The "Rounders" Effect
10/24/98
Both Entertainment Weekly (in its Power 101
article, which lists Matt at 93rd) and the A&E Biography
(shown today - Matt was one of three young actors profiled)
made note of
"Rounders"' disappointing box-office performance. That's
exactly what I was afraid of.
So wrote Entertainment Weekly
Matt Damon
Actor-Screenwriter
AGE 28
CREDITS Plenty of Hollywood Good Will after his co-screenwriting
Oscar
win; proved his muscle by brokering a deal to turn family friend Howard
Zinn's
book A People's History of the United States into a 10-hour-plus Fox
miniseries; upcoming roles in All the Pretty Horses and The Talented
Mr.
Ripley will further showcase his range. DEBITS Rounders' $23 million
gross
raises doubts about his ability to open a movie.
That last line stings. How much more so to Matt, I can only imagine.
The A&E bio ended with this discouraging note:
"Matt Damon's
last movie choice was not so smart. 'Rounders' was roundly
criticized and quickly fizzled at the box office."
"Rounders" did
fizzle at the b.o., but it was definitely not roundly criticized
(see my Rounders page). Such
is the Hollywood mentality - if a movie doesn't sell, it's bad.
"Rounders" netted only 23M
during its first run here in the U.S., a perfectly respect-
able take for a film made for probably $15M. Unfortunately,
what was at stake is not just that the film makes money
or not, but whether Matt can carry a film on his own.
As EW pointed out, that Rounders did not fly has cast doubts
on Matt's ability to headline a film, and Miramax is probably
worrying bigtime about "Ripley", and Columbia is doing likewise
about "Pretty Horses".
It's ironic: had Matt not made "Rounders",
he would probably not have gotten this bad rap.
"Ripley" too is a risky film, and it could well also end up
not being a commercial success, in which case all the good
will showered on Matt may vanish faster than you can say
Matt Damon.
I AM worried. However, meanwhile Matt is listed in the Daily
Variety, once again
along with Brad Pitt, as an actor being considered for yet another
film, this one a story on Lindberg, the pioneering pilot. The
other film that has him named similarly is one on Mickey Mantle, the
baseball player.
I know in my heart that Matt is a talented actor, but far too
many talented persons have fallen by the wayside in show biz. Matt
has gotten his big break last year. He will need some luck now to
hang in there.
12/10/98
A footnote to the "Rounders" Syndrome: In an article in today's
Daily Variety about actors who have double performances during
the year, thereby enhancing their Oscar nomination chances:
"The 'Rounders' problem, (David) Poland (of TNT Roughcut, an online
film magazine) suggests, may hurt co-star Matt Damon's chances as
well. 'If it had played stronger, it may have helped him get a
nomination for 'Saving Private Ryan' In stead, the talk for that
movie in supporting actor is all around Tom Sizemore and Jeremy
Davies."
What utter nonsense. First of all, Matt was THE star, not
the co-star of "Rounders". Secondly, Matt simply didn't get
enough time in SPR to merit a supporting-actor nomination.
Thirdly, Ed Burns - who did get enough time - is not getting the
buzz for that nomination either, and he sure doesn't have the
"Rounder's problem".