summer," the script that actually won.
- The Fleming article:
  U'S WILD FOR LUDLUM: After Doug Liman's adaptation of Robert Ludlum thriller "The Bourne Identity" vastly exceeded expecations, Universal is eyeing a sequel, and has quickened the pace of another Ludlum adaptation, "The Sigma Protocol." Fresh from "Changing Lanes," scribe Chap Taylor has been hired to adapt the thriller for director Antoine Fuqua and producer Paul L. Sandberg. "Antoine and I are extremely pleased to have landed Chap because of his passion and vision for the material," Sandberg said.
  That's it, I'm afraid. Maybe the Bourne details come from elsewhere.
- BTW: Today could be the day Bourne hits $100 million, a fact noted on David Poland's Hot Button here:
  The film comes up several times in the piece:
- With a Tuesday take of $770,000, Bourne officially reached $100,456,000. Hooray!
- I'm disappointed (about the Emmy nominations), too. But the choices are interesting in that most of the nominees are older, long-established actors. Brendan Frasier didn't get a nomination either, nor did Christina Ricci. My guess as to why:
  Emmy voters tend to be a little older. That's why, some say, shows like "Frasier" always get nominated (note that three of the nominees in that category are from Frasier), while shows like critical darlings "Gilmore Girls" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" are lucky to get technical nominations. As for Brad, he brought an extremely popular show to record ratings, so I guess it shouldn't be shocking that he'd get a nom. Ironically, most of them watch very little television. They often work late and spend their few off-hours with friends or family. Studios send them boxes of screeners, but they only watch the ones for shows they already like, or have heard a lot of buzz about. Supposedly, the only ones who really take the time to watch and consider every show are those with a lot of time on their hands--generally older or retired people.
  I really hope that PGL has a chance, and I think it has a few things going for it. Though "The Osbournes" is undoubtedly the hotter show, and probably the front runner, it may not appeal to older voters. PGL seems to have drawn a lot of industry interest. One sign? The trade coverage given to the wrapping of "Speakeasy." The trades never devote an entire article to the mere wrapping of a film, let alone a tiny, independent one lacking a star cast. The fact that they did for "Speakeasy," to me, is a sign that people are watching. Let's hope for the best.
- As for Bourne, the two-page $100,000,000 ads appeared today.
Bec wrote from Australia:
- On Monday night, ABC in Australia, screened a program about Geraldine Cox. This episode of Australian Story told the story of Geraldine and the man she had an affair with, and was introduced and concluded by Matt Damon.
  I happened to notice the ad for it just before it was on, and was interested in the story as Geraldine is an amazing woman, and also from my home town. THEN I saw that Matt would also be on it....so it made it a definite must watch!
  For any non Aussies and Aussies who missed it, here's what Matt had to say at the start:
  "Hi, I'm Matt Damon, taking a break from filming here in New York City.
  Tonight's Australian Story is about an incredible Australian woman named Geraldine Cox. I first decided to meet Geraldine after seeing her life featured in the documentary 'My Khmer Heart.' Now, besides this documentary receiving incredible international acclaim and receiving many awards, it's also even sparked interest in a Hollywood version of Geraldine's life.
  But there's an aspect of her life, an incredibly intriguing aspect, that was left out of the documentary. It's the story of her love affair with a Cambodian fighter pilot and their reunion after decades of separation. This is their story......"
  The show was great, really interesting, showing Geraldine with the 50 or so children at her orphanage, as well as her reunion with her former love.
  At the end, while the credits ran, Matt had this to say:
  "I was just incredibly moved by her and by her work. And there are a lot of decisions that she makes, by her own admission, could be deemed questionable.
  You always see the motives behind what she's doing, and her first priority is the children, you know, in the orphanage, and she makes no bones about that, so I think that's really admirable."
- From New Idea:
  Ben hasn't forgotten his best buddy Matt Damon. The guys spent an afternoon betting on the ponies at a racetrack. Ben won about $2000 and Matt won $3000 - and as usual when they win big they more than generously tipped the staff.

7/13/02

From Felicity:
- This was posted in the boxofficemojo.com forums today by Michael Patrick:
  An interesting fact about The Bourne Identity -- making the sure bet that it will earn over $1mil each day this weekend, the Bourne Identity will end up with 31 straight days of $1 million+ grosses. That may not sound like a big deal, but look at these comparisons for how long films managed over a million a day:
  Spider-man: 45 days
  Lord of the Rings: 35 days
  Attack of the Clones: 34 days
  Harry Potter: 24 days
  Sum of All Fears: 24 days
  Ice Age: 24 days
- The episode of Rosie O'Donnell with Matt promoting Bourne will be repeated on 22 July.
- From the NY Daily News:
  'Bourne' Is Born Again
  Credit Matt Damon with reviving interest in a thriller first published 22 years ago.
  The late Robert Ludlum's "The Bourne Identity" is a best-seller again in a paperback showcasing Damon, star of the new film version. Bantam says the total in print has grown to 750,000 copies and it'll repackage two "Bourne" sequels for Ludlum's new fans.
- Another notice for any Australian readers: Matt is introducing a program titled "Australian Story" next Monday evening on ABC. It's about Geraldine Cox, the Australian whose Cambodian orphanage Matt attended a fundraiser for earlier this year. Information about the charity is at here.
- The Emmy nominations are announced July 18, and the Pasadena TV summer press event is on at the moment, with Ben and Matt a possibility to attend and promote "Push, Nevada" and the next series of "Project Greenlight".
A thoughtful note from Ali:
I'd have to agree with you. I really hope that Matt doesn't take either of those roles (Batman or Superman). I'm not against them because I think they are below him but at the same time I think he's better than that; does that make sense. He has stated in the past that he wants to do different genres, but he also stated that the reason he did Bourne is because it's more than just an action movie. That's one of the reasons I like him; he goes for the human factor in a story and not just what's going to attract the largest crowds and put the most money in his pocket. He seems to be interested in the stuff that makes you think, that has a message to it and is not just cheap entertainment. He does silly stuff too, but if you notice he's usually not a starring character either. I agree with the guy that is doing the Batman vs. Superman project, Matt is one hell of an actor but he's also one hell of a human being. He won't cheapen himself or compromise his morals to get work; another thing I like about him. If Matt takes on this project, it will be because it has attracted him on more than one level. This is just the humble opinion of an adoring fan!
From the Big Matt Fan:
Here's something from an article on Hollywood.com:
"Then there's the curious case of Damon's amnesiac CIA operative Jason Bourne. The Bourne Identity slid by a mere 18 percent in its fourth weekend, from $11.1 to $9.1 million. The Sum of All Fears managed just $7.7 million in its fourth weekend. With $92.2 million through Wednesday, The Bourne Identity is displaying surprising endurance and could become this weekend the eighth new release to break $100 million in 2002. More impressively, Jason Bourne should have Jack Ryan watching over his shoulder in the event of a hostile takeover."

7/12/02

From Felicity:
- The two issues of Us Weekly with pieces of Matt both included pictures of Odessa. The (photo on the left) is from the Bourne premiere in LA (inside the theater). The photo (on the right) was originally shown on ET in about December of last year, taken on a night out in New York.
- From a google post about a pro autograph group newsletter (repeating mostly what we've seen before):
  KEVIN LOW HITS THE PREMIERES...AGAIN Kevin Low brings forth another adventure into the "Autograph" kingdom. This time around, he tackles the premiere of "The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys" where he catches up with the very picky Jodie Foster (who plays a wooden-legged nun) and he also shows up for the Premiere of "The Bourne Identity" where he says what many believe that Matt Damon is the world's greatest signer. One of my chaser friend's in Boston got Matt nine times on one try and Matt encouraged him to profit off him. I'm holding up a sign I just made that says "MATT, YOU TRULY ARE AMAZING!".
- Bourne could make it to $100 million by the end of the weekend.
From a Big Matt Fan:
In an interview at mtv.com, Superman vs. Batman director Wolfgang Peterson clarified comments made earlier:
Though he mentioned Matt Damon in an interview with Variety, Petersen said he only cited the "Bourne Identity" star as an example of what he's talking about � "Someone where we so far did not really think of as a big action hero [who] turned out be a great actor who can also do great action. ... He's one of these kind of guys, but there's a lot of these guys out there."
J. F. wrote:
The People magazine from last week (I believe) has matt on the last page in their last Gossip discussing responsiblity and the possibility of getting married. They mention Ben saying he was ready to settle down, and Matt saying he has no idea why or what he is talking about that he is having the time of his life and his nephews are all the responsiblity he can handle. He denies being engaged (or even) planning to wed.

7/11/02

Kelly wrote:
Greg's Movie Previews (formerly upcomingmovies.com) at Yahoo! says that Gerry has been given a release date of October 18th in LA & NY.
From Rebecca:
On the Austereo syndicated radio show, Hot 30, in Australia, Jackie O mentioned that she would like to see Matt Damon play the next Superman. Her sidekick, Kyle, couldn't see it! She also thinks Matt would make a good Batman!
From Felicity:
- A story from the Hollywood Reporter on filming Bourne's car chase: here

7/10/02

From Chad:
I read early Tuesday morning about some very interesting news regarding Matt and a possible new movie role. Obviously this is just the director saying that Matt would look to be a good choice, nothing more. Still, it's exciting to see that he's getting more pub for being a good action hero after "Bourne". "Pretty Horses" and "Bagger" didn't do so hot, but.....
WHO'S THE MAN NOW!!??
Anyway, here's the news. It's from comingsoon.net......
Petersen's Batman vs. Superman Coming in 2004
Tuesday, July 9, 2002 1:12 CDT
Wolfgang Petersen will direct Batman vs. Superman for Warner Bros., with the tentpole project targeted for a 2004 release, reports Variety.
In a script penned by Andrew Kevin Walker (Seven), the two superheroes are allies who come to mighty blows over what Petersen describes as differing philosophies.
"It is a clash of the titans," Petersen told the trade. "They play off of each other so perfectly. (Superman) is clear, bright, all that is noble and good, and Batman represents the dark, obsessive and vengeful side. They are two sides of the same coin and that is material for great drama."
Petersen, who is aiming for an early 2003 start date, pointed to Matt Damon as a possible candidate, describing him as "an interesting action man and a hell of an actor."
Development continues on a standalone Superman with helmer McG, writer J.J. Abrams and producer Jon Peters, as well as Darren Aronofsky and Frank Stack's Batman: Year One.
The Big Matt Fan also sent in a link to the same article, along with her comments:
Kind of a scary thought, but it seems as though Matt is actually being considered to play one of these superheroes. In Variety, "Batman vs. Superman" director Wolfgang Peterson is said to "be seeking actors who can offer complex emotions as well as six-pack abs."
"Everything after Sept. 11 is different," he said. "You want to change the image of these superheroes."
In particular, Peterson pointed to "The Bourne Identity" star Matt Damon as "an interesting action man and a hell of an actor."
Matt is the only actor mentioned by the director. I have to admit, while the the concept of this movie sounded rather ridiculous to me, the more I've read about it, the less absurd it seems, particularly with Peterson on board. The complete Variety piece can be found here: here
Anyway, while it would be nice to see Matt in a more serious, Oscar-worthy film, I do find it gratifying to see that he has made a positive impression on directors. Perhaps its a sign that high quality projects will be headed his way.
But just for the sake of argument, who would you like to see Matt portray, Batman or Superman? As a person, he seems to have more of the Superman personna (described as "clear, bright, all that is noble and good") rather than Batman ("dark, obsessive and vengeful"). However, I could see him relating to the darker role. What do you think?
My thought on this thread:
I am glad that Matt's recent success has apparently made him sought-after in Hollywood again.
I have resigned to the fact that Matt isn't going to survive on Oscar-worthy roles only. But I would really hate for him to go the masked wonder route. He would not be acting if he played those roles - how could he when you cannot even see his facial expressions?
So I really pray that he doesn't take either role if they are offered. Playing Bourne is one thing, playing Batman/Superman/Spiderman is another thing. In my humble opinion.
More good stuff from the Big Matt Fan:
- Don't know if you've seen this at here :
- FYI: In Zap2It.com's "Battle of the Summer Movie Stars," Matt defeated Kirsten Dunst in Round 2 and is now up against the formidable Will Smith. Anyone interested can vote here: here
And from Felicity:
- Don't you love how the news gets twisted so quickly! From Entertainment News Daily:
- From USA Today - this seems pretty unlikely:
  Reno gets jiggy with Miami dance party
  Taking a cue from Saturday Night Live's "Janet Reno Dance Party" skit, the Florida gubernatorial candidate and former U.S. attorney general is hosting a rave fundraiser July 19 at Level, a trendy club on Miami's South Beach. Expected guests at the $25-per-dancer bash include Damon and Marlon Wayans, Ziggy Marley and Denzel Washington. Jodie Foster, Kim Basinger and Matt Damon are on the invite list. Reno has already enlisted campaign help from Rosie O'Donnell, Elton John and Martin Sheen.
- A late review of Bourne from the New Republic: here.

7/9/02

Ali wrote:
Thought you might like to see the picture that a local newspaper took of Matt signing my copy of GWH while he was here in June.
Really nice pic (see right). Thanks for sharing, Ali!
The Big Matt Fan wrote:
Hey!
RE: Bourne's box office. Boy, this film has legs! This is the second week in a row that it's had BY FAR the smallest drop-off, a fact that people are starting to notice. Here is the Friday to Friday drop-off comparison from boxofficeprophets.com:
Mr. Deeds -51.9%
Minority Report -30.9%
Lilo and Stitch -32.5%
The Bourne Identity -6.9%
Scooby Doo -36.7%
Can you believe 6.9%! As for the weekend, the actual (as opposed to estimated) box office numbers are in, and Bourne made $9,156,240, for a decline of only -18%. As for the others: Mr. Deeds: -50%, Lilo & Stich -41%, Minority Report - 42%, and Scooby Doo -43%.
Summer is known for huge week-to-week drop-offs, but Bourne keeps staying afloat. The competition has been tough, but it has certainly hung in there. I guess word of mouth is strong, and if you've been reading various message boards, you'll notice that a lot of people are seeing it more than once. So happy for Matty!

7/8/02

From Felicity:
- From the LA Times:
  "Bourne Identity" held on with a scant 19% drop from last weekend, selling $13.2 million in tickets over the past five days, taking it to just under $90 million in its first month.
  **
  I certainly don't want to jinx Bourne, but $100 million is now looking almost certain. It may be affected next weekend by the opening of the first significant drama since "Minority Report", with "Road to Perdition" opening Friday.
- "This is our youth" director Laurence Boswell says the play may move to Broadway in the spring:
  What are you currently working on and what plans do you have for the rest of the year? I plan to spend the next year doing as much writing as directing. I'm writing the book for a musical, The Tinderbox, a project I've been working on for four years now. There are plans for Joe Egg with Eddie Izzard and Victoria Hamilton and This Is Our Youth with Matt Damon, Casey Affleck and Summer Phoenix to transfer to Broadway next spring.
  What do you consider your greatest achievement in theatre so far? Producing any show at all is a great achievement. However it is a source of great pleasure to me that Popcorn, Joe Egg, Up for Grabs and This Is Our Youth have all been commercially successful and have attracted both traditional theatregoers and a new and younger audience. Being relevant and attractive to a new generation of theatregoers seems to me to be one of the great challenges facing British theatre at the moment.
  From a feature on British theatre at the Guardian: here.
- Star magazine gossip:
  Matt Damon's mom Nancy Carlsson-Paige broke down in tears when her Oscar-winning boy flew her to London first-class to see him perform in the stage play This Is Our Youth. But the bucks didn't stop there. Matty treated Nancy to an awesome $50,000 shopping spree. And it wasn't even Mother's Day.
- Here's a link to a recent video Matt was involved with titled "Alcohol - True Stories", which discusses the dangers of alcohol. There's a few pictures and links to a clip of the video at the site: here.
- Another report on Matt's Q&A session to University of Nevada students during the Ocean's 11 filming last year: here.
7/7/02
- Our big thanks to Kay, who couldn't get in to see Bourne this last Friday! Sorry for the shutout, but it's great news to Matt and his fans. Kay wrote:
  A group of my friends and I tried to see TBI on Friday, July 5th at a local theater in New Orleans at 8:20 PM. It would have been a repeated viewing for one of my friends and me while it would have been first time for the others. To our surprise, The Bourne Identity was sold out for this time slot! We could not believe it since this movie have been out for few weeks and since there are so many "blockbuster movies" that have been out for less length of time. I don't know if other people in other cities have experienced same thing but this is my second time being turn away because TBI was sold out. The first time was on an opening weekend at the 4:00PM showing. Being a big Matt fan, I thought that this was just wonderful since it is a sign of the movie doing very well at the box office and the movie is enjoying very good words of mouth from the viewers. Anyway, we ended up spliting up and some of us went on to see MIB II while others saw Spider Man. I was extremely displeased with my alternate choice and wished I could have my money back.
- Flipping through the TV channels, I happened upon the advertising channel for pay-per-view. It amused me that the pitch for Ocean 11 is now "it co-stars George Clooney and Matt Damon" and the clip shown is one of the few where Clooney and Matt are in the same frame. Snicker. The flickle Hollywood!
- A Matt Damon Fan wrote:
  Not much exciting news about Matt since the extended movie promotion. I just noticed, and I don't think this has been said before, that back in December when Matt was on the Barbara Walters Special on Ocean's 11 with George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Don Cheadle, and Andy Garcia they had a segment about six degrees of seperation. One thing Matt, Brad, and George had in common was they were all college drop outs. They joked about it and George said something like,"See kids, just drop out of school..." And Barbara finish for him,"And become big stars. What an educational special this will be." When Matt was on Rosie June 12th, he said almost the exact same joke when Rosie was suprised to learn he went to Harvard and dropped out just like she had dropped out of an acting school. He turned to the audience and said,"See kids, just drop out of school and become a big star." They audience didn't really react the way he hoped. I know that's random, but I found it funny.
7/6/02
- Today's Los Angeles' Times has a half-page ad of Bourne that emphazies Matt: "An new action hero is Bourne" (in huge block letters) is the line that tops the ad, and the line "THE Matt Damon" now tops the movie title, and all in big block letters.
  Maybe I am making too much of it, but I think it's a signal that the studio (i) appreciates the leg of the movie, and (ii) is expressing interest in making "Bourne" a continuing franchise. Just a hunch.
- From Felicity:
  - The Premiere article talks a lot about the required ending, and different views on what it should be. A quote from Matt in a Christian Science Monitor article a few weeks back about the re-shot finale:
    "We tried to keep it believable," Damon says. "But it's violent. What can you do? It's what audiences expect. You can't change everything. It's still an action film."
  - A San Francisco Chronicle short story on Franka Potente: ACCENT ON ROMANCE: Franka Potente speaks fluent English, thanks to a stint as an exchange student in Houston when she was 16. But her German accent remains prominent. The actress, whose star is rising with "The "Bourne Identity's" box-office numbers, told me she doesn't see why she should have to loose it. Accents didn't stop Greta Garbo and Ingrid Bergman from becoming stars.
    "It's so weird. America is a bunch of foreigners, so there must be tons of people who have accents. But you never hear them in American movies anymore," Potente pointed out. "It would be easy to change the character in the script so it made sense to have an accent. It's just a matter of educating audiences. I'm sure they wouldn't mind."
    Her accent was no problem in "Bourne" because she plays a Swiss. But in her first Hollywood movie, "Blow," she was supposed to be from California. "There was a scene with Johnny Depp where I only had one word. I worried if I was going to say the word right. If I messed up the scene, we would have to do it again. I don't like to be so tense because of one word."
    Potente may be picking up an American accent now that she has traded her German boyfriend, Tom Tykwer (who directed her in "Run Lola Run"), for Elijah Wood. She thinks the world of Matt Damon, whom she romances in "The Bourne Identity." "I was surprised by how subtle he is and a little bit shy. I thought, "This is nice. He's not being Mr. Superstar."'
7/5/02
- Good stuff from Felicity:
  - As we know, there's a few items on Matt in the July issue of Premiere.
    In the article on Tom Cruise and "Minority Report", and the changes over the years to the cast: Spielberg cast Max von Sydow as the eminence grise of Precrime and Matt Damon as Witwer, the federal government's man in charge of expanding Precrime to a national footing. But repeated delays (Cruise was stuck first on "Mission: Impossible II", then "Eyes Wide Shut"; Spielberg was making "A.I. Artificial Intelligence") robbed Damon of his time window, and Colin Farrell came on.
    In a story on 'The Movie that changed my life': Matt Damon: I don't want to be unoriginal, but when I was seven or eight and saw "Star Wars", that had a huge impact on me. Because going to the movies meant something. The lights go out and you're transported somewhere that just blows your mind. I was the perfect age for that movie. My brother and I kept going back; I saw it, like, 26 times. The bar scene, and the laser guns, and, wow, shooting down the hallway. We couldn't believe it, you know?
    And the very long feature article: 'Bourne' of fire. It's written by an old college friend of director Doug Liman, but does try to be representative of all views (director and actor v studio). Some excerpts:
    - It was June 2000, and because of a combination of constraints - the strike being threatened by the Screen Actors Guild for the following June, Damon's limited availability, and Universal's decision to give the star a pay-or-play deal for $10 million (meaning the actor would get his money even if the movie wasn't made) - Liman had promised Universal he'd begin shooting Bourne in October.
    - By the time Bourne would be ready to hit screens in June 2002 - nine months after its original release date, and $8 million over budget - the last half-hour of the movie would have undergone repeated demolition and reconstruction, including the last-minute trashing of an elaborate action sequence and the filming of two distinct endings, the last one during Paris reshoots this February that capped months of agonizing among the creative team.
    - ... when Damon arrived in Paris in the fall, he was alarmed by the movie's explosive 20-minute chase climax in the streets of Paris. "It was this fuckin' chase scene with guys on motorcycles shooting rockets," Damon says. "Fortunately, Doug didn't like the script either, because I was fuckin' scared. I was going to drop out of the movie. I thought, 'Oh, fuck, I'm gonna get sued.'"
    - Liman: "At a critical moment, when I was about to be swept away by the momentum of production, Matt said, 'Just because you can spend all that money doesn't mean you should."
    - With so much of Bourne's story up in the air, Damon initially approached his role knowing little more about Bourne than the character knew about himself. "That was the first movie where I asked for all the footage that they'd shot, because the movie could've been 20 different things," he says.
    - (re the finale as first shot) ...instead, the finale had the bland energy of a parlor-room scene, Damon says. "It felt like we'd shot it in a vacuum. I was unclear what the macro energy of the film was. We'd shot in so many different ways, I was guessing what the guy would be feeling."
    - Ending after ending was proposed (including some by Damon: "I had a great ending where we all die," he says) and shot down.
    - Relations soured further. Later that day, Liman received an outlined ending, on Universal letterhead, signed obscurely "BOURNE IDENTITY TEAM." One of the action beats read: "Let's make this sequence as visually satisfying as possible. Let's perhaps get that groovy 'Tony Scott' shot (an aerial wraparound) establishing this as an important moment." Liman's return memo included the rejoinder: "What is a Tony Scott shot [?] (And for that matter, maybe we should just hire Tony to direct this...)."
    - No longer on speaking terms with the studio, Liman returned to the U.S. He was so upset about being asked to film something he didn't believe in that he was planning to sell his directing credit on eBay. Indeed, he went so far as to write up an ad headed "Your name in Lights."
    - (About the final reshoot) "Despite the hurt feelings and conflicts along the way," Damon says, "at the end we went and reshot for a week and a half, and instead of at the beginning of this shoot - when there was a ridiculously, painfully small number of setups a day - we moved along at a good clip."
    - To hear the film's principals tell it, Bourne ultimately got a grip on its identity crisis. On the Paris set the first time around, in December 2000, Damon had speculated that the production's uncertainty might lend resonance to the film. "I always hope that when the real story is echoing the movie that there'll be some unconscious impact, so the movie will find itself when Bourne finds himself," the actor said. Reminded of that comment more recently, Damon adds dryly, "Yeah, unfortunately, Bourne finds himself in the third act."
    - The studio would even be open to working with Liman, she says [Universal chairman Stacey Snider]. As for the filmmaker, he is unequivocal. "Yes, I'll direct any sequels," Liman says, his voice rising with excitement at the thought of two new clocks to disembowel. "Especially because there are such great sequences I'd use. I'd start with the barge scene." {The scene that caused the most angst between Liman and the studio, and was never shot.}
  - As we guessed, the promotion for Bourne in Europe is already in gear. Matt is set to attend the Deauville Film Festival, scheduled from August 30 to September 8. Bourne will be shown, as will "Changing Lanes", with Ben also expected to attend. It's a pretty shameless event, with its full title being the "Deauville American Film Festival".
  - The following appeared in a gossip column on the Beverly Hills 213 site today:
    **
    She's a very young model-type who's done topless shots etc, and seems another wannabe bimbo. By coincidence, an interview with Kiera appeared in an Italian paper today, which includes this line: in autunno la vedremo nel film indipendente �The year that trembled� e in un altro finanziato da Matt Damon.
    I've roughly translated the relevant bit to be "and in another one (film) financed by Matt Damon." So I have no idea what the connection is - thought she may be confused with Odessa, but who knows. Here's a link to her picture: here.
    The same Beverly Hills magazine also included this gossip bit in another column:
    Time will tell what's going on...
  - Bourne was 6th on Wednesday with $1,650,000, beating Scooby-Doo for the first time, and Powerpuff Girls on opening day. Men in Black 2 had an opening day of $19 million!
  - News stories today keep getting stranger. This report from the NY Daily News (has to be erroneous), claims Matt is in London, and was on the tube going to Wimbledon:
  - From the Star-Telegram, in an article on Lacoste:
    Barneys New York recently hosted what Lacoste dubbed its "12/12 Event," (12/12 is the style number of the original shirt), with proceeds going to UNICEF. Matt Damon, Oscar de la Renta and Frederic Fekkai were among the celebs to rework a plain white Lacoste polo and donate it for auction. (De la Renta turned his into a dress, with pink chiffon skirt; Damon cut off the sleeves and stuck the croc at the shirt bottom.)
  - Teenhollywood.com
    Cast-mates play cruel prank on Damon
    Actor Matt Damon was left red-faced before the first matinee performance of his London play when castmates teased him with a cruel prank.
    The "Good Will Hunting" star was sent out on stage for the first afternoon performance of "This Is Our Youth" at the British capital's Garrick Theatre, in which Damon performs alone for the first five minutes.
    But the actor was stunned to walk out at 3pm and find the auditorium empty.
    Unsure of what to do, and convinced that nobody had turned up to see him and co-stars Casey Affleck and Summer Phoenix, Matt carried on with the play - until he heard fits of uncontrolled laughter from the wings and realised he was the victim of practical joke.
    His castmates had neglected to tall him the matinee had been put back until 4pm.
7/4/02
- In response to Lam's winona-Odessa post, one reader wrote:
  for cities there is also Odessa in Greece.
- Added Felicity:
  To answer Lam:
  The first Us Weekly story of November last year reported that Matt and Odessa had been dating since the beginning of 2001 (the Vanity Fair party in March 2001 is the first public reference), "although inquiries after the Oscars had everyone denying it."
  They knew each other for quite a while before that (although the press haven't really picked up on this, and like to hit on the Ben's assistant angle). Odessa was Billy Bob Thornton's driver on the set of "All The Pretty Horses" in mid-1999, and then became his assistant for films like "Man Who Wasn't There", and maybe for the duration of the ATPH publicity.
  Also from the first Us Weekly story: "Matt and she have really taken great pains to keep it a secret and private", and "They've been able to grow very close over the past few months because they knew each other before they started dating." End of gossip.
7/3/02
- From the Big Matt Fan:
  The actual box office numbers are in, and "The Bourne Identity" made close to $11.2 million this weekend, a decline of only 26% from last weekend. Its per screen average was actually much higher than 3rd place "Scooby Doo." That means a total of almost $73 million after three full weeks. If it makes just $1 million on Monday and Tuesday (last week, it averaged $1.8 million on those days), and just $2 million a day from July 3-7 (which is a significant drop from the $3.3 to $4.4 million it made each day last weekend), I think it's entirely possible that it could hit $85 by the end of the holiday weekend.
- And, as a followup, the Big Matt Fan sent this in:
  ... Bourne made $1.5 million on Monday.
- From Felicity:
  - OK, here's a treat for you all. I found a Czech (I think) photo site with ... good photos from public events (versions of which we've seen previously). Here's a selection of the best.
    The first one from the Bourne premiere is great, and the second link is all the pics from that premiere: here and here.
    Kids Choice Awards - with Janet Jackson: here and here.
    With Will Smith: here.
    With Steve Irwin: here.
    My Khmer Heart premiere � all pics: here.
    Great photos:
    High-wattage: here.
    Matt and Danny Glover - highly recommended: here, here, and here.
    Photos from the Nick Adams event: here.
    Photos of Ben and Odessa looking at houses: here.
  - From the Wichita Eagle:
    Pass heat packs, please
    To make "The Bourne Identity," Matt Damon spent seven weeks last year filming in Prague. Director Doug Liman tells People magazine that it was so cold one week that it became difficult for Damon to speak. To finish scenes, Liman would have to call "cut" so Damon could press heat packs against his cheeks.
  - A report on the auction in Rochester: here.
  - A link to the full Orange County Register interview, mentioned previously: here.
  - A report from the Rochester golf tournament and auction. Love Matt's 'choice' of auction item. here.
  - My answers for Catherine:
    In Premiere magazine, it was reported that Matt turned down "The Majestic", which supposedly had been written with him in mind, because he didn't want to do two movies with leading characters who were amnesiac, back to back. So you guessed right.
    As for why Matt's done so many narrations, even as far back as Geronimo, I'd say it's partly pure chance (element of the role), and partly coincidence. Once anybody becomes a "name" they are linked to animated projects, almost regardless of what kind of voice they have (note Brad Pitt and Catherine Zeta-Jones in an upcoming DreamWorks animated pic). Maybe because animated movies are typically geared towards a younger audience, and Matt can sound like a teenager or young adult.
    Jeffrey Katzenberg said he chose Matt for Spirit because he/his voice represented the character of the horse - youthful, spirited, vibrant. I doubt there's much more to it than that. Here's a comparison: [thinking quickly...] Ben has done one animated film that went straight to video, but has never had a role that required a narration.
    (And allow me to add my own 2c's worth: Matt has a radio voice - he can easily have gone into broadcasting.)
  - Do you want to see an article based around the comments on our site? It's a little strange and perhaps unsettling, especially as the writer is on an agenda of his own: here.
    (My comments: Weird! This is known as reporting the reporter -- it's like someone taking a picture of someone taking a picture. Well, whatever, if this site serves as an inspiration to someone who wants to write about Matt -- even someone who is obviously not one of his fans -- so be it.)
- We have a puzzle-master among us :-) Lam wrote:
  Has anyone else noticed that both Winona and Odessa share their name with 8 different cities in the US? I know that Winona was named for her birthplace of Winona, Minnesota. What about Odessa? Is she named after a city? Also, does anyone know how long Matt has been dating Odessa? It's mentioned in the March 2001 NY Daily News about the Vanity Fair party that Matt was nuzzling a dark-haired beauty named Odessa. So, they must have been an item before Ben's rehab in August 2001.
  Here's the 8 cities of each:
  Winona, Kansas; Winona, Minnesota; Winona, Mississippi; Winona, Missouri; Winona, Ohio; Winona, Tennessee; Winona, Texas; Winona, West Virginia
  Odessa, Delaware; Odessa, Florida; Odessa, Minnesota; Odessa, Missouri; Odessa, Nebraska; Odessa, New York; Odessa, Texas; Odessa, Washington.
- We thank Allison, who wrote thus:
  I have some answers for Catherine regarding Matt and the voiceovers/narrations. Matt has a very clear and easy to understand voice so it makes sense to use him in this aspect; and I seem to remember the directors of Geronimo and other films saying the same thing. Also, he sort of started out doing this kind of work. When he was younger he did a voice recording for a neighbor of a history series they wrote; even mentions the book in Good Will Hunting. Also, he does the animation work for his nephews so that they can enjoy his work as well and he can take them to see it. I happen to think it's great that Matt does this kind of work also, it really rounds him out as a performer and I think if you were to ask him, he'd tell you the same thing. He really enjoys doing voice work; gives him an outlet to being in front of a camera all the time (more relaxed environment).
7/2/02
- Question-answer time:
  - Catherine wrote:
    Hello! I heard somewhere that Matt apparently turned down the lead role in The Majestic, which was given to Jim Carrey, and did a voice cameo instead. Why did he turn it down? It seems like that would be the type of movie that he would star in...but maybe that's because of the whole amnesia theme?? I mean, it was a smart decision, seeing as how it didn't do very well with the critics or at the boxoffice.
    And another thing, I noticed that Matt has done various narrations in his movies like Geronimo, The Rainmaker, Rounders, and now The Majestic, and even animations like Titan AE and Spirit. Do people just like his voice or are they just coincidences??? This has been troubling me for quite a while!
    Felicity probably has a better answer than I. Although I remember that both of these points have been addressed in previous postings, I can't recall the answers. Stay tuned.
  - And great comments from KL:
    I just wanted to reply to these comments (raised by Felicity).
    Question 1: When did Bourne get so good and why did Universal dislike it so much? The movie was troubled through its whole production history, and the test reviews we saw were all pretty poor until just before it opened. It just seems like a minor miracle that something happened for it to finally click - maybe it was the revised ending, or extra tinkering. The movie seemed to be very close to a disaster but was somehow saved.
    From what I have read it was the revised ending that made the difference in whether or not the film worked. That is what they reshot, and why it took so long to release the film.
    The other main question is why Universal sought to completely change its concept and style. They were essentially trying to dumb it down and make it formulaic, and kept pushing for this. Why? It just seems to make no sense that the studio actively sought to make the movie worse (new script, cheap locations, cheesy everything). I know it's the studio system and they just want a product they can market to teenagers, but Bourne survives (and seemingly wins) because it doesn't fit that formula. So why did the studio try to destroy it?
    My impression of what happened there is that because the ending didn't work in the original script, they sent for a rewrite. Rather then just rewritting the ending, the entire script was overhauled (which can happen when a new writer is brought in). How that created a major problem was that they did not show the revised script to Matt until he showed up to start shooting. At that point in the game the production schedule would have been set and that would necessitate many changes to adjust back to the original script. The problem was that by going back to the original script, they also had a bad ending. My impression was that the studio didn't dumb it down, they tried to make it work. The only reason that it works now is because the studio footed over the money to reshoot the ending (thanks to money from the Mummy).
    I also can't help but see the circularity of the Hollywood Reporter story by the Universal PR guys. They set up the whole tour and punishing schedule, and then Matt is praised for doing what they had already promised. What amazed me was watching Letterman (the final interview on the whole press tour) and seeing how upbeat, chatty, alert and cheerful Matt still was. I expected Matt to seem exhausted or mentally drained, but it wasn't evident. That's either great acting or one very committed and happy movie pitchman.
    In reality Matt's schedule was no worse than what any other actor does to promote a movie. I think the point of the PR department pointing out Matt's schedule was to debunk rumors that he was in England to avoid promoting the movie. They simply wanted to prove that wasn't the case.
  - Neide wrote:
    I wanted to ask you the address that one of girls gave you. She sent you an e-mail where she was telling about a letter she wrote to Matt and he answered to her. She had sent him a photo from him and he sent it back with an autograph. Could you please tell me what was the address she used?! She sent the address to, but I didn�t paid attention to it at the time and now I was thinking about writing to him too.
    Thanks for writing, Neide. Scroll down to the bottom of this page and you will see an address.
- From Felicity:
  - Whatever the reasons, I guess we're all just happy that Bourne turned out so well. The guessing/hoping game now begins to see if it can hit $100 million, but it's more likely to reach about $90 million, with the overseas (outside US) release still to come. Any bets on a European press tour in July/August?
  - Dubious sighting from the Las Vegas Review-Journal, in Norm's "Sightings" column Sunday:
    Also at the Hard Rock: Matt Damon, making time during lunch with a knockout companion at Mr. Lucky's restaurant...
  - New York sighting, from the Daily News Monday:
    Matt Damon had dinner with singer Danielle Gerber and friends at Il Buco on Bond St. �
  - From the Boston Herald's Inside Track column. No comments, really:
    Single gals take Damon to the bank
    by Gayle Fee and Laura Raposa
    Monday, July 1, 2002
    ``The Bourne Identity'' may not be No. 1 at the box office, but Matt Damon's Unborn Identity is No. 1 at the sperm bank!
    It's true. The top ``look'' requested by women seeking the services of New England Cryogenics, the region's only photo-matching sperm bank, is the Cambridge homey-turned-Hollywood hunk!
    ``He's at the top of the list,'' said sperm bank director John Rizza. ``I think it's a combination of things. What I hear most often is that he has charisma, he's gorgeous, they like the sound of his voice. He has that boyish charm.''
    Rizza said most of the clients who come to the Kenmore Square sperm bank are couples who request a donor with the same physical features as the father-to-be.
    But when it comes to single women who want to be mommies, Matt's their dream dad.
    ``We have them fill out a characteristic sheet, what they want for hair color, eye color, skin tone,'' he said. ``And if they want, they can bring in a photo of the kind of donor they are looking for and we try to match the photo with the most appropriate one.''
    Rizza said he has dozens of photos of Damon brought in by clients from magazines, news clippings, even videos.
    ``They always start the conversation with `This may sound shallow, but . . .' '' he said.
    Rizza said most of his donors are college students from the Boston area but, sadly, Matt's not one of them.
  - No stories from the Rochester weekend yet.
- From a Big Matt Fan:
  This film ("Bourne") has surprisingly decent legs, given the tough competition. Last weekend, it made $10.8 million, a drop-off of only 28% -- by far the smallest in the top ten. Analysts had predicted a weekend take of only $6 million. Perhaps word is slowly getting around. I can see Matt doing a European press tour, especially if he has no other pressing commitments.
  ... BTW the recent Star Magazine (with Katie Couric on the cover) has a couple of innocent Matt items. Near the front is a photo of Matt throwing out the first pitch at Fenway. In the back is an article on celebrity smiles. In it, a Beverly Hills cosmetic dentist says that among men, Matt Damon has the perfect set of teeth. The article is accompanied by an illustrative photo.
- Our thanks to J. H., who sent the Atidbit from the NY Daily News that was also mentioned by Felicity:
  Matt Damon had dinner with singer Danielle Gerber and friends at Il Buco on Bond St.
  see here.
- And a big thanks to Lam, who sent in this:
  Not sure if you've posted this interview. It's posted at the Sacramento Bee's Movie Club and was done while Matt was in San Franscisco on the Bourne tour. See here.
7/1/02
- A reader (thanks!) wrote:
  Hi there! First I wanted to answer a question that was posed below recently, as to whether Odessa is Ben's current or former assistant. She is most definitely his FORMER assistant. Matt was on the radio last week (Alice 97.3, San Francisco) and was directly asked that question, in which he replied "She's not Ben's assistant anymore." There you have it straight from his mouth!
  Also, a blurb from this week's People Magazine (July 8 issue):
  HITTING THE MATT
  When The Bourne Identity director DOUG LYMAN first met with MATT DAMON, he was more interested in the star's abs than his acting ability. "Doug said, 'Pull up your shirt,' And so I pulled up my shirt, and he goes, 'Oh God, oh God.'" recalls Damon, 31. "I said, 'No, in three months, don't worry, this stomach is going to be hard as a rock!'" After months of rigorous physical training to play CIA operative Jason Bourne, he is looking buff but facing a different kind of pressure. Since buddy BEN AFFLECK has said his own impending 30th birthday has made him consider settling down and starting a family, everyone's wondering when Damon and his girlfriend, Affleck's personal assistant Odessa Whitmire, will tie the knot. "I'm past 30, and I don't know what Ben is talking about," he says. "I am not engaged and I have no plans to get married or have kids now. I have my nephews, and that's about all the responsibility I can handle."
- A thoughtful Felicity wrote:
  here's two questions.
  - Question 1: When did Bourne get so good and why did Universal dislike it so much?
    The movie was troubled through its whole production history, and the test reviews we saw were all pretty poor until just before it opened. It just seems like a minor miracle that something happened for it to finally click - maybe it was the revised ending, or extra tinkering. The movie seemed to be very close to a disaster but was somehow saved.
    The other main question is why Universal sought to completely change its concept and style. They were essentially trying to dumb it down and make it formulaic, and kept pushing for this. Why? It just seems to make no sense that the studio actively sought to make the movie worse (new script, cheap locations, cheesy everything). I know it's the studio system and they just want a product they can market to teenagers, but Bourne survives (and seemingly wins) because it doesn't fit that formula. So why did the studio try to destroy it?
    I also can't help but see the circularity of the Hollywood Reporter story by the Universal PR guys. They set up the whole tour and punishing schedule, and then Matt is praised for doing what they had already promised.
    What amazed me was watching Letterman (the final interview on the whole press tour) and seeing how upbeat, chatty, alert and cheerful Matt still was. I expected Matt to seem exhausted or mentally drained, but it wasn't evident. That's either great acting or one very committed and happy movie pitchman.
  - Question 2: Casting issues.
    For those who have seen Bourne, can you see Brad Pitt in the role? He was the studio's first choice, of course.
    And has anybody seen "Minority Report" and thought of Matt in the role played by Colin Farrell? We know Matt turned it down for "Ocean's 11", and it's presumably the "summer blockbuster" he said was not a "good career choice."
    The character (and thus Matt) would really have been overshadowed by Tom Cruise, who's certainly the only real star in the film. Matt probably would have made the character more sympathetic than Farrell, and this would have helped with a late scene 'realisation', which Colin didn't pull off (to me). I also thought Farrell played it as a 1920's gangster, with the clothing to match, but that Matt would have been miscast and too well-known for the role.
  Any other views?
- Also from Felicity:
  - From EW online, and the celeb "It list":
    (asked which director you admire:
    ) MATT DAMON (''The Bourne Identity'') Baz Luhrmann. With ''Moulin Rouge''...he broke every standard rule of directing...almost as a way to prove that they can be broken and the film can still work.
    DOUG LIMAN (director, ''The Bourne Identity'') [''Run Lola Run'' director] Tom Tykwer. Every time I see a movie that he does, he is taking chances and pushing himself and not trying to repeat.
  - Matt's mother, Nancy Carlsson-Paige has written an article for the Boston Globe on the film ratings system, with Bourne the top target: here.
    First paragraph:
    ''The Bourne Identity,'' an action spy thriller based on Robert Ludlum's best-selling novel, is a box-office hit. It's got martial arts-style fights, violent combat with esoteric weapons, and chase scenes that excite lovers of the action-movie genre. To them it's great entertainment. OK. But ''The Bourne Identity'' is not a movie for children ...
6/30/02
- A big thanks to Kelly (MattDamonFanPage.com), who wrote:
  As you may know, one of Matt's final interviews on the publicity tour was with the syndicated radio program called The Bob And Tom Show. After emailing them to see if it would be possible to get a copy of the Matt Damon program they were nice enough to create a special page for me where you can listen to and/or download the full interview in mp3 format! Most radio stations wouldn't go through all this trouble but the people at Bob & Tom were amazing (special thanks to webmaster Barry K). They won't be making the link public until next weekend but you can access it early by going to here.
- From Felicity:
  - A nice trade ad available on ebay promoting Bourne's opening weekend: Picture at here.
    Item at here.
  - For any Australian readers - the MTV Movie Awards will be broadcast on Channel 10 next Thursday at 9.30pm.
6/29/02
From Felicity:
- From the Star Tribune, Matt could be back for Shjon Podein's golf tournament this weekend:
  People: Matt Damon to make appearance in Twin Cities for fundraiser
  blished Jun 28, 2002 Haven't seen enough of Matt Damon at the movies this summer? Keep an eye out for the actor around the Twin Cities this weekend. Organizers of the Shjon Podein Celebrity Rock Concert and Golf Tournament say he will spend some time in the cities before heading to the fundraiser Sunday and Monday in Rochester.
  Podein, a Rochester native and now a forward with the National Hockey League St. Louis Blues, hopes to raise $200,000 for his Children's Foundation.
  Actresses Kimberly Williams ("Father of the Bride") and Nicole Sullivan of Mad TV, who are in town for the fundraiser, will be part of the pregame fun at tonight's Twins game.
  Minneapolis rock band G B Leighton will headline the concert at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Rochester Civic Center Auditorium. Singer Sally Taylor, the daughter of James Taylor and Carly Simon, and country singer Brad Paisley will also perform.
  For ticket information call 507-529-8098.
  The celebrity golf tournament Monday at the Rochester Golf and Country Club is closed to the public.
- From the Rochester Post-Bulletin site, more details: here.
- There's another story at Star Magazine on how the split with Matt led to Winona's current state: here.
- Bourne's theater count is increasing slightly this week by 16 to 2,662.
  Its box office total (including Thursday) is now $61,704,510.
6/28/02
- From a Big Matt Fan:
  - RE: Best Damn Sports Show Period. ... Despite the heavy promotion, Matt was only on the show in a brief press junket interview clip! Matt was asked, if he could wake up with a famous athlete's abilities, whose would he want. He mentioned Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Sandy Koufax, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Pedro Martinez. He was also asked about his sports fantasy. He said it had already been fulfilled, and discussed the time he hit a ball out of Fenway Park with his father. That was basically it! Oh, well...
  - RE: Another meaningless survey. Zap2It.com is having a "Battle of the Summer Movie Stars." Matt apparently defeated Sandra Bullock in the first round, and is now up against Kirsten Dunst. So, if anyone would like to vote: here.
  - RE: Franka Potente. Came across this interview. Not sure if it's been up before, but though many of the anecdotes sound familiar, there seems to be a bit more elaboration than in most. Here are some excerpts:
- And a delightful note from Catherine:
  First of all, I would just like to say how much I deeply appreciate this news page, I check it daily to see what's going on with Matt...keep up all of the awesome work! I mean, if it wasn't for this website, I would have missed half of his appearances! Thank you!!!!!
  Last night I saw Matt's appearance on the Best Damn Sports Show Period and I was a little disappointed because I thought the interview was going to be longer. :( They made it seem like he was in a big segment of the show, but hey...I can't complain... he was there and he looked good didn't he? By any chance does anyone know when they will re-run the Will and Grace episode with Matt in it?? I absolutely love that episode!
  Thanks a bunch, Catherine (a huge fan of Matt)
6/27/02
- A big thanks to S.S., who wrote:
  A spokesman for the Autograph Collector magazine was interviewed on KNBR radio this morning (SF Bay Area) and said Matt was "one of the coolest guys around" when it came to signing autographs and would have been ranked #1 in their top ten list had he been out more. (See here.)
  Note: I'm from Boise, ID, and have become a big Matt fan since his visit here a couple of weeks ago. No star of his stature visits Boise unless they are on their way to Sun Valley. He was front page news, won a lot of hearts and surprised a lot of people with his genuine unspoiled behavior.
- Leeann wrote:
  Hi! I went to the Men in Black 2 premiere last night in Westwod, only to see Matt Damon. He was on the guest list, but he didn't show up. That was kind of a bummer, but I had a blast none the less!
6/26/02
- From the Big Matt Fan:
  According to the website, Matt is scheduled to appear on "The Best Damn Sports Show Period" tomorrow, Thursday, June 27. On the West Coast, the show airs at 8:00 pm and 11:00 pm on FOX Sports, with repeats the next morning at 7:30 am and 10:00 am, but you may want to check local listings.
  Of course, whenever there's a new release, all the cable channels start pulling out their stock of Matt films. In case you haven't checked the TV Guide:
  6/27 The Talented Mr. Ripley 10:00 pm (Showtime)
  6/28 All the Pretty Horses 8:00 am / 6:30 pm (HBO)
  7/5 The Legend of Bagger Vance 3:30 pm (Cinemax)
  7/7 Courage Under Fire 2:00 am (USA)
  7/7 Dogma 7:30 pm (Comedy Central)
  7/8 Dogma 2:30 pm (Comedy Central)
This is a no-frills web site dedicated to a weekly (or so) column on Matt Damon , the actor.
The site is maintained by a fan of the actor and is 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].
Please write fan mail to Matt to:
C/o Patrick Whitesell
Endeavour Talent Agency
9701 Wilshire Blvd.
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Click on a link

A very weird article, found on http://www.citypages.com, where this site was cited as the lead-in.
Universal applauds Damon's big help with big 'Bourne' opening, Jun. 19, 2002,By Martin A. Grove, Hollywood Reporter.
Still photos from Good Will Hunting.
2000 Jan. Premier magazine article
USA Weekly November 2000 article, "Ace of Clubs" y by Craigh Barboza.
Local boys making 'Good' a Boston Herald article from the GWH days
The Advocate (12/99) interview by Brendan Lemon.
Some of my personal favorite pictures of Matt
The Talented Mr.Ripley page
The All the Pretty Horses page
The Bagger Vance page
Matt at Fenway Park for the 1999 Major League Baseball All Stars
The Details magazine article, as appeared in the London Telegraph.
Janel Maslin's NY Times Review of GWH , in which she called Matt "very much the supernova".
An article about pre-GWH videos of Matt Damon/
Archive of Past Matt Columns

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

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