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

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

If you are a new Matt fan, check out the archive of past columns - there's tons of stuff accumulated since Matt's GWH days - the links are at the bottom of this page.
Updated 4/1/2000
That Matt Damon is going places", Gregory Peck, 1998. . .

• See a pic of Matt and Ben at this year's Oscars, from Fox News
• News from Felicity:
  • From Army Archerd's column: Jack Lemmon is now voicing the entire narrative of Robert Redford's ``Bagger Vance'' starring Will Smith and Matt Damon. Lemmon also appears on screen ``in a small part'' as an old golfer who was around at the time of Bobby Jones.
  • From a Washington Post column on the parties: (at the Vanity Fair party): To the pounding, panting disco beat of "Come Satisfy the Need in Me," we spy Winona Ryder dangerously close to Matt Damon, whose jutting jaw could poke someone's eye out. Barely two feet away on the dance floor is Ed Norton entwined with an emaciated but beautiful Salma Hayek. He can't dance and seriously looks as if he could snap her in half with one false dip.
  • From the NY Daily News: Minnie Driver and beau Josh Brolin also situated themselves at a remove from her ex, Matt Damon, who had his arm around Winona Ryder. Damon laughed off talk that they're trying for a baby, shooting down a tabloid sighting of him buying a home pregnancy test at an supermarket.
    From the Chicago Sun-Times OK, so Hilary Swank and Matt Damon look so much alike, especially in the dental area, that they could have been separated at birth. So I was thinking Swank could utilize her gender-bending genius in the next "Alien" movie by playing Sigourney Weaver's husband. Of course, the name of the flick could be "The Talented Mr. Ripley," and from this point forward I'll cut down on the caffeine, I promise.
    Yep, actress Penelope Cruz did fall out of her dress for a split second as she disengaged from the exuberant embrace of director Pedro Almodovar. I'm sure it's a moment that will play in freeze-frame infamy on the Internet.
  • From USA Today, talking about the pre-Oscars Miramax party: In the crowd: Maguire in one of the few chairs, with a young woman in a pink sweater on his lap, and Damon, telling how he had driven back to L.A. from ShoWest in Las Vegas.
  • From Ben Affleck on affleck.com Spent last night watching the Oscars from home (a relief after two hectic years in attendance) and had a great time. The benefits of watching from the comfort and privacy of one's own home are myriad--and until several years ago entirely underappreciated by me.
    I did go to a few parties afterward (best of both worlds, I guess) and had fun. Vanity Fair is always a strange and wonderful experience for the bizzarre mix of people it attracts and the Miramax party has become a staple experience for me as of late.
  • From Liz Smith's column: Sights and sounds from Oscar night: There was Cher at a post-Academy Award party Sunday, enthusiastically embracing, and being embraced by, the "old" and "new" guard of Hollywood. She was as dazzling and accessible to Matt Damon as she was to Tony Curtis.
  • Reprise from FoxNews: From the Miramax Company Picnic: Affleck Affects Weinstein, Tarantino Gives a Seminar
    The Miramax All-Stars showed up, of course, on Saturday night at the annual company picnic, otherwise known as the Max Awards. And by that I mean Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Judi Dench, Jude Law, Lasse Hallstrom, Quentin Tarantino, Tobey Maguire, Delroy Lindo, Dylan McDermott (soon to be seen in Texas Rangers), Wes Craven, Om Puri, not to mention Uma Thurman, husband Ethan Hawke, actor Kyle MacLachlan, and this year's Oscar nominee Michael Caine.
    Not bad, huh? The only missing members of this troupe were Roberto Benigni, whom I had the pleasure of running into yesterday morning, and Meryl Streep, who doesn't care for this type of public event.
    The awards, a funny sort of inside joke gathering for friends and business relations of the Miramax "family," are named dually for Anthony Minghella's son Max and Harvey and Bob Weinstein's late father, Max.
    The evening is easily the most fun event of Oscar weekend and the most relaxed. The stars are required to take part in skits written by Miramax executives in which they poke fun at themselves, at the Weinsteins, and the current films.
    To that end, Dame Judi Dench found herself playing Dickie Greenleaf to Lasse Hallstrom's Marge Sherwood in the opening beach scene from The Talented Mr. Ripley. Caine took the role of Tom Ripley, who comes upon the couple in their chaises longues. "I'm just a murdering homosexual psychotic," he read from his script and stole the scene. Meanwhile, Dench sipped from a gigantic martini glass and was extremely droll.
    In another sketch, special guest Kevin Spacey took on Charlize Theron's role from The Cider House Rules in a blonde wig while Ripley director Minghella played Tobey Maguire's part from their love scene at the drive-in in Cider House. Spacey was a sport as the object of Minghella's affections, considering all the talk about his own sexuality in the press. When it came time to kiss Minghella, he planted the longest kiss seen in some time on the director's cheek and Minghella swooned.
    But the piece de resistance came with Ben Affleck playing Harvey Weinstein in an original piece called The Weinstein House Rules. Miramax production chief Bobby Cohen took the role of Bob Weinstein and the pair was viciously funny imitating the infamous brothers and founders of the company. Affleck has got Harvey down to a T, the way a junior executive might mimic his boss when he's out of the room. Paltrow, author John Irving, and Cider House producer Richard Gladstein played violin students from Music of the Heart in the same sketch but couldn't get a word in edgewise.
    The evening's festivities ended merrily with this line, appropriated from The Cider House Rules: "Good night you kings of Tribeca, you queens of West Hollywood!"
• Wendy wrote:
  Saw Entertainment Tonight tonight, apparently Matt & Winona are still together?? They said they met up with each other inside the Vanity Fair party & showed a pic of them together.
• A Big Matt fan wrote:
  Just came across this:
  Matt Damon And Winona Ryder Have Split
  Hollywood couple WINONA RYDER and MATT DAMON have split after a two-year romance. According to French magazine VOICI, the Good Will Hunting (1997) star broke up with actress Ryder at the beginning of the month, and is no longer sharing a house with her in Beverly Hills. Damon recently arrived on his own to promote his new film Talented Mr. Ripley, The (1999) in Paris, even though he was expected to be with Winona Ryder - who cancelled at the last minute, confirming that they weren't an item anymore. The couple had fuelled reports of a split by arriving individually at Sunday night's Oscar ceremony in Hollywood, where Heathers (1989) star Ryder arrived with another man.
  HOWEVER, before some of you get your hopes up, don't forget these items from Felicity's US sources:
  From a Washington Post column on the parties: (at the Vanity Fair party): To the pounding, panting disco beat of "Come Satisfy the Need in Me," we spy Winona Ryder dangerously close to Matt Damon, whose jutting jaw could poke someone's eye out.
  From the NY Daily News:
  Minnie Driver and beau Josh Brolin also situated themselves at a remove from her ex, Matt Damon, who had his arm around Winona Ryder. Damon laughed off talk that they're trying for a baby, shooting down a tabloid sighting of him buying a home pregnancy test at an supermarket.
  Does that seem like a couple that just broke up? Who knows?
• Not the greatest photo, but you can find another Matt and Ben pic on E online: Saw Entertainment Tonight tonight, apparently Matt & Winona are still together?? They said they met up with each other inside the Vanity Fair party & showed a pic of them together. here.
• Just came across this in Ted C's column (3/30/00). Yes, he's not the most dependable source, but it does tend to suggest that Matt and Winona may still be together.
  Matt Damon, doncha think? Ben's prettier other half was with Winona Ryder at the Formosa Cafe in West Hollywood. According to an asphalt eyewitness, poor Winona hit the parking lot of the chic locale and promptly spewed, as the Aussies say, all over the place. Upchuck-a-rooney. (Oh dear, how disgusting can I get here with this nasty reportage of mine?) Prior to that lovely sight, W.R. was feelin' real fine, 'cause she simply couldn't keep her hands off Matty-Watty. (So, maybe things are okay between them...) In fact, she was so preoccupied with Matthew, I don't know if Winona-babe heard that agent type telling her how "much more beautiful and gorgeous" she was than Angelina Jolie. "She has nothing on you," he added. Uh. Earth to agent: Angelina does have something, and he's called Oscar.
• According to an article on the Fox news site: "The Miramax fete was more notable for the absence of almost any other celebrities including the studio's own "All Stars" - Patrow, Damon, and Affleck. They, with Damon's sometime girlfriend Winona Ryder, spent the evening with Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Rita Wilson, Swank, Chad, and brother Rob Lowe and literally anyone else who was in town over at Morton's.
  Roberto Benigni and Anthony Minghella also declined the Miramax invite."
• A fan wrote:
  Tuesday's New York Times fashion page (Cathy Horyn: Oscar Style: All Polished, Pretty and Banal) was devoted to the Vanity Fair party at Morton's. Matt was among about 20 names mentioned, and one of the very few men named. This was the sequence: "...Hillary Swank, Chloe Sevigny, Matt Damon, Winona Ryder, Faye Dunaway..."

• Oscars 2000 came and went - big yawn. The interesting news is: Matt didn't show up with Winona Ryder on camera, where she was shown with another guy, called - by Winona - her best friend - there may be hope for Matty after all :-)!!
  Also, on ET Matt and Ben were shown (for a millisecond) at the Vanity Fair party, apparently arriving together - more grits for the rumor mill, no doubt. Sigh - they were relegated to also-shows this year, worthy of only the blink of an eye.
• Felicity's finds:
  From the Ny Daily News:
  HOLLYWOOD
  Kevin Spacey deserves an Oscar for being a good sport. The same week that the National Enquirer revived rumors that the "American Beauty" star has a gay past, he was willing to dress up in drag at a party Saturday night.
  Spacey, who has gone on record as being straight, felt secure enough to don a blond wig and frilly pastel dress for a comic sketch at Miramax' annual Oscar-eve cocktail bash at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.
  As they do every year, Miramax honchos Harvey and Bob Weinstein dragooned stars from their movies to swap roles in order to claim the "Maxy Awards."
  Spacey, who played along even though "American Beauty" is a DreamWorks release, mounted a makeshift stage with Anthony Minghella, director and sceenwriter of "The Talented Mr. Ripley."
  They reenacted a scene from "Cider House Rules" in which Charlize Theron's character introduces virginal orphan Tobey Maguire to the joys of sex. Minghella, dressed in a plaid workshirt, aped Maguire.
  Throwing himself into Theron's part, Spacey proposed: "Let's cuddle." He proceeded to put his arm around the bearlike Minghella and plant a lingering kiss on the side of his prickly head. Just when Spacey might have thought the worst was over, "Cider House" director Lasse Halstrom shouted, "Do it again!"
  Spacey wasn't the only Oscar nominee subjected to indignity. Michael Caine agreed to play the beach scene from "Ripley," pulling on a white smock bearing the outline of Matt Damon's swimsuit-clad, pasty bod.
  Hallstrom wore a wig and bikini top to double as Gwyneth Paltrow. And Judi Dench played Jude Law. The real Damon and Law later joined Naples singer Fiorello to lead the room in a spirited reprise of their "Ripley" saloon song, "Tu Vuo Fa L'Americano."
  Miramax' Weinstein brothers came in for some payback when the real Paltrow and Ben Affleck (who held hands during the party and left together) joined "Cider House" writer John Irving and executive producer Bobby Cohen for a sketch titled "Weinstein House Rules." A takeoff on "Music of the Heart," it found Affleck and Cohen playing Harvey and Bob as violin teachers subbing for Meryl Streep.
  Irving joined Gwyneth to play the role of a reluctant student and said, "I don't care about music. I want to be a writer." Affleck, wearing a prosthetic gut covered with half-eaten food, growled: "You do not! John, strap on your brain! [A writer] sits in a room all day. You have no power. You get paid nothing. You never get [bleeped]."
  Playing a nasal Bob Weinstein, Cohen piped up: "What about Tina Brown?"
  "She's an editor, Bob," said Affleck, guzzling Diet Coke and munching Snackwells. "She eats writers for breakfast everyday."
  Affleck ordered Paltrow and Irving to "go ahead and play, [but not] a whole concerto. It's boring."
  Harvey's reaction? The studio head, back on the scene after being hospitalized, wept with laughter. Particularly when Affleck closed the party by declaring, "Good night, you princes of Tribeca. You queens of West Hollywood."
  Similar but shorter brief of the above in the NY Post.
  Over the weekend Matt was also at a party thrown by agents that drew the whole Hollywood crowd, and where Alan Ladd (old star) collapsed. Winona was not mentioned as being at either event.

3/25/2000

• From the Boston Herald via Felicity:
  Cambridge homeboys turned Hollywood heartthrobs Matt Damon and Ben and Casey Affleck will be back home in May to perform new works by David Mamet and Christopher Durang at the American Repertory Theatre's annual spring gala. The black-tie event, May 5 at the fab Four Seasons hotel, will include dinner and an auction featuring a private tour of ``60 Minutes'' with newsman Mike Wallace, who will be at the gala, and a backstage tour of ``The Lion King.'' Save us two seats down front!
• From a big Matt fan: M & W are listed as a "hot" couple on romance feature on Hollywood.com. Accompanying photo is from the Golden Globes.
• From another Matt fan
  The opening page at http://www.oscars.com uses a shot of Matt & Ben (mostly Matt) under the heading STYLE, with the caption "The Stars shine on Oscar night."
  Follow the Style link and the head shot used for Men's Style is Chris O'Donnell... Dig beyond that, and the Matt-Ben shot is used again, this time mostly Ben, and the 2 of them head the list of "Men of Style"....but that's thanks to alphabetical order. Still, it's great to see him included as one of just 33 out of all of Hollywood's men.
  Each of the 33 gets a solo shot, but wait. Click Matt or click Ben and you get the same shot of the duo, joined at the hip, it seems. But it's a fine shot with them both at their best.
  Good to know someone recognizes style when they see it.
  The shot's attached - click here to see. Small, I guess, and one we've seen before, but that's great exposure at the Oscars site.

3/24/2000

A reader sent this article from "New Idea" magazine (New Zealand, march 11): Matt and Winona so in love - aagghh!

3/23/2000
A reader wrote:
I want to tell you I found an article about "The legend of Bagger Vance" in the April issue of Architectural Digest. There are two pictures with Matt Damon, and in one he is with Will Smith and in the other one with Joel Gretsch.

3/20/2000

• Click here to see a black-and-white photo of a very suave Matt during the filming of Ripley - the photo is large. Thanks to a big Matt fan for providing the picture.
• Also from a big Matt fan:
  Took a peek at the new Teen Movieline (Spring 2000) and lo and behold, there's some Matt stuff in it. There is a section (click here) on Matt in an article entitled, "The Long and Winding Road" about how long it took certain actors to hit it big. The article notes their first real break, years of struggle, their all-time low and rates the degree of difficulty. (BTW, Gwyneth Paltrow rated a 0 degree of difficulty. Spielberg gave her her first break in HOOK after seeing her in a movie line with his friend, Bruce Paltrow.) Also in the magazine, a familiar Bagger Vance photo with Matt and Will Smith, passing mention of a Matt sighting at a Georgia restaurant, and some news on possible hard rock bands who may appear in Titan AE's soundtrack.
• A reader wrote:
  i am a 22 year old female from Victoria, Australia and I read your column all the time ie: the mattdamon column. I am really a huge devoted fan and I love matt's acting work he seems like a cool guy and deserves all the publicity he can get. I actually have produced a few small matt pages myself and also my boyfriend makes his own sites, he specialises in movie reviewing and video release. visit his site at www.members.tripod.com/~Clint3 (I am sure thats the link) its called the moviehole and it is updated everyweek so if you want to see reviews on movies and videos and findout about other stars and movies release dates check it out. and if you want to see some other matt damon sites check mine out at http://homepages.eu.rmit.edu.au/nbond/
• And from Felicity:
  There's lots of Winona articles here (London) at the moment as Girl, Interrupted opens next Friday. In all interviews Matt is mentioned, usually in a sense that the interviewer wanted her to talk about him, but she wouldn't. From an article in the News of the World (!) mag today: "The only thing I'll say about Matt is that he is not only my lover but a really good friend - an honest, kind-hearted, wonderful person."
  There was also a quote from an Aus magazine when Matt was asked about her. He wouldn't confirm it, but said something like "I'm not saying anything directly, but from what I've heard she's not only an amazing actress, but one of the most wonderful and beautiful women around and that anyone who loves her would be the luckiest person in the world." (badly paraphrased)
  I asked about posters for ATPH and BV at London's largest cinema store today, and the clerk mentioned September for BV, and later for ATPH. So he had heard of both, but they're probably not out for a while, as expected. Neither is coming up in the current spring previews, which is good.

• A big Matt fan sent a couple of recent Matt pics from the latest EW magazine:
  Matt and Ben said to be selling their TV production
  The ATPH gang at ShoWest.
• More from a big Matt fan:
  Took a peek at the new Teen Movieline (Spring 2000) and lo and behold, there's some Matt stuff in it. Attached is a section on Matt in an article entitled, "The Long and Winding Road" about how long it took certain actors to hit it big. The article notes their first real break, years of struggle, their all-time low and rates the degree of difficulty. (BTW, Gwyneth Paltrow rated a 0 degree of difficulty. Spielberg gave her her first break in HOOK after seeing her in a movie line with his friend, Bruce Paltrow.) Also in the magazine, a familiar Bagger Vance photo with Matt and Will Smith, passing mention of a Matt sighting at a Georgia restaurant, and some news on possible hard rock bands who may appear in Titan AE's soundtrack.
• More from Felicity:
  From a press release on yahoo.com All the Pretty Horses - Directed by Billy Bob Thornton (Sling Blade) and starring Matt Damon and Sam Shepard. Original score by gifted and influential composer, solo artist and producer Daniel Lanois (Sling Blade) also features songs performed by Emmy Lou Harris, Raul Malo, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson. Columbia Pictures. In stores fall 2000.
  Isn't that sounding really good! Wasn't there a Dwight Yoakam one also??
• Just checked out the Ripley soundtrack site - www.sonyclassical.com. There's a making of the soundtrack video, and the Valentine video.

From EW Online:
Happy 'Hunting'
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon want to produce a TV show. The Oscar winning duo is pitching an ''indie filmmaking'' program
by Lynette Rice
''Good Will Hunting'': the TV series? Not exactly, but sources say Ben Affleck and Matt Damon have been shopping around a reality show that takes viewers behind the scenes of an indie movie. The Oscar- winning duo (and their Miramax-based production company) plan to recruit an indie auteur via the Internet who would then allow cameras to capture his vision coming to life.
''They were pretty passionate about the idea,'' said one Big Four exec. ''I think they wanted to do it based on their experience [making] 'Good Will Hunting.' They want to give somebody else that kind of shot.'' Affleck and Damon had no trouble getting the nets to hear their pitch, but finding a buyer is a different story; one exec says Miramax is asking too steep a price for a 13-episode order (though Affleck and Damon DID promise to appear in some episodes). But even if the show doesn't get picked up, the actors have still created a stir: ''I rarely get flummoxed by people,'' says one exec. ''And I definitely was flummoxed by them.''

From the NY Daily News:
Damon, Flush With Success
Even celebs can get a case of the nerves, especially on Oscar night.
"Good Will Hunting" star Matt Damon says he was so jittery on the way to the 1998 awards, he had to make a pit stop at a car dealership.
"During the limo ride, I had to stop and get out when we hit all the traffic," Damon says in Friday's debut issue of Us Weekly. "I went running in, in this tuxedo, [asking] like, �Do you have a bathroom? Do you have a
bathroom?'" When he found it, he was greeted by a small cheering section. "They were really cool, all the guys working there," says Damon, who won the Best Original Screenplay award with Ben Affleck. "They were like �Hey, man, good luck!' They were all cheering and stuff so that was cool."

• The Premiere and Talk issues are yet to hit London (despite all of my searching), but I do have the Movieline and In Style ones. Nice photos there, but Penelope and Matt don't look too happy in their photo together (just the way it's snapped).
  On Showest last week: apparently afterwards (according to the Las Vegas Sun) Matt went on the town with Billy Bob and Elisabeth Shue: Not missing a chance to pass up the ultimate Vegas experience during their stay, Damon, Thornton and actress Elisabeth Shue took in Wayne Newton's show at the Stardust on Wednesday night. The trio took the time to hit the Newton souvenir shop outside the showroom and when they went back stage to greet Mr. Las Vegas after the show, they had plenty of paraphernalia for him to sign.
• That's just a little bizarre... Also from the Vegas paper's movie critic: New York City cineaste, bon vivant and man about town Danny Peary turned this armchair activity into a science when he wrote "Alternate Oscars." The book chronicles Oscar winners, and substitutes the author's choices, from 1927 forward. Sometimes, through rarely, he agrees with the Academy's choices. Either way, he tells you why, and it's a fun read. Peary has earned the right to be opinionated. He has written nine cult-movie books and six baseball books. ("Baseball For Brain Surgeons and Other Fans," which he co-wrote with former major league catcher Tim McCarver, is probably his best known work.) Reached by telephone in his New York City office, Peary was happy to hold forth on this year's nominees, probable winners and alternate choices. He's the consummate film buff and a man who rarely runs out of words. (snipped) But his choice for the Oscar this year is Matt Damon, in the sparsely nominated "The Talented Mr. Ripley." Peary said Damon is the most underrated actor in films. "He's never afraid to take chances."

3/13/00

• Click here to see one of the ATPH pics from Talk magazine mentioned previously.
• A big Matt fan wrote:
  The April issue of Premiere just came out, and the Letters section has a great photo of Matt dressed as a boy scout (See above). There are two very complimentary letters about the Matt article. One, by Kelly Cotter and John Gage, says, "Top-notch article on Matt Damon! It is refreshing to see an actor of such high caliber and with such an unyielding work ethic featured in your magazine." In another, Kenneth L. Zimmerman writes, "I was surprised that in your cover story Matt Damon sounded so insecure and unsure of his acting ability. I think he's a terrific actor who will only get better with time and experience. A good indication of this was his decision to play the title role in "The Talented Mr. Ripley." Instead of doing lightweight turns that take advantage of his looks, he's willing to play complex parts that emphasize performance over physical appearance."
• And my thanks to a reader who wrote to share a photo of Matt's appearance at the Writer's Guild Awards show:
  Click here to see a "standard (awards) photo".

Sabrina posted this note to planetdamon:
I have been seeing random Matt stuff everywhere lately, so I thought I'd let you know about a few. the magazine InStyle (one of my favorites) can't seem to get enough of Matt Damon, even though it sounds odd. In their Premiere section of the March issue, they have a page for TTMR, a cute pic of Matt and Winona both holding drinks. He has his arm around her and is looking away. Gwyenth Paltow is in another pic, as is Ben Affleck. In their section on the Academy Awards, Matt is quoted as saying "Pedro Almodovar (was his favorite Globe Trotter). All About My Mother is my favorite movie of the year." They have a pic of Matt with Pedro, Penelope Cruz and Antonio Banderas (good one, he's doing the familiar thing with his lip) there's also a pic of Ben Affleck with their agent. Also, they have a little blurb about this woman who transforms her numerous apartments into comfy homes for actors who roam a lot (like Matt). they have a cartoon pic of him and mention that he is on of her clients. She says that, "Basically, all they need to bring is a toothbrush." interesting.... One more thing, in the newest Talk magazine (good mag), there is a short article on the actors and horses in "All The Pretty Horses" with at least 2 GREAT pictures of Matt and his co-star. One of them is the entire page! heaven! I've been around horses and ranchers all my life, and this boy looks like he was born in the saddle! the article mentions that Billy Bob Thorton sent them to a dude ranch for five weeks, and it looks like it paid off. matt said that the horses were better actors than he was.
(My note: I have seen the pics in Talk - it's the April issue - and there are two pages of them. Two of them have Matt in - both with Henry Thomas. One shows their faces, while the other have them on horses, heads down, splashing through the Rio Grande, very John Fordish and appealing. In both, Matt's wearing a beige colored (or is it kakhi) long-sleeve shirt and his cowboy hat - if looks can kill!)
• Felicity wrote:
  Quick message to say that there's a photo of Matt, Will and Charlize (not the most flattering one, nor the accompanying article) in the set reports section in the Hollywood Vanity Fair issue. Also a pic and few mentions in the article about the investment adviser gone bust that Matt and Ben were associated with.
  In the Hollywood photos section Matt's not there, but Jude Law and Philip Seymour Hoffman are, as well as others like Mark Wahlberg, George Clooney and Ryan Phillippe. Pff!
  Photos of Billy Bob and Penelope on yahoo, but not Matt.
  And from the Desert News, on the Oscar noms that should have been:
  But I don't understand why Matt Damon wasn't nominated for his role as "The Talented Mr. Ripley." It's a remarkably brave performance - one that required him to drop muscle and weight to play a gay-conflicted serial killer. And somehow he made the character sympathetic.
• A big Matt fan wrote:
  just came across this bit of old news about the Golden Globes. Remember how it seemed that Matt knew a lot of people there? Well, apparently, after the ceremony, he went looking for them.
  Scene & Heard/Awards: Six in the City After the Globes, Hollywood hits a half-dozen flashy bashes ( In Style ) Honor Brodie with Monica Corcoran, Mark Ehrman & Elle Lieberman; 03-01-2000
  While mobsters, mental patients and other dysfunctional characters were honored--and a steady gray drizzle fell--at the 57th Annual Golden Globe Awards, the dazzling round of after-parties was anything but dreary. With six simultaneous soirees at the Beverly Hilton hotel, the party pace was faster than the L.A. freeway. "I'm just running around looking for my friends. I'm hitting all the parties until I find them!" explained a frazzled Matt Damon as he pushed through the throngs.
• Found on usenet newsgroup alt.showbiz.gossip:
  Well, of course "deserve" and the Oscars seldom belong in the same sentence.
  That said, I do follow and get interested in the Academy Awards. And this year is one of my biggest gripefests ever, because my own choice for Best Actor, and the movie he was in which would be my Best Picture, were both left out. (And before seeing it, I would *never* have imagined I'd rate either so highly -- real surprises here.)
  Matt Damon, THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY.

News from Felicity:
• The Sony showree ("All the Pretty Horses" was among the films promoted by Sony at this year's Showest, a film event for exhibitors):
  From David Poland's roughcut.com: All the Pretty Horses - This was the big one that got the least response. It wasn't that people decided that it would be bad. But they didn't fall in love either. Billy Bob Thornton did his best "aw shucks" routine at the podium and Matt Damon called it "the best movie I've ever been in and will probably ever been in." But he seems to say that every time.
  :
  Sony's crown jewel looks to be the movie version of All the Pretty Horses. Stars Billy Bob Thornton, Matt Damon and Penelope Cruz took the dais the hype the film, which has Oscar written all over it.
  And from eonline.com:
  Sony's crown jewel looks to be the movie version of All the Pretty Horses. Stars Damon ("It's by far the best film I've been associated with"), Billy Bob Thornton and Penelope Cruz took the dais to hype the film, which has Oscar written all over it.
  From Variety:
  Studio reels in ShoWesters with Ali, 'Patriot'
  By DADE HAYES, March 9, 2000
  LAS VEGAS � Sony brought applauding exhibs to their feet Wednesday at ShoWest with a product reel and presentation that ignited interest in two summer tentpoles: �The Patriot� and a mid-2001 Muhammad Ali biopic. Appearances by Ali, subject of the Will Smith starrer to be directed by Michael Mann, and �Patriot� topliner Mel Gibson drew hearty cheers from the crowded ballroom at Paris Las Vegas. Guffaws greeted a flurry of satiric barbs from Bill Murray, co-star of Thanksgiving�s �Charlie�s Angels.� Production prexy Amy Pascal served as emcee � and a foil for Murray.
  Elsewhere on the slate, exhibs applauded Arnold Schwarzenegger starrer �The Sixth Day� and period oater �All the Pretty Horses,� which director Billy Bob Thornton fondly described as �an old-fashioned film.�
• Here's a story I missed (February 7), from the Las Vegas Sun:
  A talented Mr. Damon records personal best
  By Victoria Sun
  
  LAS VEGAS SUN
  Courtside at a Los Angeles Lakers game isn't the only place celebrities can be found at sporting events.
  Sometimes, even a grueling marathon will bring out a member of Hollywood's A-list.
  Dressed in a muddy brown cap, dark T-shirt and black jeans, Academy Award-winning actor Matt Damon was at Sunset Park on Sunday to cheer on his older brother, Kyle, who ran in the 34th annual Las Vegas Marathon.
  After the race, the 29-year-old actor stood talking with friends and his older brother and posed for pictures with several fans.
  Kent Damon Jr., who prefers to be called Kyle, has been trying to meet the qualifying time for the Boston Marathon, set at 3:10 for the last two years.
  He finished the race at 3:06:23, breaking his old personal record of 3:15.
  "This is a really, really good day for me," Kyle Damon said. "This is the last marathon before Boston that I had time to compete in to try to qualify."
  Kyle, 32, is a sculptor. He made the trip from Boston to run the race with a few friends while younger brother Matt headed to Las Vegas from his part-time home in Los Angeles.
  Most recently, Matt has starred in the movies "Dogma" and "The Talented Mr. Ripley." He and best friend Ben Affleck won the 1997 Academy Award for best screenplay for their box office smash "Good Will Hunting."
  For Matt, the trip to Las Vegas was well worth it.
  "This is a huge day for me and our whole family," Matt Damon said while breaking into a huge smile. "I was hoping he would qualify for Boston.
  "We planned this months ago. He looked up this race on the Internet and thought he would have a good shot. Last night we went out for a big dinner and loaded him up with carbs."
• Louisa of the UK wrote:
  I just wrote to say that if I wasn't totally convinced of Matt Damon's talent before I saw this movie, I am now. I've never seen an actor play so completely and so believably against type as MD as Tom Ripley. I loved every minute of the movie. It broke my heart. Damon's worth his weight in gold. No more Wonder-Boy. This is a full-fledged acting man we're talking about.
• From a big Matt fan:
  • From the Ain't-It-Cool site:
    ALL THE PRETTY HORSES: Directed by Billy Bob Thornton. Early test screenings left some so-so word, but damn this trailer was great. Damon and Cruz look great as does Henry Thomas. Picturesque and noble. Hypnotic. I'm there.
    Why is it that Miramax keeps giving all their pictures away as co-productions these days? This is a striking lyrical trailer that seems to have perfectly captured the aching heart of Cormac McCarthy's brilliant novel. The cast is beautiful, especially Penelope Cruz, who may finally have found the film that will break her through to American audiences. If the film's ending is half as shattering as the book's conclusion, then this will be one of the more emotionally demanding experiences of the year.
  • Movieline has an article on "Ripley's Italy." Basically, it just talks about how people want to visit the country after seeing the movie. No new photos, really, except for some actorless shots of Venice, etc.. Still, it's interesting to note that the film is still in the American press.

• Wendy wrote:
  According to the Access Hollywood.com schedule, tomorrow's show (Thursday 3/9) will have Matt----"Find out what Matt Damon really thinks about being overlooked for an Oscar nomination". They also talked with Matt on yesterday's show (after the golf tournament) but I only caught the very end of it. UGHHHH!
• From USA Today (via Felicity): HOT TICKETS: The annual Miramax Films pre-Oscars bash is getting expert help with skits for its "Max Awards." John Irving, whose Cider House Rules screenplay is up for a statue, will pen sketches for nominated stars, including Michael Caine, Jude Law and Meryl Streep, and directors Lasse Hallstrom and Anthony Minghella. Joining in will be previous Oscar winners Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Judi Dench and Robert Benigni.
  This party, March 25 at the Regent Beverly Wilshire, is a coveted insider ticket; those skits display top stars in often-hilarious bits you'll never see on the big screen. The awards are named after the late Max Weinstein, dad of Miramax chiefs Harvey and Bob Weinstein.
• A big Matt fan wrote:
  There's a picture of Matt at the Harvard event in the latest People Magazine (with Madonna on the cover).
• Also from Felicity: From Variety (where Ripley's BO was mentioned positively):
  �Mr. Ripley� fetched a sturdy $416,000 in two days on 70 in South Korea and a fair $187,000 on 12 in Hong Kong (butting heads with �Beauty�). Miramax�s pic dipped by just 21% in the U.K., scoring a solid $4.8 million in 10 days, and by 29% in Australia for a fine $2.4 million in 11 days. Cume is $16.6 million.
  (That's really close to a total of $100 million worldwide. A great result!)
• Felicity again:
  USA Today has reported that Matt will show up at Showest, which starts officially today (that's yesterday 3/8). Look out - the Miramax show reel is tomorrow (Wednesday).

3/7/00

This note came from Val a while back - sorry for posting it just now:
Theaters here (New Mexico) began running the trailers for TITAN AE last weekend. Remarkably (smile), the main character, voiced by our Matty looks remarkably like him altho the voice is a bit subdued!
LET IT RAIN--In addition to BAGGER VANCE, we now can look forward to TITAN AE which is scheduled to open June 16, 2000.
Here is what Studio Website has to say:
Plot:
At the San Diego Comicon, Don Bluth whet appetites at a Titan A.E. panel by describing the Matt Damon/Drew Barrymore-voiced film's basic premise. "This story to me has been so compelling because what if you lost everything you had and you don't have any hope? The planet's gone. The planet is blown up and a few survivors get out there and they just sort of drift about on little colonies. They glue their spaceships together so they can be a little community. And there's no way that they [can go] home. So all the things that we know are really not there. I thought 'Wow, that's a really neat concept.' You can tell that idea in just a moment. And then there's a young kid whose father was a brilliant man. [He] knew that this horrible catastrophe was coming so he created this 'Titan', which is a fabulous instrument and he took it out into outer space and hid it where the enemy couldn't find it. And it has the power to make a planet. So can you find it? It's sitting out there. The [scientist] got killed and so his son comes along and [it's said], 'You're the map. You are the only kid who can find it.' But can they get it before the [villains] come to them?"
The Buzz:
Animation legend Don Bluth unveiled footage from his Summer 2000 sci-fi animated flick Titan A.E. at the San Diego Comic Con Friday. A packed room of genre aficionados received the rough footage warmly before Bluth went on to discuss his experiences working on the Fox project, which he says departs from the standard animation format associated with Disney. "This particular movie has been fun, really fun, for me because I've never really gotten to build a science fiction film," Bluth said. "With animation, one of the things you try to do is convince the audience that your characters have weight and that gravity is there holding them down. Out there in space there's no gravity. So this is the one case where we said, 'Animations rules? Let's park them at the door because everybody's going to float a little bit.' So we've had to abandon some of the thoughts that we'd always had about animation."
In developing the film's villains, a hive-minded energy life form, the artists looked to popular genre films of the not so distant past. "We looked at a lot of reference material, trying to fashion it after other predators -- and actually Predator is one to keep in mind. We looked at the invisibility of Predator, combining it with the forcefulness of Terminator and even the always there feeling of Stormtroopers from Star Wars. We tried to put something together that would give us a unique villain," said animator Tom Miller. Titan A.E. will likely not receive a "G" rating, as the film is targeting an audience of young adult/teen males rather than small children.
Players:
Matt Damon as Cale
Bill Pullman as Joe Korso
Drew Barrymore as Pilot
Nathan Lane as First Mate
Hank Azaria as Ship's Navigator
Jim Breuer as Cale's Alien Boss
Jeneane Garofalo
Lena Olin

• I thank reader Amy for scanning the picture above to share.
• Kathry wrote:
  Matt is in the British Empire magazine: This from the latest issue.
  ...it might also be interesting to note there seems to be a big interview w/ Winona in the magazine, where, states the headline on the website: "Perennial gamine Winona Ryder faces her Girl, Interrupted demons & avoids the Matt Damon question"
  An interesting read, I think.

A reader wrote:
check out this web site for new pictures (or at least ones i've never seen) from all the pretty horses.

From a big Matt fan:
This year's Oscars have yet to come, but people are already looking forward to next year's. Here's something from a Roughcut.com article about literary adaptations that might have a future at next year's awards. The full article is at this site.

Looking ahead to the rest of the year, these are the four literary adaptations that may set the tone.
ALL THE PRETTY HORSES This fall finally sees the release of Billy Bob Thornton's long-awaited film version of Cormack McCarthy's "All The Pretty Horses." Starring Matt Damon, Henry Thomas, Lucas Black and Penelope Cruz, it's a coming of age story set earlier this century, when the Old West was being supplanted by the modern. Damon portrays a Texas teenager who's forced to leave home after his mother sells the family ranch. With his best friend, he sets off on horseback for Mexico in search of the cowboy life that's rapidly growing extinct. A coming-of-age story in the classical tradition, his journey is marked by adventure, romance and tragedy.
This is actually the film's biggest challenge -- how to wrangle a plot that traverses so many genres without losing the audience. Apparently the film currently clocks in at over three hours, and early reports refer to it as gorgeous yet distant. Still, it features a fantastic supporting role for young Lucas (Sling Blade) Black, and has long been touted as the film that will make Penelope Cruz a star in the United States.
• Variety reported that Denzel Washington is in serious talks to play the corrupt cop in a movie called "Training Days". This is a project that originally was supposed to team Matt with Samuel L. Jackson, but then somehow nothing came of it.
  According to Variety: "While the rookie (role) seemed like a sure bet with Matt Damon at the time Samuel L. Jackson was expected to play the verteran, current buzz has Will Smith and Ben Affleck mentioned as possible co-stars."
• Felicity spoke:
  In the Australian press (the first batch of which I received yesterday, some interesting things):
  • Asked whether he and Winona would ever appear in a film together: Yes, if the part was right.
  • Said how fun the Globes were, and that he and Winona had far too much champage and wine because it was free. "Just a night for star-gazing, looking at people like Denzel Washington"
  On (Matt's stint as a radio DJ in London):
  Here's what was said:
  • On Christina Aguilera, he played a tape were she praised him, saying he was a cutie and that she had only recently seen GWH on a plane. Matt then said that the voice-over for planes and TV had taken three days to record because of the offensive language.
  • Before playing a Beatles song (Hey Jude), Matt said that on set he and Jude Law would always be reciting Beatles lyrics and singing Beatles songs. "So this one's for you, Jude..."
  • After playing a Will Smith song Matt said something like 'Will was fantastic, but in the film I just shot with him, TLOBV, Will played my caddie. This was funny, becauase in real life Will has never caddied for anybody, and never will again in his life.'

• From Felicity:
  Not too much going on here: Ripley was 3rd(!) with �1.5ish-million on the weekend, behind Toy Story (�7mil) and The Beach (�1.7). Surprisingly low, I would think, but likely to be due to the lack of Oscar nods and mixed press.
  I went to the next Minghella presentation last night at the Barbican, and did speak to him. (Presentation itself was only about half an hour, with nothing new. Notes to follow.) I asked Minghella if the press tour had finished (has been going for months), and he said no, that he was off to Dublin tomorrow (today). I mentioned briefly some of the places they'd been, and he raved about Australia. So, hardly world-breaking stuff, but look for some upcoming Irish press. And I got my book of Minghella's plays signed :)
  The first audience question was whether he was disappointed that Ripley didn't get nominated for Best Picture. He answered yes, abruptly, but then went on to say that it was a movie that divided opinion etc, so that it wasn't too surprising. He did say that he received (on nominations day) many, many phone calls from people expressing their disappointment and anger at the snubbing. He said there was mixed emotions because the film did get 5 nominations, and that's still a great achievement.
• Also from Felicity:
  Read an interview of Matt in Berlin here. It begins with "To retain contact with ordinary people, Matt Damon has a car with tinted windows so he can watch people without being stared at ..."
• Yahoo daily news reported that Ripley received 7 nominations in the British Oscars. There was no details given about which category the noms are for. (A follow-up email from a Matt fan reported that sadly Matt's name is not among the nominations.)
• A reader wrote: from www.nerve.com, two movie reviewers comments on TTMR, in particular about whether Matt was right for the role of Ripley: Here Dec 29 entry.
• Evelyn wrote: there's a picture of Matt and winona in the new Cosmo(politan magazine).
• From a Big Matt Fan:
  Here's another account of what happened at the Harvard event:
  (Harvard Crimson) (U-WIRE) CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Student performers danced,sang, and occasionally exchanged kisses with host Matt Damon, Class of 1992, at the annual Cultural Rhythms festival.
  "I've been kissed more tonight than I was in college," Damon joked.
  A capacity crowd filled Sanders Theater Saturday for the event, which was sponsored by the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations and featured performances by 17 student groups.
  At the event, the Foundation named Damon "Cultural Artist of the Year" for his humanitarian efforts working to help disadvantaged children and increase AIDS awareness.
  Damon also signed a petition to show his support for the movement to create an ethnic studies concentration at Harvard.
  Most of the student performers wore green ribbons in support of the cause.
  "We still lack an academic structure that studies ethnicity in America, " Tri M. Phuong '02 explained, saying Cultural Rhythms was an ideal time to spread the ethnic studies message.
  The event began when Foundation Director S. Allen Counter introduced Damon, who took the microphone and was immediately greeted with a wave of cheers and applause.
  "What will you do if I graduate?" Damon joked, referring to his two unfinished semesters at Harvard, which he attended until 1991.
  Acts before intermission spanned from Holoimua O Hawai'i's Samoan and Hawaiian cultural dances to the Hellenic Society's "Butcher's Dance" and the Thai Society's "Fish-Catching Dance."
  Pantila Vanichakarn '01, who represented the Thai Society on stage, said she enjoyed the chance to share her culture with others, but the best part of the show came after her performance.
  "[Damon] kissed me," she said. "He was really cute."
  Members of each group also handed Damon flowers and had the opportunity to sit next to him on stage during the following act.
  The first half of the show concluded with a performance by the Kuumba Singers who performed renditions of the South African national anthem and Jordan River.
  After a short intermission, Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68 presented Damon with a plaque and commended him for his work with the AIDS Action Committee.
  During his acceptance speech, Damon quipped that when he told his father he would be at Harvard to receive an award, the first thing his father said was "Is it a diploma?"
  Damon went on to tell the audience about "compassion, the root of all understanding and harmony" and said he felt his award was as much a responsibility as an honor.
  Then, a member of Damon's former residence, Lowell House, presented him with a Lowell sweatshirt and invited him to become a member of the House's senior common room.
  Amid the shouts and screams of his fans, Damon unbuttoned his white dress shirt and put on his Lowell T-shirt and sweatshirt, saying, "I'm definitely back now."
  The show's second half featured performances by groups ranging from Latinas Unidas to the Vietnamese Association, the South Asian Association and the Celtic Society.
  The Harvard Capoeira group performed a sparring routine including series of flips, handstands and kicks that make up the Brazilian martial art called capoeira.
  Andy Krueger '01, president of the Celtic Society, said although he forgot some of the words to the piece he sang, he enjoyed being on stage.
  "I think it's great," he said. "I just wanted to put a Celtic influence in the event - we fit into its ethos."
  "Being Celtic is a state of mind," he added. "I emphasize inclusivity and diversity."
  The last performers treated the crowd to a modern form of the Cuban salsa dance.
  In his closing remarks, Damon alluded to a possible return to Harvard.
  "If you see me around, don't be a stranger," he told audience members.
  The Cultural Rhythms celebration ended with an ethnic food fair and additional performances in the Science Center.
  Damon made a brief appearance and said he was glad that he hosted the event.
  "It was an unbelievable and unexpected day, and I'll never forget it," Damon told The Crimson. He said this was his first time attending Cultural Rhythms.
  Counter agreed that Saturday's event went well.
  "This is probably the best one we've had," he said. "There were so many outstanding student performances."
  One audience member James E. Davis, a senior chemistry lecturer, said he enjoyed seeing people on stage whom he recognized from his classes.
  "It's great to see so many people from so many different cultures, " he said. "There was such talent and enthusiasm."
  Karen C. Tseng '01, a member of the Taiwanese Cultural Society, said that while the event was a fantastic way to acquaint students with other cultures, the awareness should extend beyond one annual event.
  "[Cultural Rhythms] is a fantastic idea and it shows that Harvard is interested in promoting cultural understanding," she said.
  "But people should also remember that the Foundation is there 365 days a year and [furthering ethnic appreciation] is something the Foundation does all the time," she said.

• From an article in the Dallas Morning News about a famous mathematician on NPR:
  If Mr. Devlin wants to recruit more takers into the world of math, he knows the subject needs a serious public-relations makeover.
  Enter actor Matt Damon.
  On a Weekend Edition segment back in 1998, Mr. Devlin and Mr. Simon discussed the possibility of Mr. Damon as mathematics' sexy new poster boy after the film Good Will Hunting came out.
  Could this film reverse the die-hard stereotype of the crusty mathematician?
  "No, we don't all have blond hair and blue eyes," Mr. Devlin admits, chuckling. "Unfortunately, not all of us are that handsome."
• And were you a little curious as to why Matt was picked for that artist of the year award at Harvard. The following article suggests why. Although not everyone understood the choice, I suspect Matty charmed them all during the actual event.
  Harvard foundations defends choice of Damon as show host ( University Wire )
  (Harvard Crimson) (U-WIRE) CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Students at Thursday night's dress rehearsal for the Harvard Cultural Rhythms performance festival expressed mixed reactions to the news that Oscar winner Matt Damon, Class of 1992, will be the host of the show on Saturday.
  Foundation Director S. Allen Counter said the Good Will Hunting star deserves to receive the Foundation's artist of the year award and to host the event because of his humanitarian and professional efforts.
  "Matt Damon is one of the most brilliant young actors in Hollywood today," said Counter, who is also associate professor of neurology at the Harvard Medical School. "In addition to his outstanding work as actor, producer, and screenwriter, he is also concerned about youth violence and has made important contributions to the AIDS Action Committee."
  "He is an excellent symbol of achievement and compassion for young people of all ethnic and cultural backgrounds," Counter added.
  But students at the festival debated the merits of having a white host, rather than a person of color.
  Victoria Tse '03 said that choosing Damon for the host of Cultural Rhythms, a festival sponsored by the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations, seems to go against what the event stands for.
  "I was kind of confused," she said. "The majority is Caucasian and the point of this show is to let minorities show their culture."
  But Kitso Lemo '02 argued that race should be irrelevant to the choice.
  "It would be unfair to say he's not cultural just because he's white, " he said. "One of the goals of the Harvard Foundation is cultural unity. Why shouldn't [the host] be a white person?"
  Jeannette Soriano '01 said that the merit of the choice depends on what the Foundation considers a cultural artist to be.
  "The host doesn't necessarily have to be a minority," she said. "But what has [Damon] done that's culturally significant?"
  Courtney J. Bass '03 said she did not consider the selection a thoughtful one.
  "[Damon] seems like a last-minute choice," she said.
  Adam P. Bailey '01, secretary of the Foundation's Student Advisory Committee, said that while there were many choices under consideration, Damon was their top pick from the beginning.
  "Matt Damon was by far the first on the list," he said.
  While students and Faculty members compile a list of possible performers, the Faculty make the final decision.
  The Foundation believes Damon is a positive role model, Bailey said, particularly because of the work he has done to combat youth violence.
  And other students said they were excited about the choice because of Damon's recent acting successes.
  "I think he's actually a pretty good choice," Lemo said. "He's broadened his role as an actor in recent films like The Talented Mr. Ripley. He's a talented performer."

Click on a column

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

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