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

Updated 1/26/2003

• From Felicity:
  • A fun report on the Greenlight event from the Calgary Sun (Britney and Fred Durst did attend, but so did Pauly Shore):
    Greenlight steals spotlight
    By KEVIN WILLIAMSON -- Calgary Sun
    PARK CITY, Utah -- It was the sum of all cheers.
    Hundreds of screaming fans mobbed the streets of this small resort town late Saturday night to catch a glimpse of Hollywood's couple du jour, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.
    Oh, and Jennifer Lopez was here too.
    The surprise visit came under the aegis of announcing Project Greenlight 2, the sequel to last year's highly successful HBO and Miramax series which Damon and Affleck produce and which, I suppose the Good Will Hunting duo would propose, is an inside look at independent filmmaking.
    Uh huh. The truth is, watching Greenlight is as informative about indie filmmaking as Survivor is about how to live on a deserted island. And, one could argue, the glitzy launch -- which cannily piggybacked the Sundance festival -- in fact, distracted from the aspiring filmmakers who actually came here to get attention for their work. Better luck next time, dudes, because the most overheard question in this town wasn't "Have you seen a good film?" but rather, "Is J.Lo's ass here yet?"
    Despite the snow and freezing cold, the event was pure, unabashed Hollywood.
    Paparazzi from across New York and Europe staked claim to the sidewalk in front of the restaurant that had been booked for the bash.
    Bundled in mitts, coats and toques, they stood for some six hours before the fleeting arrival of Lopez, who was followed shortly thereafter by Affleck and Damon. But the photograph everyone wanted -- namely, the soon-to-be-wed couple arm in arm --didn't happen. According to Miramax sources, Lopez didn't want their relationship to overshadow her beau's Greenlight.
    But Affleck, Lopez and Damon weren't the only A-listers rumoured to be at the party. Pop princess Britney Spears, spotted partying the night before, was rumoured to be attending, but if she did, she ducked in undetected.
    Rumours that Spider-Man star Tobey Maguire was here also had the spider-senses of assembled photographers buzzing, but ultimately, if he did go, like Spears, he dodged the intense media glare. Also tipped to possibly show: Rachel Hunter and British pop sensation Robbie Williams.
    "Everyone's here," one London-based photographer said before the bash. "All we need now is Penelope Cruz and Tom Cruise."
    Be careful what you wish for, mate. Sources close to Cruz's film Masked and Anonymous say that, so far anyway, Cruise's girlfriend is set to drop in sometime this week for a photo-op prior to the movie's premiere on Wednesday.
    PARTY CRASHER
    First rule about the Affleck-J.Lo bash is nobody gets in. Second rule about the Affleck-J.Lo is nobody gets in.
    Not that that was going to stop L.A.--based actor Skyler Stone.
    Outfitted in gravity-defying dreadlocks and clothes suited for Malibu, Stone nudged his way into the pressline with one purpose: get in those doors. How? By screaming at Damon as he went by.
    Stone, who's only been in L.A. 18 months, has a small role in Damon's next movie, a Farrelly Brothers comedy with Greg Kinnear. Before he headed to Sundance, Damon told the cast members, should any of them be in Park City, to drop by and he'd get them into the launch party.
    But at that point, Stone didn't know if he was going, and came to the party sans credentials, guest-pass or any official way in.
    Stone's plan then was to get Damon's attention amid all the chaos by shouting something like: MATT! IT'S SKYLER! IT'S ME! SKYLER!
    "People say making it is all about luck, right place, right time, but you have to put yourself in that right place at the right time," Stone reasoned, shivering in the sub-zero winter air.
    Throughout he dodged The Man -- the omnipresent security stormtroopers and Park City cops, who repeatedly wanted to know where his media pass was -- and bided his time.
    Hours later, when Damon finally arrived with Affleck, Stone indeed screamed -- and I mean screamed -- at the top of his voice: MATT! IT'S SKYLER! MAAAAAATTTT! IT'S SKKYYYYYLLEEERRR!
    Whaddayaknow, it worked.
    Because, yes, through all the shouting and madness, Damon picked Stone out of the crowd and did a double take. "SKYLER?"
    "YEAH IT'S ME! CAN I COME INSIDE!?" Stone asked.
    Damon didn't hesitate. "SURE! COME ON DOWN!"
    And in he went, into the party everyone wanted into, proving that, in Hollywood anyway, it's not what you know, or who you know, but how much pain and cold you can endure and still be heard over everyone else.
  • A good review of Matt and Bourne: here
  • A LA Times sports writer wants Matt to take his daughter to the Super Bowl: here.
  • A story from the Hollywood Reporter mentioning the chaotic PGL party at Sundance: here.
  • ET Online's story on Sundance and PGL: here.
  • Larger size pics of Matt and Ben at the PGL party: here and here.
  • From the LA Times in a story on recent celebrity activism:
    Never was this more evident than when celebrity antiwar activists made the media rounds last month opposing the prospect of a U.S.-sponsored war with Iraq. When actress Janeane Garofalo appeared on CNN, news anchor Leon Harris wondered if people wouldn't think this was "another case of these famous actors and musicians with a lot of time and money on their hands." Garofalo's response: "I really wish I wasn't here ... but you know, people just tend to book actors and actresses. I would rather that someone like [ex-U.N. weapons inspector] Scott Ritter was here. You know, I wish you'd book [linguist-turned-activist] Noam Chomsky."
    Harris responded: "Well, we get them all from time to time." Yeah, sure. I'd love to see the TV talent booker who says, "Geez, we lost Matt Damon, but don't worry, we've got Noam Chomsky!"
  • The Sundance coverage intended for Monday will be shown Tuesday on all entertainment shows.
  • The first photo of Matt in Japan: here
    Text: American film star Matt Damon (news) waves to photographers during a news conference in Tokyo Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2003. Damon is in Tokyo to promote his latest film, 'Bourne Identity.' (AP Photo/Katsumi Kasahara)
  • A good pic of Matt, Ben and Chris Moore from eonline: here.
  • And Matt and Ben from EW online: here.
  • Another cast member for "Stuck on you", from the Hollywood Reporter, which also states that Greg Kinnear will play the wannabe actor, Matt is the reluctant one: Farrellys 'Stuck' on busy Mendes
    Jan. 22, 2003
    Eva Mendes is in final negotiations to star in 20th Century Fox's "Stuck on You" for the Bobby and Peter Farrelly. The project begins shooting next month in Miami. "Stuck" stars Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear as conjoined twins, with the latter harboring ambitions to act. Mendes will play the love interest to Kinnear's character, an actress that encourages his ambitions. At the same time, Mendes is in talks to star in the indie feature "Shadowboxer," directed by Barbet Schroeder and produced by Peter and Susan Hoffman's Seven Arts. That project will begin shooting in May, also in Miami. Mendes next stars in Universal Pictures' "The Fast and the Furious 2," opposite Paul Walker; Columbia Pictures' "Once Upon a Time in Mexico," with Johnny Depp; and MGM's "Out of Time," with Denzel Washington, with whom she also starred in "Training Day." In addition to her feature work, Mendes also has been tapped as the latest spokeswoman for Revlon cosmetics alongside such actresses as Halle Berry and Julianne Moore.
  • A story on the Project Greenlight winners from AP: here.
  • From the Albuquerque Journal's Bourne DVD review: here
    Matt Damon says he wanted to be in "The Bourne Identity" because he had never starred in an action movie before and thought that young director Doug Liman would make a new kind of thriller. Liman says he wanted to update the spy movie genre and viewed Damon as a subtle and thoughtful actor who could carry a story that required both physical skill and obvious intelligence.
  • Great pics from the Bourne premiere in Tokyo at yahoo: here, here, and here.
  • The remake of Butch and Sundance rumour is back after a mention by Cindy Adams in her NY Post column:
    From ET Online:
    BEN & MATT: THE NEW BUTCH & SUNDANCE?
    January 23, 2003 | MATT DAMON has convinced his buddy, BEN AFFLECK, to redo "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," or so says CINDY ADAMS. Today in her column, Adams reports that Matt came up with the plan after watching the classic on cable and Ben loved the idea. They've reportedly divvied up the parts already too, with Ben playing PAUL NEWMAN's part of Butch and Damon playing his 'Baggar Vance' director ROBERT REDFORD's role of Sundance
  • At the Japanese UIP site there is footage of Matt talking at the cinema, and the whole 23 minute press conference. here
    Both are fun to watch, as Matt seems a little overwhelmed, and questions are followed by Matt's very long answers, which require an even longer translation. Of interest: Matt still won't confirm that he has signed to a Bourne sequel, he smokes during the press conference, and every answer is virtually a repeat of every other response heard many times before. As always Matt is sweet, modest and polite, but he certainly doesn't say anything new. He had one day off during the Japan trip to tour Tokyo on Friday.
  • More pics of Matt in Japan from various sources:
    Fan site address: here, here, here, and here
  • Stories that I can't read, but photos are nice :-)
    here, here, here (this one has wacky moving pictures when you click on them), and here.
  • From the Boston Herald:
    Rockport's a funny place
    And speaking of movies, we hear location scouts for funny filmmakers Peter and Bobby Farrelly's latest laugh-riot, ``Stuck On You'' will cruise in from Cali to scope out Rockport next week.
    Which means marvy Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear can't be far behind!
    As we've told you so many times before, the Farrelly flick about a pair of Siamese twins is scheduled to shoot some scenes in the seaside town in early March. And then they're heading south to Miami to film the rest. Oh, how we wish we were going with them!
  • From an article with screenwriter Gerry Swallow, who did re-writes on "Stuck on you": here:
    Although Bill Murray had been considered and Woody Allen and Jim Carrey had expressed interest at various points, Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear were eventually cast and principal photography is about to get under way in Miami.
    Scripting that Farrelly-friendly film was a challenge, Swallow recalled."One guy's bombastic and the other one's a nebbish," he said. "The hardest thing about writing that one was there are two separate plotlines but the characters are always stuck together. You have to serve two storylines at the same time."
  • From a Sam Rockwell interview in the Ventura County Star:
    Did you have any special training to play him as an assassin?
    I did some fight training called Kali. Matt Damon turned me on to it, and it's the knife training he did for "The Bourne Identity." They taught me basically how to kill people with knives and pressure points and all this stuff, and finger locks. They taught me how to hold a gun properly, but most of the time I'm holding it like this just to look cool.
    Didn't they cut out most of the fight stuff?
    Yeah. It didn't show up, but it helped me feel like a guy who maybe knows how to kill people.
• Our thanks to David, who sent in the Bourne video release poster.
• And we thank Junko, who wrote from Japan:
  I'm Junko of Japan.I like as your homepage.
  Since it is only having you always show,appearance of the Matt during a visit to Japan is told now today. Very much,service is good and,as for a Matt ,the airport and the film preview have also responded to a sign or handshaking.Each media he talks courtesy,surely nice it is commented as the guy .
  In the stage greeting ,it was very frank and was made to laugh by carring out an intention to throw the bouquet got when leaving to a seat for audience.
  Matt became still more favorite.I want to surely go also meet the Matt in the USA.
• From Bec, who sent in many note (thank you), some of which overlapped Felicity's:
  • This is from NW mag (27/1/03). The Matt quotes are probably made up, but it's still an amusing read about the crazy antics of J.Lo and Ben....LOL!
    J.LO Rules His Life!
    Matt Damon has spoken out about his best pal Ben Affleck’s controlling fiancée.
    Apparently Jennifer Lopez isn’t content with just being in charge of her music/movies/fashion empire. According to reports, actor Matt Damon believes the diva is now intent on running fiancé Ben Affleck’s life.
    She’s given him a makeover, ordered him to sell his “pleasure pit” bed and has even cracked down on his legendary generous tipping practices. “Ben’s become a changed man. What Jennifer wants, Jennifer gets,” says Matt.
    The Bourne Identity star – and Affleck’s best friend since they were both kids starting off in showbiz – spoke out after the Latina lovely ordered her beau to throw out his impressive bed. Sources say J.Lo, 32, put her foot down and told him, “Either that bed goes or I do.” They claim she refused to sleep in it because of the bevy of Hollywood beauties who’d been there before her.
    So the 30-year-old actor got rid of it and spent $8,200 on a new one, later complaining to Matt, “She made me throw out a perfectly good bed.”
    Under the instruction of his bride-to-be, Ben is also in the process of selling his beloved LA bachelor pad and has already discarded his prized pool table and jukebox on Jennifer’s orders.
    Bossy babe Jen has also cracked down on his extravagant tipping tendencies and stopped the Changing Lanes star from handing over a US$5,000 chip to a croupier on a recent trip to Las Vegas.
    J.Lo has made it crystal clear who wears the pants in the relationship, even demanding her man’s help on a call of nature. Caught short while shopping in Beverly Hills, she dashed into a nearby coffee shop to use their facilities. But a few minutes later, she allegedly called Ben’s mobile complaining the toilet paper was too “scratchy” and telling him to bring her some softer stuff. The Jen-pecked actor duly obliged and was soon pushing a replacement roll under the loo door.
    “I don’t know if this story is true- I haven’t asked him yet. But it wouldn’t surprise me,” says an exasperated Matt, who claims J.Lo has “totally bewitched” his friend and now “rules his life.”
    Ben’s wardrobe is another area where the singer/actress is exerting influence. Just six months ago, buff-bodied and square jawed Ben wouldn’t have looked out of place in the pages of a Country Road catalogue in his smart-casual khaki pants, loose knits and well-cut shirts. But today he looks more like an extra from a P.Diddy video in baggy low-slung jeans, complete with a tight white t-shirt baring his tattooed biceps.
    It’s a startling transformation for the Boston boy whose clean cut looks perfectly suited the up market style he adopted while going out with equally preppy Gwyneth Paltrow. Whether J.Lo is trying to erase all traces of his ex or simply wants to turn Ben into the ideal ‘ghetto-styled’ accessory, relationship experts say it’s not a good omen for the couple’s future happiness.
    “When you change someone into what you think you are looking for, you are using them to fulfill your own fantasies, not loving them for who they are,” says psychologist Brenda Shoshanna. “It has nothing to do with who the person really is and is bound to lead to resentment. He will be asking himself, ‘What’s wrong with the real me?’”
    While Jennifer’s controlling nature may end up having a negative effect, it’s also true that some parts of Ben’s life have changed for the better. Gone are his wild partying days and out-of-control gambling in Las Vegas. The self confessed former alcoholic, who spent time in rehab in 2001, is now more likely to be found enjoying a quiet dinner with his future in-laws.
    As well as spending Thanksgiving with his fiancee’s family, he and Jen spent New Year’s Eve with both sets of parents at her Miami Beach estate. “It was laid-back and family oriented,” reports a neighbour.
    But two questions remain: Is Ben willing to marry such a demanding diva? And if so, how long will it be before he gets fed up with being under her control?
    As his concerned mate Matt points out, “You might hate the sight of the woman in 12 months’ time.”
  • Here's a few bits and pieces - more Bourne reviews (now its on vid and DVD) and some Sundance party news!
    Video review from The Canadian Press
    Matt Damon in update of spy thriller The Bourne Identity comes to home video
    JOHN MCKAY
    Canadian Press
    Monday, January 20, 2003
    (CP) - Matt Damon and pal Ben Affleck squared off last year with parallel spy movies - Affleck with The Sum of All Fears, Damon with The Bourne Identity (Universal).
    Now Damon's movie joins The Sum of All Fears in video stores, so fans can decide which is better. The Bourne Identity is more from the old spy-out-in-the-Cold-War school - an update of the novel by Robert Ludlum, who also serves here as an executive producer. A fishing trawler finds Damon's character floating in a storm-tossed sea, more dead than alive. He is saved but has no memory of how bullet holes ended up in his back or, for that matter, who he is.
    He learns quickly that he has certain survival talents, not to mention a Swiss bank account which will provide him with money and an identity until he can figure out what's going on. It seems he's been marked for death by a rogue element of his own CIA which considers him a black ops agent who has gone "off the reservation" by refusing to carry out a questionable political assassination.
    There's one cracker-jack car chase through the streets of Paris and there's Damon in a new role, as a highly trained killing machine.
    • CASTING NEWS
      Eva Mendes May Be 'Stuck on You'
      Wed, Jan 22, 2003, 12:01 PM PT ZAP2IT.com
      HOLLYWOOD (Zap2it.com) - Cuban-American actress Eva Mendes ("Training Day") is in final talks to star in "Stuck on You" for 20th Century Fox. The film features Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear.
      Produced and directed by Peter and Bobby Farrelly ("There's Something About Mary"), the film centers on conjoined twins (Kinnear, Damon) who face a crisis after one of them decides he wants to make it big in Hollywood, and convinces his brother to go along for the ride.
      According to The Hollywood Reporter, Mendes will play an actress who falls in love with Kinnear's character.
      Mendes, 25, who starred in "The Fast and the Furious," "All About the Benjamins" and "Exit Wounds," recently finished work on the last film of Robert Rodriguez's El Mariachi trilogy "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" opposite Johnny Depp and Antonio Banderas. She'll be starring next in John Singleton's "2 Fast 2 Furious" with Paul Walker, and Carl Franklin's "Out of the Time" with Denzel Washington.
      In addition to movie work, Mendes also has been hired by Revlon as its cosmetics spokesperson alongside actresses Halle Berry and Julianne Moore.
      Production on "Stuck on You" is set to begin next month in Miami.
    • Matt and Ben reference
      Who Killed Woody Allen? Taunts New York Filmmaker, Feb. 13-March 7
      By Ernio Hernandez
      22 Jan 2003
      The upcoming Empty Stage Theater Company production of Who Killed Woody Allen? was not the Allen work the little company originally had in mind. But, when rights to Woody Allen's one-act Death were denied, they made there own play.
      "We applied for the rights through Samuel French, then our dates changed and we reapplied," explained the show's co-author and director Tom Dunn about the failed attempt at production. "The third time [we applied] — when our dates became finalized and we hired the cast and booked the theatre—that's when the word came back from Woody's camp that the rights had been denied."
      In response, Dunn and his long-time "writing buddies" Dan Callahan, Brendan Connor decided to collaborate on their own Allen-inspired work. (Dunn told Playbill On-Line "we liken ourselves to Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. Except we're not handsome and there's three of us.")
    • Project Greenlight Winners
      Filmmakers from Maine win Project Greenlight contest
      PORTLAND, Maine - Two filmmakers with roots in Maine have won the a $1.7 million budget and the backing of Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Miramax studios for their next project.
      Efram Potelle and Kyle Rankin won the directors contest of Project Greenlight at the Sundance Film Festival.
      Rankin and Potelle, both 30, were among more than 9,000 screenwriters and directors who entered.
      The pair are scheduled to begin shooting "The Battle of Shaker Heights" in March. The film is already scheduled to be in theaters nationally in August.
      From now until the completion of the film, Potelle and Rankin will be followed by HBO camera crews for a 13-part documentary series "The Making of The Battle of Shaker Heights" to begin airing in June.
      "There's a lot of pressure on us, but it's exciting," Rankin said. "Both Efram and I feel strongly we wouldn't be here now if it weren't for the support we got in Maine. Hopefully we'll come back soon with a budget."
      "The Battle of Shaker Heights" was written by Erica Beeny of Cleveland, Ohio, the winner of the screenplay portion of the Project Greenlight. It is a coming-of-age story about a high school student who is a World War II battle re-enactor.
      Rankin said the story is reminiscent of some of the better teen comedy-dramas of the 1980s.
      "It makes me wish John Cusack was still young" he said.
      Nine months ago, Potelle and Rankin left Portland for Los Angeles after a decade of making small films in Maine. Rankin is a native of York, and Potelle is from Fairfield.
      Rankin said they would like to make a major film in Maine someday and that they would have liked to make "The Battle of Shaker Heights" in Maine. But the snow and cold would have been obstacles since shooting begins in March, he said.
      The two began collaborating soon after they met 15 years ago as contestants at the Maine Student Film and Video Festival.
      In 1996, they worked together on a full-length psychological drama called "Reindeer Games," shot in Portland. Their partner on that film was Shayne Worcester, who was fatally shot in 1999 during a mugging in San Francisco.
      Rankin and Potelle also made a 30-minute comedy called "Pennyweight" and a shorter comedy called "They Came to Attack Us." Both films were aired on the Sci-Fi cable channel.
    • New York Post
      New DVD review
      January 21, 2003 --
      "The Bourne Identity"
      Matt Damon is surprisingly convincing in this updating of the Robert Ludlum thriller about a secret agent who can't remember anything - except how to kill ($26.98, Universal). It's trim, no-nonsense fun from the director of "Go" - until the silly, unsatisfying finale. Still, Damon acquits himself nicely and gets a much better franchise than his buddy Ben Affleck, who starred as the third Jack Ryan in the miserable, misbegotten "The Sum of All Fears."
    • From Sydney Morning Herald
      "J-Lo cracks down on Ben's bed
      January 20 2003
      Ben Affleck has wooed and won a bevy of showbiz beauties - and many have shared the delights of the impressive bed in his Hollywood bachelor pad.
      But when his new fiancee, Jennifer Lopez, set eyes on the actor's "pleasure pit snoozer," she took one look at it and gave him an ultimatum, reports ThisIsLondon.com.
      "Either that bed goes or I do," Lopez declared.
      Since Affleck is said to be crazy about the 32-year-old megastar, it was no contest - the bed was thrown out.
      And it wasn't the only icon of his unattached, carefree days to be given the heave-ho by J Lo. Ben's pool table was also consigned to the garden of his home, waiting to be picked up by friends - along with his jukebox.
      Affleck told best friend Matt Damon: "She made me throw out a perfectly good bed."
      Damon is convinced his 30-year-old friend has become "totally bewitched" by Lopez. "She rules his life," he said.
      It's rumoured that Damon prevented Affleck from having a huge 'I love Jennifer' tattoo inked on his arm.
      "It's madness," he told him. "You might hate the sight of the woman in 12 months time."
      Lopez is on record as telling Damon to "butt out" of her life and leave them alone.
      ________________________________________________________
      What can I say about this? Interesting research...
    • Women could be stuck with macho men - thanks to the pill Jan 20 2003
      The Western Mail - The National Newspaper Of Wales
      MACHO men are more likely to be the partner of choice for women who are taking the contraceptive pill, according to researchers yesterday. Psychologists believe that women's taste in men could vary dramatically based purely on the effects of the pill.
      Those taking the contraceptive would be attracted to macho men, while those not would be drawn to those with more feminine features.
      It is said that the tough good looks of the macho man appeal to women who are looking for a short-term relationship, while the delicate features of the feminine man are more likely to attract those women determined to find partners for life.
      However, with more and more women taking the contraceptive pill before they get married, the research suggests the feminine man could get the brush off.
      The research was conducted by scientists at St Andrew's and Stirling Universities who showed females different images of men and asked them to select a potential
      The result would be that women who would have picked a boy band look-a-like such as Ronan Keating or pretty boy Matt Damon would change to rugged George Clooney or Russell Crowe for a long term companion.
      Anthony Little, who conducted the re-search, said the pill's disruption of ovulation could lead to women making the wrong choice in long-term partners.
      He claimed that women could marry a masculine man while on the pill, but realise they had made the wrong decision when they decided to have children.
      Olwen Williams, former Welsh Woman of the Year and consultant genito-urinary physician, said the study was interesting, but the impact of the pill is still to be determined.
      She said, "Time will tell if the pill is forcing women to chose more macho men and whether a certain type of man will disappear."
      As the pill is the most popular contraceptive any truth in the research could have a significant impact on the future of men's looks.
      Ms Williams said, "There has been similar research into the way women's body shapes have changed due to male preferences."
      However, Ms Williams believes that for those women who are looking to reproduce and feel it is time to conceive, that will negate the impact of the pill.
    • More PG stuff
      Glasgow Daily Record
      BRITNEY DARES TO BARE AT US MOVIE FESTIVAL
      POP princess Britney Spears dared to bare as she attended a film festival with her new love, Limp Bizkit front- man Fred Durst.
      The 21-year-old wowed fans at the Sundance Festival with her raunchy outfit, which saw the sexy singer don a see- through black top and hip-hugging jeans.
      The couple both attended the launch of Ben Affleck and Matt Damon's new competition for aspiring screenwriters.
      But the pair went to great lengths to make sure they were not pictured together.
      While rocker Durst, 31, happily mingled with other celebrities and posed for pictures, Spears opted to sneak in the back door.
      They also avoided leaving the bash, held in Salt Lake City, together.
      Another of Hollywood's hot couples, Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, were more than happy to walk the red carpet.
      But as it was Affleck's night to shine, J-Lo pushed him into the spotlight with his pal Damon.
      The Oscar winners were at Sundance to publicise their Project Greenlight competition.
      Aspiring screenwriters and directors are given the chance to submit their scripts.
      A winner from each category is chosen and then the director makes the screenwriter's movie.
    • Award Noms
      17 Jan 2003
      LOS ANGELES - "The Osbournes" MTV show is up for a Producers Guild award. It's in a new category called reality-game-informational series. They're up against "American Idol," A&E's "Biography," "Frontline" from PBS and Ben Affleck (news) and Matt Damon (news)'s "Project Greenlight" on HBO. The awards ceremony is March 2.
    • MY MOVIE RECIPE: THE CHEESIER THE BETTER!
      BYLINE: LESLIE GRAY STREETER, Palm Beach Post Flick Chick
      29.12.02
      I am aware that I am probably the only critic-type person in the universe whose Top 10 movie list for 2002 will include Reign of Fire, unless it's a list of "Top Ten Dragon-Slaying Movies Released in 2002 and Starring a Bald, Freaky-Looking Matthew McConaughey."
      By admitting that I liked Reign of Fire, I'm shooting poison darts into what little credibility I have. However, I enjoyed the heck out of that movie, cheesy and goofy as it was. And I think it's OK for everyone, including all-knowing critic-type people, to admit that sometimes we just have fun watching some crazy cigar-chomping Texan fly around the English countryside whacking monsters.
      So what I have compiled, dear readers, is a list of the 10 movies that I most enjoyed in 2002. The 10 movies I'm writing about now aren' t necessarily the most poetic or well-made movies of the year. They' re just the ones that delivered what they promised, whether that was terse family drama, in-your-face social commentary or just Matt Damon kung-fu fighting in a muscle shirt.
      In no particular order:
      ............ then went on to put Bourne in her list:
      The Bourne Identity - Both Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, the Good Will Hunting boys, had a big-money actioner this year, but I gotta give the explosive-laden nod to His Mattness. He was convincing as a confused, pretty good guy who's becoming more awake to his life's little nightmare with every bloody moment. The scene where he uses the body of the guy he just shot to cushion his fall down a scary stairwell? Heart in my throat. Plus, he's hot.
    • From the LA Times:
      19.01.03
      The Inside Track
      T.J. Simers
      This Contest's Winner Could Be Super Lucky
      SAN DIEGO--Let me begin by saying that if Matt Damon calls before noon Thursday, he will immediately be declared the winner of the Super Bowl/Bachelorette Contest, and he will receive a Super Bowl ticket to join my daughter in Qualcomm Stadium next Sunday.
      If for some reason Damon is fearful of meeting the parents, then this is the Super Bowl/Bachelorette proposal: I will give a $400 Super Bowl ticket to the person who can successfully answer the quiz below and then agree to accompany the daughter, her roommate and her roommate' s boyfriend to the big game with the understanding he will also be asked to protect all three should the Oakland Raiders and their fans also be in attendance.
      To pick the winner, two Super Bowl/Bachelorette finalists will be asked to come to The Times on Friday morning for inspection and to view a taping of ESPN's "Around the Horn." The first one to get visibly sick will be declared the winner, and receive the ticket.
      NOW AS to your first concern -- this is not the daughter who settled for a Grocery Store Bagger and who is favored to defeat Kobe Bryant in a three-point shooting contest. This other kid, 26, does not have an athletic bone in her body, and so you've probably already guessed -- yes -- she's an accountant.
      A word of caution: I have been to more than 20 Super Bowls and I know the embarrassing, painful and degrading lengths some people have gone to in order to win Super Bowl tickets, and this could be worse.
      This will mean spending four or five hours with an opinionated, sarcastic Notre Dame grad wearing a Brian Griese Denver Bronco jersey who had the guts recently to write Staples Center boss Tim Leiweke inquiring if there are any open jobs in the Anschutz sporting world when her own father has done nothing but pummel Leiweke in print.
      "How would I know that?" she said. "I don't read that garbage."
      You can see why she isn't married yet.
      NOW I know some of you are familiar with the reality TV shows, Joe Millionaire and Elim-a-date or whatever, but there will be no hot tub action here -- because the daughter takes after her mother.
      The ideal candidate will take into consideration he is joining three accountants for the day, so the first hour or two will be dull, but the excitement of the Super Bowl, the pregame activities, the national anthem and roaring planes overhead should help fill the dead time.
      I was kind of hoping the brothers-in-law, Bubba I, Bubba II and Bubba III, would be around to meet the winner and impress upon him the importance of treating their niece with respect, but ever since Southwest Airlines put that restriction in that you have to buy two seats if you're too big to sit in one they don't travel much.
      The whole idea behind this giveaway is to find a male (25 to 35, 5 feet 9 or taller with the potential to be wealthy) who has a great sense of humor and who just wants the thrill of attending a Super Bowl in exchange for eventually marrying the kid.
      Now I know this is the only way anyone now playing for the San Diego Chargers is ever going to get to a Super Bowl, and I apologize to the Mission Bay Shrimp for the height requirements. But the daughter is 5-9, slender, medium-length brown hair, looks more like her mother than her father, has four eyes if you count the glasses, can look like an accountant and can also look like Audrey Hepburn, the Audrey Hepburn while she was still alive.
      THE FOLLOWING quiz is to be answered by e-mail and will help determine the two finalists: Please include age, sex and occupation. (Latest pay stub optional.)
      Question 1: Who do you want to win the Super Bowl? Will you be wearing spikes, handcuffs or an eye patch to the game?
      Question 2: What was the last book you read? Have you ever read a book? (One more attempt to eliminate Raider fans.)
      Question 3: Lou Holtz had a list of 100 things to accomplish; what' s your top three?
      Question 4: What movie would you see over and over again?
      Question 5: What should Tiger Woods have done in regards to the Masters controversy?
      Some things to keep in mind:
      Grocery store baggers need not apply.
      Must be single/unattached. If Matt Damon is attached, an exception will be made.
      Winner will be expected to behave at the game or read about it.
      Winner can be on his best behavior and still expect to read about it.
      It will not be necessary for Matt Damon to take the quiz.
      If no one worthy emerges from applicant pool, USC alumni will be considered.

1/19/03

• These are quiet days, but Felicity managed to find the news anyway :-)
  • Scary news - Cher is to have a part in "Stuck on you": here
    At least three movies are expected to begin production in Miami-Dade during the first part of this year, Mr. Peel said. They include a spin-off from the television show "American Idol" and a Farrelly Brothers movie production Stuck on You starring Matt Damon, Greg Kinear and Cher. In the third production, Miami will double as Hollywood. "Generally speaking, we lose so much work to Hollywood, I think it's poetic justice to pretend to be Hollywood for a change. So much stuff stays in L.A.," Mr. Peel said.
  • From Zap2it.com's report on the Oceans sequel:
    Soderbergh, 39, whose last film "Solaris" stars Clooney, has temporarily halted plans to direct "The Informant," based on Kurt Eichenwald's novel.
  • Access Hollywood is showing one of the Bourne deleted scenes today.
  • Just a reminder that an episode of "The Wedding Story" with Matt as a guest, is on TLC January 16 at 2.30pm.
    The couple's name is Sean and Dara, and it's repeated a few more times. It's on January 16 at 2.30pm and January 21 at 2.30pm
    Here's the description:
    They met during the Boston Marathon, faced a scary illness together and now are embarking on the best journey of their lives - down the aisle together, after a fabulous beach party with family and friends on gorgeous Cape Cod.
  • From the NY Post:
    Jealous J.Lo
    THE bad blood between Jennifer Lopez and Matt Damon, the best friend of her fiancé Ben Affleck, started right from the get-go. When Lopez and Affleck started dating on the set of "Gigli," the bodaciously bottomed actress grew jealous of Affleck's personal assistant and Damon's girlfriend, Odessa Whitmire. "Odessa was living in Ben's house as his assistant and Jennifer did not like that," we're told. "She asked Ben to get rid of her and to have her move out." Whitmore quit working for him last year and is now rumored to be engaged to Damon. Affleck's rep said, "I think Odessa left Ben before he and [Lopez] got together."
  • There's a Bourne Identity competition at eonline, with daily giveaways: here.
  • The first Bourne DVD reviews: here, and here.
  • From Filmjerk.com The Farrelly Brothers will begin shooting their Greg Kinnear/Matt Damon Siamese twin comedy Stuck On You in Los Angeles on February 21st.
  • A Pittsburgh paper has "Gerry" listed for release sometime in April.
  • From Eonline's Movie Scoop on Sundance: Sundance regulars Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are throwing a party to announce the winner of their second Project Greenlight series. So, will Affleck's fiancée, Jennifer Lopez, arrive via Gulfstream, dripping in diamonds and wrapped up in fur? Please, God, I'm lighting a candle.
  • Boston Herald's Inside Track:
    Tomorrow, Cambridge homeys Matt Damon and Ben Affleck will be in Utah to pick the winner of their latest Project Greenlight talent search.
    Four director-wannabes and 10 aspiring screenwriters, including a Mansfield man, will fly to Park City in the hopes that Matt, Ben and Miramax will make their dreams - and their movie - come true.
    Leo Beaudet, 35, a Mansfield writer, is hoping his screenplay, ``Order of the Dragon,'' scores at Sundance. It's a historical epic about knights in medieval Transylvania, featuring vampires, crusades and holy wars. So, Leo, why should Miramax make your movie?
    ``Because it will make money,'' he says in a Project Greenlight video, ``lots of it!'' Cha-ching!
  • From ET Online:
    Our own CHRIS BOOKER is in Park City to catch all the Sundance action, from the screenings to the parties. He reports that BEN AFFLECK and JENNIFER LOPEZ will be in town Saturday, along with MATT DAMON, for the hot-ticket Project Greenlight party. There, Matt and Ben will announce the winner of their contest to see who will direct the next Project Greenlight film -- and be the spotlight subject of their hit HBO documentary series!
  • "Project Greenlight" has been nominated in the Producer's Guild awards - from yahoo:
    In the newly added category of reality-game-informational series, Fox's "American Idol" was chosen to compete against A&E's "Biography," PBS's "Frontline," MTV's "The Osbournes" and HBO's "Project Greenlight."
  • Another Bourne DVD review: here.
• From Erika:
  I found this on IMDB:
  The bad blood between Jennifer Lopez and her fiancé Ben Affleck's best friend Matt Damon has been uncovered as a longtime issue. When Lopez and Affleck started dating after meeting on the set of their upcoming movie Gigli, New York native J.Lo reportedly grew jealous of Affleck's personal assistant, Damon's girlfriend, Odessa Whitmire. A source tells American showbiz website Page Six, "Odessa was living in Ben's house as his assistant and Jennifer did not like that. She asked Ben to get rid of her and to have her move out." Whitmire gave up working for Affleck last year and is now reportedly engaged to Damon. However, Affleck's representative says, "I think Odessa left Ben before he and Jennifer got together."
• From Hiroko in Japan:
  Matt's schedule changed!
  He'll come to Japan 21th Jan. This was announced officially that he'll arrive at Narita Airport at 17:50 by SQ11(Singapore Airline).
  22 or 23th: Video Chat with Contest winners(only 3 people).
  23th: The Bourne premiere in Japan.

• Variety has confirmed that Ocean's Twelve will start filming in March 2004, and will be directed again by Steven Soderbergh. Remember all the jokes during the initial Ocean's promotion about how desperate they would all have to be to do a sequel? No mention of Matt at this stage, but he would appear to be a certainty to sign, with the start date of "The Informant" likely to be delayed, if indeed both go ahead.
  Soderbergh, Clooney Swimming in 'Ocean' Sequel
  By Michael Fleming
  NEW YORK (Variety) - Director Steven Soderbergh (news) and actor George Clooney (news) are eying a March 2004 start date for "Ocean's Twelve," a sequel to the hit 2001 Las Vegas crime caper.
  Warner Bros. is looking to lock down Brad Pitt (news), while other "Ocean's Eleven" regulars may return along with new additions. A holiday 2004 release date is being eyed.
  The catalyst for its move toward the starting gate came when WB asked "Timeline" screenwriter George Nolfi to rewrite his "Honor Among Thieves" screenplay with an "Ocean's Eleven" bent. The studio originally bought "Honor Among Thieves" two years ago as a potential directing vehicle for John Woo (news), but the project stalled.
  Tapping a pre-existing script for a sequel is not unprecedented. It happened on "Die Hard With a Vengeance," a film that was stuck until Fox tapped a script it owned called "Simon Says."
  "Ocean's Twelve" could be the next jobs for both Soderbergh and Clooney, who are also production partners. They both vowed to take time off after doing several movies back to back, including the Soderbergh-directed "Solaris," which starred Clooney, and Clooney's directing debut, "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind."
• Reviews of the Bourne DVD should soon be available. Pre-release orders at Amazon have already been sent, well before the official release date of 21 January.
• From the Las Vegas Sun:
  Ben Affleck is coming back to Las Vegas on April 3.
  Affleck, Stephen Baldwin and Cigar Smoker magazine publisher Jonathan Scott are co-hosting a charity golf tournament at the Bali Hai Golf Club on the Strip.
  The tournament will benefit the Several Sources Foundation; tourney chairman Jim Ednie said proceeds from the event will go to building homeless shelters in four Nevada counties.
  Others expected to hit the links: Will Smith, Matt Damon, Cheech Marin, Don Johnson, Mike Ditka, Kevin Costner and Joe Mantegna.
  Don't know if Jennifer Lopez is a golfer.

• From Felicity:
  • Re the Bourne premiere in Japan on 20 January:
    Matt is expected to be present at the Sundance Film Festival (Utah) for the announcement of the Project Greenlight winners on 18 January. No more details will probably be available, but I'd love to hear any information about Matt's visit to Japan, especially the response by fans and the media. Thanks Hiroko!
  • Confirmation about "Stuck on you" filming from the Boston Herald - the start of filming has been delayed by a month:
    Reel life returns to Bay State
    by Gayle Fee and Laura Raposa
    Thursday, January 9, 2003
    Grab the disposable Kodaks and the autograph books because Hollywood is finally returning to the Bay State.
    The funny Farrelly Brothers got the town's permission to do five days of shooting on the Matt Damon-Greg Kinnear flick, ``Stuck On You,'' in Rockport in March.
    And Julia Roberts & Co. return to Wellesley next week to finish up work on the period drama, ``Mona Lisa Smile.''
    On Tuesday, the Rockport selectmen unanimously approved the Farrellys' request to shoot scenes for the Siamese-twin comedy on Bearskin Neck, downtown and on T-Wharf.
    ``The reason we want to come to Rockport, obviously, is because of how Rockport looks,'' 20th Century Fox location manager Adam McCarthy told the town fathers. ``It just has a very New England feel to it.''
    Well, maybe a very Martha's Vineyard feel to it. Because that's where the scenes are supposed to take place.
    But, you know, getting Matt, Greg and all that equipment over on the ferry can be such hell in March. So Rockport will stand in.
    The Farrellys, who live on the South Shore, wrote and will direct the flick about joined-at-the-hip twins who head out to Hollywood to pursue one brother's dreams of stardom.
    The cast and crew will head south to Miami, which will stand in for La-La, after finishing up in New England. (Do you notice a theme here?)
    Rockport's last Tinseltown close-up was the 1999 romantic comedy, ``The Love Letter,'' starring Kate Capshaw aka Mrs. Steven Spielberg, Ellen DeGeneres and Tom Selleck.
  • A longer article about the filming locations from the Gloucester Daily Times: here.
  • From Dark Horizons:
    Ocean's 12: George Clooney has confirmed with Access Hollywood that filming will begin early 2004, a title has yet to be selected.
    And from another entertainment site:
    George Clooney on Ocean's Eleven Sequel
    Tuesday, January 7, 2003 7:25 CST
    Scooper 'Glenn Lovel' writes in with the latest news about the Ocean's Eleven sequel...
    On the Red Carpet, for George Clooney's directorial debut "Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind", Access Hollywood asked George about the status of the Ocean's 11 Sequel.
    George replied by saying that the script is in the works and the filming should start sometime next year.
    Access Hollywood also asked about the much rumored sequel title, Ocean's 12. Clooney replied saying that currently they haven't committed to a title for the sequel.
  • From an article with Ray Liotta, on trying to sell his new film, "Narc" - I haven't heard of this before and don't know the connection with Matt: here.
    Because of its Sundance success, Liotta says Narc was soon making the rounds of "the Bel Air circuit," a neighborhood of influential movie insiders who'd heard good things about the film and wanted to see it for themselves in their own mansions. "Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman called. We began having screenings hosted by Irwin Winkler [who produced Liotta's GoodFellas], Robert DeNiro [who co-starred with Liotta in GoodFellas], Matt Damon."
  • From Jo Blo's review of "Confessions":
    As for the "cameo" appearance by other OCEAN'S 11 luminaries such as Brad Pitt and Matt Damon, they are actually quite hilarious, but didn't last more than ten seconds combined, so turn to tell your friend and you'll miss the whole thing.
  • From eonline's Movie Scoop:
    In the Works: At the Palm Springs Film Festival, director George Clooney, promoting Confessions of a Dangerous Mind with his film's star Sam Rockwell, says he hopes to start shooting early next year on the sequel to Ocean's Eleven. (Ocean's Twelve, anyone?) He's already tinkering on the script with business partner and pal Steven Soderbergh...
• Meg (thanks!) wrote:
  Matt is on the cover of buy.com magazine. He has an interview about TBI and there are miscellaneous pictures from the movie all over the magazine. Buy.com rated it as the #1 movie to buy.

• A big thanks to Hiroko, who wrote:
  Hi! I'm a Japanese Matt fan. Matt will come to Japan 20th Jan. for "The Bourne Identity" Japan Premiere. This is the first time that he visit Japan. Japanese fans are looking forward to see him. But I have no its premiere ticket, so I'm going to be in Narita(Tokyo) Airport. Do you know his flight? What is he doing? He is in NY?
  JP official site(not English)
• From Felicity:
  • From Liz Smith's column:
    We speculated and discounted a rumor that Matt Damon might want a double wedding with his pal, Ben Affleck when the latter and Jennifer Lopez take the plunge. Matts reps say that their boy is not even really or actually even engaged to Odessa Whitmire. This is a story that just wont die! they insist. OK, bang, its dead.
  • Poster 'Mich' on the Brad Pitt Fan Forum made this video-cap of Matt, as he appears in the "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" cameo (spoiler): here.
  • To identify the people in the Shjon Podein golf tournament pic a few days ago (see right), they are (left to right): Joel Gretsch (actor in Bagger Vance), Adrian Wadey (golf coach to PGA players), Kent Damon and Sean McDonough (Boston sports commentator). Identified through the tag http://www.team25.com/siteimages/team25/Joel,-Adrian,-Kent,-Sean,Ma.jpgh

The Star Who Said No
When he was in Sydney for the premiere of The Bourne Identity, Matt Damon was unsure whether he would appear in two proposed sequels.
"A lot of times you see these sequels and it just looks like they're all milking the cash cow," he said. "And the movies are really sub-par. I wouldn't want to do it unless I really felt we could all make a better movie than the first one."
This quote was a sign that (a) he was smart, creative and principled, and (b) his career had not yet hit the rocks. When that happens, get ready for The Rebourne Identity, The Talented Mr Ripley's Son and Good Will Hunting v A Beautiful Mind.

• From the Big Matt Fan:
  Just found this in Entertainment Weekly:
  AN EVEN DOZEN Jerry Weintraub says the Ocean's Eleven sequel script should be ready for director Steven Soderbergh near the end of next year, promising "George and Matt and Don Cheadle and the whole gang will be back."
• From Felicity:
  • A few pics of Matt, his dad, Bagger Vance cast-mates and others at the Shjon Podein golf charity events in Rochester, Minnesota: here.
  • From an Australian article on one female reviewer's thoughts on the movies she enjoyed most last year: here.
    The Bourne Identity
    Both Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, the Good Will Hunting boys, had a big-money action movie this year, but I gotta give the explosive-laden nod to His Mattness. He was convincing as a confused, pretty good guy who's becoming more awake to his life's little nightmare with every bloody moment. The scene where he uses the body of the guy he just shot to cushion his fall down a scary stairwell? Heart in my throat. Plus, he's hot.
  • Here's the best rumor in a while - from peoplenews (UK):
    Ben Affleck is enjoying being joined at the hip with Jennifer Lopez so much he's negotiating to buy the film rights to a hit book so the couple can work together again. With already two films with Lopez already under his belt - Jersey Girl and Gigli - Benny-boy is reported to be trying for a hat-trick in putting in a bid for Company Confidential, a novel by first-time author Tom McCrory. Ben would play Scott Murphy, a young executive, and Jennifer would play New Orleans beauty Lisa LeDoux. But J.Lo won't be getting things all her own way, Affleck has reportedly asked his best mate and J.Lo's rival in his affections, Matt Damon to be director. Sparks will surely fly.
  My comment to that last bit: LOL!
• From Bec:
  Hollywood Stock Exchange
  Have u been at that site, or gotten involved? I just noticed that Matt's stocks were up, and went to see if any new stuff had been added - and there's several projects in development, all of which sound pretty interesting.
  Obviously, there's the Bourne sequels:
  The Bourne Supremacy
  The second film in the Bourne trilogy, The Bourne Supremacy picks up where The Bourne Identity leaves off, and follows the title character of the series, Jason Bourne. As with the first film, the sequel is directed by Doug Liman. Matt Damon is Jason Bourne.
  The Bourne Ultimatum
  Closing out the Bourne spy trilogy, The Bourne features the final return of Jason Bourne, who must leave behind a normal life to once again enter the world of espionage. As with the first two films, the final installment is directed by Doug Liman. Matt Damon is Jason Bourne.
  THE INFORMANT
  Steven Soderbergh will direct Matt Damon in the thriller The Informant. Based on a book by Kurt Eichenwald, the picture details the true story of a company executive who cooperated with the F.B.I. over a ten-year period to expose a price-fixing scandal. Section Eight will produce for Warner Bros.
  I Know This Much Is True
  Fox is working on a film based on Wally Lamb's acclaimed 900-page novel I Know This Much Is True. The story is about a depressed housepainter who decides to rescue his identical twin brother, a paranoid schizophrenic, from a maximum security mental institute. Jim Sheridan will direct the film, and Matt Damon is currently attached to play the twin brothers.
  I wonder how many of these films Matt will actually make?

• From a Big Matt Fan:
  Thanks again, everyone, for another great year of Matt gossip. Can you believe it's been 5 years since Good Will Hunting came out? We've seen some spectacular highs and some depressing lows, a baffling and bewildering assortment of rumors, and of course, the persistent and perpetual appearance of The Black Sweater.
  Though we've all had our own private lives to deal with, our little Matt obsession has been a highly entertaining diversion, thanks to all your dedication.
  Here's to an even better 2003, for Matt and for all of you!
  BTW: I was watching the movie review show "Hot Ticket" and they previewed next week's show which features performances that should have received Oscar nominations, but did not. They showed Matt in TTMR, so it may be one to watch. As you know, last month, Entertainment Weekly also included Matt's Ripley performance on their list of performances that Oscar snubbed. Guess people are looking back and remembering what should have been...
• From Felicity:
  • From a summary of each studio's performance in 2002, from the LA Daily News:
    Universal Pictures experienced a drop from second place in 2001 to fifth. Its two biggest hits of '02 were the Matt Damon action picture "The Bourne Identity," which earned a healthy $121.6 million, and Eminem's feature debut, "8 Mile," which surprised the industry with a $51.2 million opening weekend and a cumulative gross of $114.1 million to date. The studio's next-best performers released in 2002 were solid hits -- "Red Dragon" at $93 million and "The Scorpion King" at $90.4 million -- but didn't have quite enough steam to cross the $100 million barrier.
    "It wasn't a record-breaker, but I believe this was a great year for Universal," said Rocco. "As a major, we had the fewest number of films released, and when you look at the profitability, we were consistent."
    The biggest black mark for Universal was the abysmal performance of "The Truth About Charlie," which was a major box-office flop with a domestic gross of $5.3 million.
  • Bourne finished as the 19th most successful film of the year with $121 million (Sum of all Fears was one slot below with $118 million). An amazing result.
    
  • Matt's episode of Will & Grace aired in my city for the first time, but the whole final scene (group choir, confrontation with Jack) was not included. How is it shown in the US? I know it was a "super-sized" episode, but I wouldn't have expected a major scene to be cut.

• From our ever-reliable Felicity:
  • End of year greetings everyone!
  • How's this for one of the most gorgeous pics of Matt I've ever seen (but Odessa does look to be aged about 15). From nysocialdiary.com and taken at the Kenny Gordon Foundation Benefit (Confessions movie and auction), where the couple allegedly revealed they were engaged: here (Photo also shown as today's feature pic).
    Story at here.
  • From backstage.com, notice about a new program in development at LivePlanet:
    LivePlanet is 'L.A.' Bound
    By Nellie Andreeva
    Following their collaboration on the short-lived interactive drama "Push, Nevada" this fall, ABC and Touchstone TV are back in business with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon's LivePlanet. This time around, the LivePlanet principals, including Sean Bailey and Chris Moore, have set their sights on the City of Angels. The new project, "Los Angeles," is described as a one-hour drama about nine strangers whose lives become interconnected through random events. Zack Helm is writing the script for the show, which is in the early stages of development. Bailey is spearheading the project for LivePlanet and will serve as an executive producer alongside Moore and Helm. Helm's writing credits include the upcoming feature "Sector Seven" from Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies. Among other projects, LivePlanet is working with HBO and Miramax TV on the second installment of "Project Greenlight," the reality series revolving around aspiring filmmakers.
  • Another story about the "Los Angeles" show : here.
  • A story on early press reactions to "Gerry", from the NY Observer: here
  • "Confessions of a dangerous mind" is out in limited release (LA/NY) from tomorrow.
• And from Bec:
  This is from the Melbourne paper, The Sunday Age. It's a quote from The Panel host (Matt was a guest while here) Tom Gleisner, about the highs and lows of the show this year.
  "Another personal highlight was Matt Damon, who totally shattered the image of spoilt young actors on tour by simply being a genuine, unaffected, interesting bloke."

• ...(Let's) hope for a satisfying and productive year ahead, with hopefully challenges for Matt greater than a Farrelly Brothers movie.
• The "denial" story on EW is at here, With a good pic from the Sydney premiere of Bourne: here.
• Matt was on ET Wednesday in a really old video (circa "Rounders") promoting "It's a wonderful life" on Theatrevision, where popular movies are given full voiceovers for the blind and partially sighted.
  The process is described here.
• From the Boston Herald's Inside Track:
  Photo at here
  Hollywood It Boy Matt Damon, left, and a couple of pals from Cambridge Rindge & Latin rapped about racism and diversity in the WB56 studios the other day for a segment to air on the station's `Day of Harmony' special on Feb. 27. The three former classmates (that's actress Fanshen Cox and R & L teacher Jamal Prince, not shown) discussed how their high school embraced the rainbow and in doing so, churned out more tolerant and understanding individuals. Moderating the taped round-table was Matt's mum, Nancy Carlsson-Paige, a founder of Lesley College's master's degree program in conflict resolution and peaceable schools. Ya think she's proud of her kid? (Photo courtesy of WB56)
• From a Melbourne paper (the Herald-Sun) and their review of 2002:
  EARNING a big thumbs up from us during their visits to Melbourne were several laid-back and friendly international stars. Heading the list was Hollywood golden boy Matt Damon, who disproved the theory that all Tinseltown types were demanding and had huge entourages. Damon travelled light during his promotional visit for spy thriller The Bourne Identity, bringing only girlfriend Odessa Whitmire and her mother for the trip. The Oscar winner was a sport, going out of his way to make time for his many fans and happily heading to a pub for us so we could get a shot of him pulling a beer
• Here's an excerpt from an old Megan Mullally (cast member on "Will & Grace) interview from Next:
  You all are notorious for having such a good time on the set. Does that make it strange when you have guest stars coming in? Oh, I think they like it more, because everybody's so friendly. It probably makes them feel more at ease. But Cher... Nobody knows Cher. It's not like she's ever been here or we've really talked to her. There's no interaction. Everybody else is totally normal and they come and they rehearse. But Cher gets, like, flown in and dropped off by like a helicopter onto her spot, and we roll the cameras and then they lift her back up again into the clouds.
  So who have been your favorites? Matt Damon was really funny on the show, and he's a really nice guy.
  The W&G producers have also stated separately that the episode with Matt is the best they've had so far with a celeb guest-star.

• Lots of goodies from Felicity -- I thank many others who sent in similar items:
  • Some pics from the Confessions charity screening and party:
    With Miramax exec Jon Gordon, and here.
    Thumbnail pics with Odessa: here, and here.
  • Latest gossip from the Sun (UK):
    J-Lo cancels wedding after bust-up with best man Matt
    J-LO’s £1million Valentine’s Day wedding to BEN AFFLECK is off — because of the diva’s bitter feud with his best pal MATT DAMON.
    Pals say Jennifer had a blazing row with Matt, who was supposed to be best man, after finding out he tried to talk Ben out of marrying her.
    A source says: "They still love each other and want to get married some day — but it won’t happen on Febuary 14.
    "Jen feels like there are three of them in the relationship and is terrified Matt will poison Ben against her."
  • Here's a rarity: pictures of Matt and Odessa where both of them look happy!! Taken from the Confessions after-party in LA last week - the photos are in a series: here, here, here,and here.
    And another photo of Odessa at the Confessions party in NY: here.
  • I found most of the photos above at a new site that's worth checking out - a variation of wireimage. http://www.filmmagic.com/.
  • From Boston Herald's Inside Track:
    Damon dad says Good Will isn't Hunting for bride yet
    by Gayle Fee and Laura Raposa
    Friday, December 20, 2002
    Don't start searching for the bridal registry, because no, Cambridge homey Matt Damon is not engaged! And we hear there probably won't be a little robin's egg blue box under galpal Odessa Whitmire's Christmas tree.
    Rumors flew that ``The Bourne Identity'' stud and his 27-year-old steady were headed down the aisle right behind Matt's best bud, Ben Affleck, and his bootylicious bride-to-be Jennifer Lopez. But it ain't so.
    ``No, he's not engaged,'' Matt's dad, Kent Damon, told us. ``Everyone's writing that he is and all these people are coming up and congratulating me. But marriage isn't in the picture right now.''
    Well, what about a Christmas engagement, dad? What gal wouldn't want a little something from Tiffany's in her stocking?
    ``He's dating a wonderful woman,'' said Damon pere, ``but he's got too much on his plate at the moment to think about marriage.''
    In fact, Matt's organizer is so jammed, he can only make it home to Cambridge for about three hours over the holidays. The family's going down to New York to spend Christmas at his digs.
    Damon has been dating Odessa - who used to be Ben Affleck's personal assistant - a lot longer than Ben's been dating J. Lo. Which, of course, sparked the engagement rumors. And Matt said he feels bad denying them.
    He told the syndicated TV show ``Extra'' that he feels guilty every time he says ``We're not engaged'' because ``it sounds like an indictment of her.''
    As for Ben and J. Lo., Kent Damon said she's busy planning a concert tour to promote her new album, ``This Is Me . . . Then'' so they have not made any wedding plans as far as he knows. Do stay tuned . . . .
  • From Time's list of the year's top TV shows:
    10. PROJECT GREENLIGHT (HBO)
    If you loved the TV show stay the hell away from the movie! Giving a Cinderella director a chance to shoot an indie film, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and company revealed the machinations and love that go into even the most disaster-blighted flicks.
  • The episode of "A Wedding Story" 'starring' Matt's Harvard room-mate, and where Matt attended the ceremony, will be aired on TLC January 16.
  • From the Chicago Sun-Times:
    WHAT A TRIANGLE! The story that Matt Damon is opposed to best pal Ben Affleck marrying Jennifer Lopez is being denied by everyone concerned. A story in the London Sun claimed J. Lo canceled wedding plans after learning Damon was trying to convince his fellow Oscar winner to dump Lopez.
    Trust me, folks, this story is a total crock--a tale as tall as the John Hancock Center.
  • The NY Post is reporting that Matt is now engaged, officially: http://www.pagesix.com/celebritynews/51975.htm
    DONE ‘HUNTING': DAMON TYING THE KNOT
    By VICTORIA GOTTI
    Actor Matt Damon's next project could be wedding plans.
    The "Good Will Hunting" hunk announced last week at a star-studded gala that he and Odessa Whitmire, Ben Affleck's former personal assistant, are getting hitched.
    The couple showed up arm-in-arm to a New York benefit hosted by actor-director George Clooney and Miramax producer Jon Gordon on Wednesday night and soon broke the news to friends as Whitmire's 3-carat diamond sparkled.
    Damon met Whitmire, 27, in September 2001, when Affleck, Damon's longtime buddy, checked into rehab.
    While Damon has never had trouble talking about his affection for Whitmire, he and his rep have shot down months of engagement rumors.
    "I'm not engaged," Damon, who dated Minnie Driver and Winona Ryder, told The Post this past June.
    "I have no plans to get married or have kids. I've got my nephews. That's about all the responsibility I can handle right now," he said.
    Sources told Page Six a month ago the couple were tying the knot, but Damon's rep "[didn't] know anything about that."
    But now Damon has followed Affleck's engagement to Jennifer Lopez with his own.
    Before the end of Wednesday night's benefit, which raised over $200,000 for the Kenny Gordon Foundation, Damon, 32, said he was retiring his black book, buxom babes and staunch bachelor ways.
    While Damon was tight-lipped about when or where the marriage will happen, one source said the ceremony wouldn't take place until Affleck and Lopez exchange their vows - which is expected to happen sooner than later.
    Last month, Lopez said in a televised interview that Affleck got down on one knee, popped the question and she answered, "Yes." Affleck and Lopez met last year on the movie set of "Gigli."
  • Some gossip from "Woman's Day" magazine in a story titled 'Winona's on suicide watch' - gist is that she's never recovered from Johnny Depp:
    After years of those ill-fated flings, in 1998 she met 'The Bourne Identity' star Matt Damon. They shared a house and, according to long-time friend Angie Bartlett, Winona saw "a glimmer of Johnny" in Matt. I often saw her out with Matt and would ask her what he was like. She laughed that it bugged him the way she'd say, "Johnny would do this, Johnny would do that." Matt would say to her matter of factly, "But Johnny's gone." The problem was, he wasn't gone - in Winona's eyes.
    Disillusioned Matt hung in for two years until March 2000, reluctant to split with Winona because of her unstable state.
    "Matt held back because he knew Winona was very fragile and vulnerable," says a producer friend. "She took pills as if they were M&Ms. He told me, 'She's just my type.' But Matt couldn't take her Jekyll and Hude behaviour. One minute she'd be rational, the next a wacko berating him and screaming abuse."
    [Years later] Within weeks, Winona learnt that Matt was parading his new girlfriend Odessa Whitmire around Hollywood. It was one blow too many. Just three weeks after Matt and Odessa went public, the security guards were dragging Winona out of Saks.
  • An EW story on the best reality series planned for next season, including PGL: here
  • The engagement has been denied, yet again. I really wish the writers would do a little research and get their facts right - a few actually claim Matt and Odessa met at Ben's rehab facility. From AP:
    Matt Damon denies engagement rumors
    (12-23) 18:14 PST LOS ANGELES (AP) --
    Rumors of Matt Damon's engagement have been greatly exaggerated, according to the actor's publicist, who says he and Odessa Whitmire are only dating.
    "The rumor that he's getting engaged has been fabricated over the past couple of weeks, but it's not true," Damon's publicist, Jennifer Allen, said Monday.
    According to one rumor, the "Saving Private Ryan" star told friends he and Whitmire had gotten engaged last week.
    "He is dating Ms. Whitmire," Allen said. "But he is not engaged."
    The couple met when Whitmire was working as an assistant to Damon's friend and "Good Will Hunting" co-star, Ben Affleck.
  • Most of this would appear to be false, from the Chicago Sun-Times:
    THE RING THING: Congrats to Oscar winner Matt Damon, who is taking a page from best buddy Ben Affleck and getting engaged. Damon was overheard by the New York Post telling pals at a big New York gala last week that he and girlfriend Odessa Whitmire—Affleck’s former personal assistant—were making it official. Whitmire is sporting quite the gorgeous 3-carat diamond, which may pale next to Jennifer Lopez’s pink diamond ‘‘skating rink,’’ but is still very nice, just the same. The couple met under very trying circumstances—in September, 2001, when Affleck (with Damon’s help) checked himself into the Promises rehab clinic in Malibu, Calif. Industry sources say that Damon’s initial attraction to Whitmire centered on his respect for how she helped support his lifelong best friend in those difficult days. The romance grew from that friendship.
    They have been openly public about their relationship for nearly a year, but up to now have denied all engagement rumors.
    There is no date set, though it is assumed Damon and Whitmire won’t walk down the aisle until Affleck and J. Lo exchange their vows—widely thought to be happening sometime later this year.
  • From the Boston Globe, another update on filming for "Stuck on you" - maybe they're looking at Rockport for the whole shoot?
    Scouting Rockport for one film
    By Carol Beggy and Stephanie Stoughton, Globe Staff, 12/24/2002
    HOPING FOR A ROCKPORT LANDING A crew from the production company of the Brothers Farrelly - that would be Bobby and Peter - have been out scouting in Rockport, where the writing-producing-directing guys hope to film their next comic adventure, ''Stuck on You.'' The movie, much in the vein of the brothers' previous efforts, will star Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear as conjoined twins. A crew was up there late last week, and, with the needed approvals from the Rockport Board of Selectmen, filming will begin in February. ''They need to get the town's OK, but it's winter, and this will be a great project for the area, so we're hopeful,'' said Robin Dawson, the head of the Massachusetts Film Bureau and a Rockport native. Dawson, who headed up the state's film agency until it was zeroed out of the budget last summer, said her two-person private operation has been helping field the scouting requests. ''We've been busy,'' said Dawson, who tapped the local film community and Hollywood types to create the private film bureau. ''We're going to be talking to more of the business community so that we can keep the work coming in.''
  • A collection of good Matt photos, mostly very familiar: here
• B. wrote:
  I found this picture in the premiere issue of Show People. Here is the article that goes along with it:
  This is Our Youth
  by Kenneth Lonergan, Garrick London Theater
  In this gently satiric dark comedy, a trio of young, disaffected, rich New Yorkers, played by Damon, Casey Affleck, and Summer Phoenix, spend 24 hours high on drugs and dissecting the meaning of life under President Ronald Reagan in 1982.
  Praise: "...Matt Damon is outstanding as the bullying, hustling, drug-dealing Dennis. Here, you think, is a thoroughly nasty piece of work, but, when Damon's face lights up in a wicked grin, you become suddenly aware of the delightful child Dennis must have once been..." Faint Praise: "Unfortunately Damon's natural wholesomeness sometimes envelops the menace, narcissim and vulnerability that make up Dennis's character. Even when delivering a verbose panic attack about death...Damon seems too neat and tidy to let his character fully breathe."

Please write fan mail to Matt to:
C/o Patrick Whitesell
Endeavour Talent Agency
9701 Wilshire Blvd.
10th Floor
Beverly Hills, CA 90212

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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 Weekend 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

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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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E-mail:	matt_rap@hotmail.com
URL:	http://mattdamon.cjb.net

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