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me at
matt_rap@hotmail.com.)
Welcome to the Matt Damon Column,
a forum for sharing news among Matt fans.
Updated 12/1/2001
Matt's Upcoming TV Appearances
Thur 29 8:00 p.m. on Fx Courage Under Fire
Fri 30 7:00 AM Today NBC
Fri 30 12:00 p.m. on Fx Courage Under Fire
Sat 1 12:00 p.m. on TBS Geronimo: An American Legend.
Sun 2 3:15 a.m. on TBS Geronimo
Sun 2 10:00 PM Project Greenlight HBO
Mon 3 10.15 PM First Look - Ocean's 11 HBO
Tue 4 11:35 PM Jay Leno NBC
Wed 5 8:00 PM Revealed with Jules Asner: George Clooney E!
Wed 5 10:00 PM Ocean's 11 Premiere coverage E!
Thu 6 10:00 PM Revealed with Jules Asner: Matt Damon E!
Fri 7 7:00 PM Behind the Scenes: Ocean's Eleven E!
Sun 9 10:00 PM Project Greenlight HBO
Mon 10 7:00 AM Early Show CBS
Sat 15 2:10 AM Entertainers on ABC
.
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Engaged
12/1/01
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Here's the Variety review of Ocean's 11 (but no specific mention of Matt):
Ocean's Eleven
by Todd McCarthy Variety 12/1/01
An all-star remake of the all-star original, "Ocean's Eleven" is a lark for
everybody concerned, including the audience. Breezy, nonchalant and without
a thing on its mind except having a little fun, this lightweight caper
doesn't take itself seriously and hardly expects the viewer to do so either,
which itself sets it apart from any other mainstream film Steven Soderbergh
has ever made. Watching George Clooney compete with Andy Garcia for Julia
Roberts while plotting with Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and some other
good-looking guys to knock over a Las Vegas casino vault will sound like a
pretty good deal to most of the moviegoing public, meaning that Warner Bros.
will be making some happy trips of its own to a vault, wads of cash in hand.
Legendary, after a fashion, as the film that put the Rat Pack together on
the bigscreen for the first time, and in a Vegas setting no less, the 1960
production is remarkable for nothing other than its cast. It is, in fact, an
amazingly lazy and lax piece of work, one in which you often feel that it
was all director Lewis Milestone could do to get the guys in front of the
camera at the same time to say their lines. Watchable up to a point for the
ethos it evokes and historical moment it represents, lethargic pic has no
intrinsic credibility or suspense.
Although they can't begin to be compared iconographically to Frank, Dean,
Sammy and the rest, the stars are the main event here as well. In this day
of $20 million players, it's rare to see an Irwin Allen-sized lineup of
several bona fide movie stars in the same picture, but Clooney and
Soderbergh made it happen and it's a mild treat to watch the thesps
good-naturedly bouncing off one another, no matter how inconsequential the
material.
Even more amusing is observing two seasoned old pros, Carl Reiner and
Elliott Gould, devilishly stealing every scene they're in from their more
glamorous cohorts.
A good part of the fun in this kind of picture derives from the mastermind's
rounding up his crew, each one a specialist in a certain area that will
prove critical to the success of the job. Such is the case here, as the
debonair Danny Ocean (Clooney) is no sooner released from a four-year
stretch in the pen than he begins approaching his key personnel.
In Atlantic City he recruits casino dealer and fellow ex-con Frank Catton
(the instantly winning Bernie Mac); in Hollywood he recruits card sharp
Rusty Ryan (Pitt in Steve McQueen mode), who needs a challenge; in Chicago
he finds Linus Caldwell (Damon), son of a legendary con man; in Florida he
locates elderly down-on-his-luck hustler Saul Bloom (Reiner), and in Vegas
he successfully pitches his plan to bejeweled moneybags Reuben Tishkoff
(Gould), a former hotel and casino tycoon who has been deposed by the new
king of Vegas, Terry Benedict (Garcia).
The plot is outlandish, seemingly impossible: To rob the vault, located 200
feet underground, that holds the cash that covers all the chips in play at
the three hotel casinos -- the Bellagio, the Mirage and the MGM Grand --
owned by Benedict. On the night in question, when a heavyweight championship
fight will bring plenty of high rollers into town, the holdings are expected
to amount to $150 million.
How the heist will be pulled off is another question, one the silky-smooth
Danny makes sound complicated but feasible. To manage it, he calls in the
remainder of his team: A Cockney demolition wizard (Don Cheadle, curiously
unbilled onscreen but included in the press notes), whose task it will be to
shut down electrical power in Vegas at a precise time; a sweaty surveillance
man (Eddie Jemison); disguise-happy drivers and delivery twins (Casey
Affleck, Scott Caan) and "grease man" Yen (Shaobo Qin), a Chinese acrobat
whose unusual ability to fold himself in half at the waist and fit into tiny
containers qualifies him as an important cog in the wheel.
Then there's the part Danny doesn't bother to mention: Terry Benedict's
personal art curator and girlfriend Tess (Roberts) happens to be Danny's
ex-wife, and he wants her back. When Tess makes her first entrance, 45
minutes into the action, it's clear that the feeling isn't mutual. And when
Rusty learns that the motivation for the job is personal, not purely
professional, he's briefly so upset that he wants Danny out of the picture
as well. But Danny perseveres, knowing that his only chance with Tess lies
in his getting the better of the seemingly invincible Benedict.
Since virtually the entire narrative in Ted Griffin's script is procedural,
in that every scene is in some way related to the eventual execution of the
robbery, it's somewhat surprising that Soderbergh puts so little effort into
building up excitement in the heist itself.
But then again, from "Rififi" on, this has been done a hundred times, so the
director perhaps rightly decided not to try to inflate with bogus suspense a
sequence that, if presented with alleged realism, might have been exposed as
more preposterously far-fetched than it already seems. Suffice it to say
that this film does not present criminals with any ideas they could easily
put into practice.
No, the film is all about surfaces and behavior and grace notes. Working as
his own cinematographer under the nom de camera of Peter Andrews, as he did
on "Traffic," Soderbergh bathes his actors and settings in a flattering warm
glow but retains a measure of the rough-and-ready visual style he developed
on his last picture. Steering clear of traditional Hollywood glamour
photography despite the obvious temptations, helmer attractively frames the
beautiful faces and luxurious surroundings (the production had virtually
free rein at the Bellagio for weeks) in images of moderate textural grain,
giving the film a grittier look than usual for this sort of extravaganza.
Much of the film is about pretending and about getting away with something.
This applies to dapper Danny, of course, and Clooney has no problem making
him the cool and commanding figure the others are willing to follow into
what looks like a foolhardy adventure.
But the greatest "actor" here is Bloom, who literally has to shed his
old-Jewish-two-bit-dog-track-habitue skin to become a gravely fastidious
billionaire of indeterminate origin in order to worm his way into Benedict's
exclusive circle. Fretting inside and battling poor health, Bloom is made
into a choice creation by Reiner, making one wish the character could have
been given even more screen time. Same can be said of Tishkoff, with Gould's
wonderful and surprising delineation of a flamboyant but non-caricatured old
school queen prompting speculation that the vet thesp's range has been
decidedly untested.
Entire cast seems spontaneous and relaxed. She has more to do than Angie
Dickinson did in the original, but Roberts is still basically The Girl here,
albeit one very much worth fighting over and bedecked with fabulous clothes
and jewels. Pic could have used a more formidable adversary than Garcia's
Benedict, who is very much the slick entrepreneurial parvenu; with someone
like Robert De Niro in the role, the entire enterprise would have taken on
some welcome weight without at all throwing off the fun dynamic.
David Holmes' score is characterized by a frisky jazzy feel that is at times
abetted by other musical moods, notably that of Debussy's "Clair de lune."
Original pic is repped by Dickinson and Henry Silva, who fleetingly appear
in the crowd for the Lennox Lewis-Wladimir Klitschko prizefight that occurs
the night of the robbery. Film's coyest touch comes in the end credits,
which list all the male players and then conclude with "...and introducing
Julia Roberts as Tess."
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Rolling Stone critic Peter Travers put O11 at #10 on his top ten of the
year, but his review hasn't been published yet.
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Have you seen this story from IMDB (however dubious):
Matt Damon Engaged
Hollywood hunk Matt Damon has become engaged to his girlfriend of recent
months Odessa Whitmire. Matt became close to Ben Affleck's personal
assistant during Affleck's recent stay in rehab. The pair have even been
spotted house-hunting around the chic Los Angeles neighbourhood of Los
Feliz.
The couple are hoping to walk down the aisle next year in March.
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There will also be a live webcast of the premiere, but the link isn't
working at the moment - will confirm.
here.
- Greenlight reviews:
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Positive Greenlight review from the NY Times:
here.
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NY Post - critic didn't really like it:
here.
"Meanwhile, I did learn a few things about Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. They
both smoke - Damon while chewing gum. And Ben chews on his ice, doesn't
shave every day and rarely tucks in his shirt."
So much for Hollywood glamour.
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Boston Globe:
here
And it has been only four years since ''Good Will Hunting'' introduced the
world to Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, also known as the MattandBen Show, and
already they've become seniors at the University of Hollywood Players. In
the time it takes to say ''Pearl Harbor,'' and ''The Legend of Bagger
Vance,'' the two wonder boys have changed from wide-eyed Oscar hopefuls into
Miramax-bred strategists balancing budgets on their much-photographed
shoulders. Sunrise, sunset, sunstroke.
And so it's disconcerting to find Matt and Ben in the roles of mentors and
producers in ''Project Greenlight,'' a new reality series that premieres
Sunday at 10 p.m. on HBO...
Certainly, there's something admirable about Affleck and Damon's attempts
both to give a new talent the same kind of break they won with ''Good Will
Hunting'' and to democratize the studio process. Sure, the series gives
them, and ''Stolen Summer,'' a nice promotional tweak. But still, they've
crossed into Hollywood's inner circles with at least a shred of idealism
intact. As HBO's ''Project Greenlight'' shows, that's no easy feat.
-
Chicago Sun-Times review:
here
-
San Francisco Chronicle review is fun:
here.
- Readers MG and Kathryn also sent in the engagement news - aagghhhhhhhhhhhhh!
- Wrote the Big Matt Fan:
Eonline has a fun little trivia quiz about Matt. It's ridiculously easy for diehard fans like us, though the less obsessed might have a little more trouble (ie. What chain store did Matt do a commercial for?). Anyway, if you have a minute, it's worth a look.
here.
RE: The Today Show. Though somewhat unshaved, Matt looked adorable during his interview with the slightly smitten Katie Couric. Usual questions about fun on the set, working with Soderbergh, Project Greenlight. Typically sweet and complimentary responses by Matt. Then, came the bold question, "So, how's your lovelife?" Matt said it was good. "Are you seeing someone?" He hesitated, then reluctantly (but with a smile) said, "Yeah." "Should we just leave it at that?" Katie asked. She then said with a giggle, "I don't know why I'm asking. You're just so cute and nice, you should be spending time with someone great." Answered Matt, "I am."
I thought it was a nice interview. Matt's responses to the personal questions were amiable, and suggested that he is, in fact, a happy man.
RE: Project Greenlight. Good to see there are some positive responses. Thanks for the clips.
Both the "Daily Variety" and "The Hollywood Reporter" had positive reviews for "Project Greenlight." There are some photos from the premiere, but since my laptop isn't working these days, I won't be able to scan anything. (Have to rely on the computer at work.)
- Wrote Erin:
I had forgotten that Matt was going to be on the Today Show this morning, but by
chance I hadn't left for work at the normal time and I just happened to turn on
the TV, which I normally don't do. They showed a clip from the movie with Linus
posing as a gambling commission rep, looking a lot like Ripley in glasses and a
jacket. Katie Couric was practically drooling all over him, calling him "so
cute and nice" when asking him about his love life, and telling him she only
asked because she hoped he was in a relationship. It is cute how he looks so
uncomfortable when talking about it, but he did simply confirm that he is in
fact seeing someone. The rest of the interview was nothing new, same questions
about Ocean's Eleven's pranks and the all star cast, and a few questions about
Project Greenlight. He looked like he had just woken up and jumped in the
shower; I can't help but think that when he's staying in New York he just gets
out of bed in time to catch the car to the studio!
I also watched Casey on the Tonight Show last night. He's much more sarcastic
and mellow than I had anticipated. Almost the antithesis of his brother,
although they do look a lot alike. He told the story of how Ben ended up in a
Georgia jail after they were going 115 MPH on a rural road with Massachusetts
plates. Apparently the police officer said "No Yankee goes that fast through
the South" or words to that effect and Casey said "Well, Sherman did." That
landed Ben in jail with his brother bailing him out. He also talked about not
caring about personal hygiene very much and how that comment would get him a
call from his mom. I've noticed how Ben and Matt both say that a lot about how
their moms will react to certain statements...I like to think that keeps them
(well, Matt anyway) fairly grounded. No mention of "Jerry".
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And Erin wrote further:
I found a link to video of Matt's interview today:
here
I can't open it (now) so I don't know if it's the whole thing. Enjoy!
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Kari wrote:
TVNow's David Brian Waldon On Project Greenlight
A David Brian Waldon Review
© 2001: Waldon
There’s an old saying that two things we should never watch being made are laws and sausages. Maybe motion pictures should be the third entry in that qualification, especially if the new documentary series "Project Greenlight," which premieres at 10 p.m. (ET) Dec. 2 on HBO, is any indication. Or, considering how fascinating and illuminating "Greenlight" is, perhaps making movies is like that car crash that we want to turn away from, but can’t help but see with our own eyes.
"Greenlight" is the filmed account of a project launched by actors-writers-best buds Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. With prior knowledge of how frustrating breaking into the movie biz can be for unknowns, the "Good Will Hunting" gang decided to create a contest for newbies to submit their completed screenplays to a select panel of executives and producers. The winner would get the opportunity to direct his or her project with backing from Miramax Studios, including a guaranteed $1 million budget and a distribution deal – in other words, one big foot though an often impenetrable door.
Part of the deal also was for all of the proceedings to be chronicled for everyone to see; thus the 12-part "Greenlight" starts at the beginning and works its way through the casting, filmmaking, pre- and post-production and all the haggling that comes with it. And the first two parts deal with the actual selection of the winner, whittled down from more than 10,000 entrants. That alone had as much angst and agony than most regular Hollywood pitch sessions.
If fans of the Ben and Matt Show are tuning into "Greenlight" to see their heroes, be warned that Affleck and Damon make themselves pretty scarce after the contest is decided. The real star of this show is Pete Jones, whose screenplay, the 1970’s-based family drama "Stolen Summer," was picked tops among the rest. (I’m not giving anything away here; Jones made his national debut alongside Affleck months ago on Jay Leno.) It’s through his eyes that we seem him change from a wide-eyed wishful thinker to a director struggling with the conflict between his creative wishes and the limitations put upon him by time, money, bureaucrats and, at times, his own stubbornness. Through it all, though, Jones never gets to the point – at least, not in the seven episodes I saw – where he regrets his position. You wind up rooting for him, hoping that, like Will Hunting or Matt Damon or Ben Affleck, he will be another regular guy who makes good.
Read David Waldon on "24".
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Natalie wrote:
Hi, i saw this article in the people magazine with Tom Cruise and Nicole
Kidman on the cover. I'm not sure if it already been posted on the site or not, but i'll type it out anyway. It had a small pic of Matt, but i don't have a scanner. There was also of pic of Julia with blonde hair.
From Hemingways to Happy Campers
And You thought Ocean's Eleven had all the big guns. On Nov.19 a tier-one cast that included Julia Roberts ,Meryl Streep, Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow , Morgan Freeman, Joanne Woodward, and Paul Newman took the stage at New York City's Avery Fisher Hall to perform The World of Nick Adams, a play based on some of Ernest Hemingway's short stories. The one-night-only production, which charged up to $2,500 a head,benefited the Hole in the Wall Gang, a coalition of summer camps for seriously ill children founded by Newman in 1988. What the show lacked in polish-with only a day and a half to rehearse, stars read from scripts - it made up for in spontaneity. When Roberts flubbed a line, she burst into laughter and embraced Streep before continuing the scene. ( They both played prostitues.) "I felt like an actor scrambling," says Damon. However rough the show, the players were pleased with the result- and thrilled to be onstage with Woodward and Newman. Says Kevin Kline: "Tonight I was working with the best."
I saw on tvnow.com that the date of Matt on The Early Show was Dec.10th, so hes either gonna be on the 6th,7th, or 10th.
I also found this pic of Matt online, it was from May 7th 1998 and the site said "Ryder's friend Matt Damon was among 200 guests who celebrated her joining the board.Damon went home with a College Fund cap."
11/29/01
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Felicity wrote:
- Kelly P. also sent in lots of the Greenlight premiere links
and pics. Thanks!
- Wrote the Big Matt Fan:
-
You've heard Ben's lost big at the gaming tables. Ever wonder how much Matt has lost? Last night on KTLA, they aired a brief interview in which he was asked that question. His response: "The most I've lost in one sitting? Probably a thousand dollars. And that really hurts. I probably shouldn't even say anything, because if my mother found out, she'd be like, "What!"
If true, that's not too bad, given his income. The frequent sightings of him in Vegas had me worried, but it does seem consistent with his generally moderate tendencies. Besides, if he really had been losing huge sums, no doubt, the gossips would have noted it, as they did with Ben.
As (Felicity) predicted, the entertainment shows did cover the Greenlight premiere, with Access Hollywood spending the most time on the story. They opened with the now familiar "Sexiest Man" story, and gave Matt a chance to respond at the premiere. "That's my nightmare," he told them. The segment then went on to talk more about Greenlight and its winner.
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RE: Jerry. When I read the description yesterday, I realized that it's probably not a very commercial project. Sounds like an indie art film that won't be in widespread distribution unless it creates a "Blair Witch" type buzz. Still, it was made for very little money, so I don't imagine expectations are very high. The main thing, I think, is that it may offer Matt the chance to display his range in a way we haven't really since Ripley. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
11/28/01
- Stacey wrote:
Matt was on MTV's new show Movie House last night. It was only about a minute interview, most of it was cut out. Singer Pink conducted the interview and basically asked if Matt thought he was misunderstood. Matt asked Pink what she thought of him, and she said she believed Matt was "a genius, incredibly talented and incredibly sexy". Based on her answer, Matt said that yes, he is understood (I would've said the same thing Pink said!). She then asked him if there was anything else he wanted her to ask him, besides for his phone number. He laughed, and the interview was over. It was a short, but cute interview.
- From the Big Matt Fan:
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This morning on "Good Day LA," one of the newscasters (30ish perky mom type)had just seen the movie the night before. Throughout the broadcast, the other anchor (older, 50ish man)kept pressing her for her review because he said he was eager to see the film. The trampy weathergirl (late 20's) declared that she didn't care about the review because she planned to see it anyway. Well, just to elevate the suspense, the reviewer talked about how she saw it in a huge theater in Westwood the size of the Staples Center (arena where the Lakers play)but that it was so full that she had to watch the entire movie sitting on the floor in the aisle. She mentioned that someone had said told her previously that the pacing was a little slow. She then exclaimed, "What! Is he crazy? It was great! I loved it! It was so funny and charming. You should go see it!" Anyway, this is probably the least professional news show in the world, but it was a sign that the film could be popular.
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Anyone s(aw) George on "Letterman"? He called his co-stars "Pretty boy Pitt" and "Mr. Nice Matt Damon." Interestingly, he also mentioned that he was staying at Matt's apartment. He talked about the fact that Matt had an indoor basketball court. "He has a nice set-up there," George told Letterman.
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Here's the description of "Jerry" from today's Variety:
“Jerry,” which finds director Gus Van Sant returning to his risk-taking indie roots in a story of two friends who become lost in the desert around White Sands, N.M. Matt Damon and Casey Affleck star in this digitally shot metaphorical film about a lost generation that features very long takes and little dialogue.
|
- Silvy sent in "Pic at the premiere of the Project Greenlight movie."
See right.
- Kathryn wrote:
I managed to catch the last few minutes of George Clooney's appearance on Letterman (shown on cable over here). He talked a little about the cast and the upcoming premiere(s), calling Matt "Mr. Nice".
Also here are two URLs from Dark Horizons;
here is another review of Ocean's, with praise for Matt.
and
here is a transcript of the press conference/entire cast interview.
-
MG wrote:
Just wanted to pass along the following info. -
Access Hollywood today showed Matt and Ben at the
premiere of Project Greenlight in NY last night. They
were asking Matt about George Clooney's prank relating
to "nominating" Matt as People's Sexiest Man Alive.
Word of the joke seems to be spreading around. Matt
smiled about it and just laughed along. They also
talked about Project Greenlight and they showed a few
clips from the HBO documentary.
- Kari sent in this article:
A gofer gets the green light Newbie gets to make his film -- thanks to Damon and Affleck
By Gary Levin
USA TODAY
Like countless other would-be screenwriters, Pete Jones, a former insurance salesman from Deerfield, Ill., moved West a few years ago, hoping to be discovered. Instead, he toiled as a gofer on Primary Colors and got a job researching B-list celebrities for Roseanne's failed talk show.
Then Ben Affleck and Matt Damon came along. The buddy actors gained their own stardom (and a best-screenplay Oscar) with Good Will Hunting. Now, they hoped to give some nobody a chance with Project Greenlight, a screenwriting contest cooked up by Miramax Films that would offer one winner the chance to direct his or her own script in a $1 million movie.
''Typically, Hollywood is just a bunch of people trying to get through the gates, and there are very few gatekeepers,'' Affleck says.
Not only did Jones, 31 -- with zero experience behind the camera -- get to make his film, Stolen Summer, but Affleck and Damon got HBO to air a 12-episode documentary, also titled Project Greenlight, about the contest and filming of the movie (beginning Sunday at 10 p.m. ET/PT). With HBO on board, Miramax promised to release the 94-minute film, which is glimpsed only briefly in the series, in four cities on March 1, just after the documentary series wraps.
Regardless of whether the movie clicks, the series offers an unusual window into the sometimes tedious, often frustrating, comical and ultimately exhilarating experience of independent filmmaking. With average moviegoers now steeped in box office analysis, it seemed to Affleck and others that a peek at the process -- the ''who-did-what behind the scenes, a little installment in the soap opera of actors' lives'' -- would prove captivating television.
Greenlight arrives just as viewers seem to be tiring of the reality-TV genre. Survivor's ratings are beginning to ebb, and Affleck and Damon's The Runner, an ambitious series for ABC, was scuttled after the terrorist attacks and logistical problems. But HBO doesn't have the same thirst for huge ratings, and Damon insists Greenlight is a purer documentary that shouldn't be compared with the likes of unscripted dramas. ''We weren't introducing supermodels onto the set to try to tempt Pete,'' he says.
The series begins after the competition's 10,000 entries have been narrowed to 10 finalists. It eventually comes down to three: Freeing Mr. Jiggs, a broad comedy from hair-restoration product salesmen Evan Katz and Barron Ebenstein about a woman who learns her fiancé had a gay affair years earlier; Web designer Brendan Murphy's Speakeasy, an elliptical feature about a magician who has lost his magic; and Jones' Summer.
Miramax wanted the script with the best chance to become a successful movie. But there were other considerations. How prepared was a first-time director to handle the pressure? Could the project attract stars willing to do a 25-day shoot for $7,000, minimum wage for union actors? And to a lesser extent, would the director make for good TV?
A heated marathon debate that points up the project's competing agendas is chronicled in the series' second episode, also airing Sunday. Damon and some colleagues wanted Speakeasy, feeling more confident in both the script and director's abilities. Murphy had directed movies as a film student, while Jones was a struggling writer who'd previously sold nothing. Several felt Jiggs was the most commercially viable of the projects but impossible to pull off on a limited budget with no big stars.
On March 1, they chose Jones. But his script had problems. Its lead actors were 7- and 9-year-old boys who could work just 4 or 5 hours a day because of child-labor laws. It was to be filmed in Chicago, requiring expensive location work, and it is set in 1976, adding budgets for period details. Moreover, the plot was of limited appeal: the story of an Irish-Catholic boy on a quest to convert the dying son of a rabbi to Catholicism.
''It was about religion and kids and death -- not box-office-gold ideas,'' says Jones, who managed to keep the script largely unchanged. After seeing early episodes that chronicled the closed-door selection process, ''I couldn't figure out how I was going to win. Their critique of my script was pretty harsh.''
It turns out the pick was a compromise. ''Were we making TV, or were we making just a movie? We were struggling with that,'' says Meryl Poster, Miramax's co-president of production.
''We tried to make the fact that it was being shot for television irrelevant,'' says Chris Moore, Damon and Affleck's partner in the LivePlanet production company. All three were Stolen Summer's executive producers.
But even after the movie began production, the film and its making-of documentary had separate goals.
''We felt the more of a disaster it was for the movie, the better it was for the TV show,'' Affleck says.
The contribution of two movie stars -- in the midst of shooting Affleck's The Sum of All Fears and Damon's Ocean's Eleven -- couldn't help but alter the outcome. They no doubt helped secure Aidan Quinn, who anchored the cast with Brian Dennehy, Kevin Pollak and Bonnie Hunt. (Never mind that Jones is first seen drafting letters to enlist Sean Penn and Emma Thompson.)
At one point Affleck, frustrated by budgetary constraints, is seen ringing up Miramax co-chairman Harvey Weinstein, haggling for another $800,000 so Jones' script wouldn't be compromised.
''We had lengthy debates between Ben, Chris Moore and myself,'' Damon says. ''We wanted the movie to go well, and we wanted Pete to have all the advantages he could, but at the same time, we didn't want to corrupt the process. If Ben's calling Harvey Weinstein, it's not exactly an honest look at what it's like to make a movie for this price tag for Miramax.''
Affleck acknowledges, ''it was definitely corrupted, if you want to call it that, by our involvement. It wasn't the experience of a real independent filmmaker. But we tried not to interfere. We certainly weren't going to do the Real World thing, where you're going to encourage people to bicker.''
They didn't need to. You couldn't have scripted any better the large and minor snafus that frazzle nerves and add drama. Miramax is demonized as the penny-pinching villain, and as the big-cheese hands-on producer, Moore becomes the heavy.
Visiting the set in Chicago, he sneers at Jones' ''moronic'' decision to film the first scene under elevated train tracks, where each shot was interrupted by screeching overhead. Rigging a moving-car shot causes lengthy delays and is compromised when the crew can't clear late-model SUVs off the street to preserve the '70s look. The caterer is a no-show at one lunch break, a victim of a truck accident on the freeway. And during a tough shoot of a Little League game in the pouring rain, young actor Adi Stein hits the ball and makes a dash . . . for third base.
''I had great empathy for him,'' says Hunt, who was a first-time director on last year's Return to Me. ''I thought it would be nice to see somebody go through it and support them. I told him on most days you have to walk that fine line between gratefulness for the opportunity and creative integrity.''
Despite the hurdles, and an argument with Affleck over the final cut of the film, Jones seems pleased with the outcome. ''This movie is pretty close to what I envisioned in my head,'' he says. ''In that sense, I'm pretty proud of it. But the mistakes I made, the things I wish I could improve upon, they're like hammers in my head.''
Moore says the film came out somewhere between its producers' biggest fears and greatest hopes. ''It's not an Afterschool Special, but it's also not Ordinary People,'' he says.
As for the show, HBO original programming chief Chris Albrecht is pleased. ''I am surprised that it is as interesting as it is; I was prepared for this to be unwatchable.''
The show first got backing on the strength of Affleck and Damon's ''contagious'' enthusiasm. ''There's no question that, without Ben and Matt, this thing doesn't get made,'' he says. ''It's not that they're just movie stars, but they're movie stars who are filmmakers; they have credibility.''
Miramax will take Stolen Summer to the Sundance Film Festival in January, where the series' final episode will be shot shortly before it airs. But viewers will be left to wonder, waiting to see if Jones becomes the next indie sensation or, despite all the fuss, he and his movie will fade into obscurity.
''The sad part is the documentary ends before we see what happens to Pete,'' Moore says.
At least part of the experiment will see a sequel. Miramax and LivePlanet have cemented a deal for another Project Greenlight contest, and HBO's Albrecht says he's ''very open'' to the idea of airing another documentary, though not necessarily next year.
Jones, however, isn't the only one to benefit from the competition: Runner-up Murphy may come out ahead of the official ''winner.'' Miramax bought the script for Speakeasy and plans to produce the movie next spring with a larger budget -- and no cameras following his every move. Cover storyPlease see COVER STORY next pageCover story
- From Felicity:
-
There's an interview with Steven Soderbergh in the new issue (Dec/Jan) of
Movieline magazine.
-
Matt's appearance on the Early Show seems to have changed - now 10 December.
-
Best photos I've found are:
Matt and Ben
here
andd here.
Matt
here
-
I've got other photos, but the links won't work.
Try this one:
or
here
-
Here's some of the other guests for the NY party (and what a strange mix
they are): clothes designer Patricia Fields, wrestler/Playboy model Chyna,
and actors Lorraine Bracco, Aida Turturro, Chris Meloni, Dean and Scott
Winters.
-
Boston Herald review:
Good shill hunting: Damon and Affleck's slick `Project' unwittingly exposes
Tinseltown's ugliness
by Monica Collins
Thursday, November 29, 2001
``Project Greenlight.'' Premieres Sunday at 10 p.m. on HBO.
Think ``Survivor'' meets ``A Star Is Born'' meets ``Day of the Locust'' - a
uniquely vulgar Hollywood hybrid.
Call it ``Project Greenlight.''
This delectable documentary premiering at 10 p.m. Sunday on HBO is the
brainchild of hometown stars Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. Irresistibly cool
and unwittingly crass, the series transports us inside the chic offices of
film czars. There, we become enveloped in a superficial haze of Sony
speakerphones, bottled water and self-importance.
The Southern California celluloid factory is actually a meat grinder where
dreams are mashed into pop cultural pulp. Only the strong survive the
monstrous mash that is movie making.
Ostensibly, ``Project Greenlight'' is about innocence, imagination and brave
artists who fight for their ``vision'' with the help of superstars who
insist they're committed to creativity.
On that slick surface, ``Greenlight'' is an absorbing true-life story of a
filmmaker neophyte, Pete Jones. He wins a script writing contest and gets
the chance to make a movie.
But underneath the surface are dark currents where the forces of ego and
money collide. Even Jones, an apple-cheeked lad from Chicago, begins to
transform before our eyes into a movie mogul-maybe. Soon he's using the
speakerphone to call his wife and tell her he won't be home for dinner.
The first episodes of the 12-episode ``Project Greenlight'' (two half-hours
air Sunday) set up the premise. We learn about the script writing contest,
``Project Greenlight,'' in which 10,000 writers submitted their scripts
through the Internet. They judged each others' work and winners emerged.
Damon and Affleck, whose script for ``Good Will Hunting'' won an Academy
Award, oversaw the project with their business partner, Chris Moore. Their
aim was to give a newcomer a chance. The Cambridge-raised big shots remember
keenly when they were fledglings seeking to fly on the wings of a big break.
Live Planet, the production company owned by Damon, Affleck and Moore,
produces ``Project Greenlight.'' The trio has sought to get into television
with reality-based series. One project, ``The Runner,'' which would have
tracked a contestant eluding capture while traveling cross-country, was
recently stopped by a red light at ABC.
In the reality mode, ``Project Greenlight'' has ``Survivor''-esque elements
as we see 10 scriptwriter finalists - none younger than 35 - transported to
Los Angeles to audition for Damon, Affleck, Moore and executives from
Miramax Films. Miramax, a smaller studio known for producing independent
films, agreed to put up $1 million to make the winner's movie.
The finalists were instructed to direct one scene from their scripts and
record it on videotape. The superstar actors and Miramax executives screen
the tapes, and are unstinting in their criticism as they winnow the field
down to three.
These three contestants must submit to interviews with the panel. Jones,
whose script ``Stolen Summer'' is about a child's quest for heaven, is so
naive and so earnest, you must root for him.
He comes with the right homespun accoutrements - the adorable baby, the
supportive wife and the idealistic project. He is the kid from Chicago. He
makes the best TV even if his movie turns out to be a bust. (``Stolen
Summer,'' starring Aidan Quinn, will be released on Feb. 22 as ``Project
Greenlight'' wraps up.)
After he is chosen, Jones faces a classic ``be careful what you wish for''
trauma. He's captive to the wiles of Moore, Damon and Affleck, the executive
producers of his movie. When Moore, an unctuous type who speaks in a cowboy
twang that sounds affected, eviscerates Jones' script in a later episode,
you feel sorry for the writer. He's getting eaten alive by the Lotus Land
locusts.
Jones is also hostage to a Miramax executive who wants to chip away at the
money for ``Stolen Summer.'' Eventually, Affleck will throw ego mud at the
studio hound when the actor spontaneously rings up Miramax honcho Harvey
Weinstein, gets put through immediately and requests a private meeting.
How brave of HBO to give us an inside look at the schmoozy frenzy. After
all, the cable channel, owned by AOL Time Warner, is right at the center of
the hard heart of Hollywood.
Yet HBO has built a reputation for artistic license and risky ventures. The
cable channel's great strength lies in its power to go beyond the limits of
conventionally safe TV. Subscribers pay for that privilege. Like other HBO
series, ``Project Greenlight'' would never air on the broadcast networks.
But you can bet that every network TV executive will be watching.
While they were making ``Project Greenlight,'' Affleck and Damon might have
been so wrapped up in the deal, they couldn't see they were exposing the
shallow vanities and nonsense games endemic to their business.
Lucky for us they were so myopic.
-
Greenlight had
a premiere in New York last night, so watch the entertainment shows today.
-
There's a pic of Matt, Ben and Pete Jones at the premiere at TV Guide.
here
-
At People:
here
- The press onslaught for Ocean's 11 is quite overwhelming, and already some
papers and individuals are being cynical of its chosen messages. That is,
the group atmosphere, playing up the games, frivolity and 'new best friends'
angle, with few individual interviews to promote one person's interests. A
number of the reviews now seem to be saying it's a good, but not great
movie. But the recognition and interest factor amongst the general public
seems to be high.
-
As I guessed yesterday, Jerry is at Sundance in the Premieres section, which
includes other reasonably high profile films including One-Hour Photo (Robin
Williams), Birthday Girl (Nicole Kidman) and The Dangerous Lives of Altar
Boys (Jodie Foster involved).
-
Casey Affleck's doing press for Ocean's 11 (I doubt he's done a talk show
before). He's scheduled for:
Tonight Show with Jay Leno on 29 November
Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn on 10 December
-
Apparently Matt, Ben and Pete Jones are on the cover of the new TV Guide
magazine. Celebrity certainly brings great publicity.
-
There's a clip of singer Pink interviewing Matt and the other Ocean's stars
on MTV's
Movie House at Katie's George site:
here.
-
A NY Daily News review of Greenlight:
'Greenlight' Strikes Gold - 3.5/4
PROJECT GREENLIGHT. Sunday night at 10, HBO.
As executive producers of potential TV series, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and
Chris Moore hitched their hopes to the reality-show craze and sold two
concepts. One flopped before it even materialized; the other materializes
Sunday and is a big success.
The flop was "The Runner," an ABC series about a guy evading detection while
crossing the country - a premise that was troublesome before Sept. 11, and
impossible afterward.
The one that works, beautifully, is "Project Greenlight," an HBO documentary
series on the making of a $1 million movie by a first-time, contest-winning
filmmaker.
"Project Greenlight," launching Sunday night at 10, is a 12-part reality
series with a purpose and focus that vaults it to the top of the pack. It
began more than a year ago as an Internet contest, drawing some 10,000
entries from aspiring screenwriters.
Designed as a way to get around the studio system and open the process to
people without representation from Hollywood agents, "Project Greenlight"
offered a tantalizing prize: a commitment by Miramax Studios to make and
distribute a film, with a $1 million budget, based on the winning script,
with the writer allowed to direct.
"This is definitely 'Willy Wonka.' This is the golden ticket," says one
competitor - and he's right. "Project Greenlight" puts the Hollywood dream
within reach.
But at the same time, it delivers the Hollywood nightmare.
Once the winner is selected, the script has to be rewritten for financial
concerns.
Casting, locations, time periods - everything is up for discussion and
"Project Greenlight" takes viewers behind the scenes each step of the way.
The first two shows, shown Sunday, present the submission process, and the
way Affleck, Damon, Moore and Miramax executives sift through the entries.
When it gets to 10 finalists, the wanna-be directors are flown in; when
they're down to three, the closed-door deliberations take more than six
hours.
At that point, out of utter frustration, even the sound man working on the
"Project Greenlight" documentary is asked his opinion. He votes for the
underdog, saying, "He's the guy that'll never get the chance unless you give
it to him."
A secret ballot, narrowing the field to two, feels familiar to Affleck.
"This is just like 'Survivor,'" he says, smiling nervously. "We're going to
put out somebody's torch."
The winning - and the losing - turn out to be equally dramatic. The truly
instructive and intense part, though, comes next, when the movie-making
process begins.
"Project Greenlight" takes us into the negotiating sessions, the casting,
the private phone conversations, the power plays and every other aspect.
Timing is critical; egos are bruised; some dreams are scaled back, others
realized.
Miramax will release the winner's movie next year. Its value, at this
moment, is a question mark, but "Project Greenlight" is an impressive
exclamation mark.
11/27/01
- From the SoCal Living Section of the
November 27, 2001, Los Angeles Times:
CITY OF ANGLES
Not Just a Co-Star but a Candidate Too
George Clooney and Brad Pitt are teaming up to win their "Ocean's Eleven" co-star Matt Damon People magazine's coveted "Sexiest Man Alive" title next year.
By GINA PICCALO and LOUISE ROUG, TIMES STAFF WRITERS
Onetime sexiest man Clooney and Pitt, who has won twice, announced their intentions about two weeks ago at a press junket for the film around the same time the annual People issue hit the stands declaring this year's winner Pierce Brosnan.
Elizabeth Sporkin, the People editor responsible for the "Sexiest Man Alive" issue, told us that Damon has "been off the radar" and hasn't played enough sexy roles to win. While Damon is "hot," Sporkin said, the world's sexiest man must be a household name in addition to having sex appeal. "There aren't that many people who fit that bill," she said. Brosnan won because he's been on the short list several times, and possesses the "wholesome, sexy, manly" traits that the magazine's editors considered appropriate in the post-Sept. 11 world, Sporkin said. Some news reports quoted Clooney as saying that he recently tried to place an Oscar nomination-style ad in Daily Variety that read: "For Your Consideration: Matt Damon for Sexiest Man Alive" and that Variety wouldn't accept it. But folks at the trade paper had heard nothing of the ad. If they had, one insider said, Variety would have run it in a heartbeat.
(Note: The story appeared with the photo shown as today's feature pic.")
- From Felicity:
- We knew Matt was going home to Boston for Thanksgiving, and here's the first
report from the Boston Herald:
Matt and Ben home in on the holiday
by Gayle Fee and Laura Raposa
Tuesday, November 27, 2001
Our favorite Hollywood hunks, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, were home for the
holiday, partying up a storm at the Charles Hotel in Cambridge and walking a
new puppy around the Affleck summer digs in Truro.
The ``Good Will Hunting'' homeys flew in from the Left Coast last week to do
the turkey thing with the rels - including Ben's actor-bro, Casey, who also
had Thanksgiving in Cambridge.
But after spending all day Thursday tending to hearth and home, the boys
were ready to ditch the parents and have some real fun.
Well, why not? Matt has been a busy, busy boy these past few weeks promoting
his new flick, ``Ocean's Eleven.''
And Ben, who saw his Next Big Thing - the Jack Ryan role in ``The Sum Of All
Fears'' - shelved after the terrorist attacks, recently signed on the dotted
line to co-star with J. Lo in ``Gigli.''
And you know what they say about all work and no play. . . .
So Will Hunting and Chuckie wandered up to Harvard Square and presented
themselves - unannounced - at the front desk of the chic Charles Hotel and
ordered up a room. Quick as you could say frat house, they filled it with
hard-partying pals who kept the Turkey-Night festivities going into the wee
hours.
``They had a lot of people in,'' said our spy on the scene. ``the mini-bar
was emptied.''
Well! We hope Ben, who did a stint in rehab last summer for booze abuse,
stuck to the Diet Cokes!
Then on Friday, the Affleck clan headed down to Truro to spend some quality
time in the swish 60-year-old Colonial Ben bought his mom, Chris, last year.
Our Cape spies say the family did the traditional walk-to-the-beach thing,
heading for Pamet Harbor with a new German shepherd puppy in tow. Ben, who's
been dateless lately - unless you believe those Famke Janssen rumors -
seemed to take quite a shine to the little guy.
Aren't they just doggone adorable?
-
More filming stories form Infobeat:
George Clooney's Not-So-Deep `Ocean'
New York Times Syndicate
It's hard to get a straight answer out of the cast of ``Ocean's 11,''
especially ringleader George Clooney.
Their film, Steven Soderburgh's remake of the 1960 Rat Pack cult favorite,
will open nationwide on Dec. 7, and supposedly they're at Los Angeles'
Century City Hotel on a Saturday night to promote it. But they'd rather talk
a
bout their experiences while filming in Las Vegas.
``George lost 25 hands in a row, which I think is a Vegas record,'' Julia
Roberts says, laughing. ``George not only lost all of his money, but most of
the money that Matt Damon brought to town.''
``The odds of it were mind-boggling,'' Clooney says. ``I brought an entire
table down. People were like, `George Clooney, get away from me.'''
Damon laughs.
``There were professional gamblers in the place who pulled back their chips
until Clooney left the building,'' he says. ``He was jinxing the room.''
-
From the ET newsletter:
A Message from Bob Goen: 'Ocean's 11' Antics
After hearing the stories from GEORGE CLOONEY, JULIA ROBERTS, MATT DAMON and
BRAD PITT, I wondered if this cast of 'Ocean's 11' was trying to out-do the
original Rat Pack cast in on-set antics. Julia played coy and wouldn't nail
George for partying. Instead she joked, "George doesn't party. George spends
a lot of time in his prayer group." But she added, "Unfortunately their
hours conflict with Happy Hour."
One of the pranks the actors revealed is the time George tried to recruit
trade paper, Daily Variety, to help embarrass Matt Damon. He wanted to take
out an Oscar-like "For Your Consideration" ad for People magazine's Sexiest
Man Alive. Of course, George had a picture all picked out - Matt in lime
green swim trunks from 'The Talented Mr. Ripley.' Matt said he was thankful
that the trade turned George down: "It would have been my nightmare." We
thought it was kind of funny.
-
An article from the LA Times on Greenlight - note how Matt and Ben are
described; Matt as the witty straight-shooter and Ben as rambunctious.
The Fickle Glow of the Green Light
An amateur screenwriter wins a contest to make his own film on a $1-million
budget, beating out more than 7,000 other scripts. And HBO follows the
action
Eight months ago, Pete Jones was an unemployed house dad whose work uniform
consisted of the boxer shorts he'd wear while writing screenplays in his
Brentwood apartment at 3 o'clock in the morning. Today Jones, 31, sits in a
Santa Monica editing room (fully dressed in shirt, jeans and black patent
leather shoes) putting the finishing touches on his first feature film,
which Miramax will release in February.
The transformation reflects more than his appearance.
"It's tough to go from 'Aw shucks, thanks for giving me this opportunity' to
'That's not the way I want it,'" says the onetime Chicago insurance
salesman. But that's precisely the position Jones found himself in after he
won an online scriptwriting contest and began fighting to get his vision of
the screenplay on screen.
Jones' evolution from wide-eyed regular guy to hard-nosed film director is
chronicled in HBO's new documentary series "Project Greenlight." The
program, which debuts Sunday at 10 p.m. (with two back-to-back episodes),
condenses 1,000 hours of footage into 12 half-hours featuring Jones as he
struggles to make his first movie on time and on budget. Along the way are
browbeating, backbiting, turf spats, grumbling about ungrateful talent, rife
paranoia and the sorry sight of a hungry film crew growing crankier by the
minute when the catering truck is delayed by a freeway pileup.
In other words, it's show business as usual. What's unusual is that a
seven-person crew captured the whole messy business on videotape.
Jones' adventure began last spring, courtesy of Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and
their producing partner, Chris Moore. Their LivePlanet company had launched
Project Greenlight a few months earlier as a three-pronged experiment in
meritocracy designed to give one rookie filmmaker with zero connections the
chance to become an overnight auteur.
On March 1, Jones learned that "Stolen Summer," his story about a Catholic
boy who embarks on a spiritual "decathlon" to help his dying Jewish friend
get into heaven, had been selected from among more than 7,000 scripts
submitted to the organization's Web site, projectgreenlight.com.
The reward: Jones, who had not attended film school or made a music video or
short film or commercial, would get to direct his "Stolen Summer" script.
The movie, budgeted at $1 million, would be financed and released by Miramax
Films.
As if that weren't prize (and pressure) enough, Jones agreed to let HBO
documentarian Liz Bronstein and her crew turn his on-the-job training into a
TV series about the making of "Stolen Summer."
Affleck, speaking by phone from New York, says he and Damon wanted to do a
"making of" documentary that offered more grit than gloss. "People are so
used to seeing this pre-fabricated B-roll phony behind-the-scenes footage,
and all that does, in my opinion, is make movies look tinny and take away
the magic, without giving you any real insight....
"And we knew from our own experience that making movies oftentimes has a lot
of drama in and of itself."
It remains to be seen whether a broader audience will care about
behind-the-scenes movie shenanigans; such shows haven't always fared well
whether the screens were large or small.
Jones, a ruddy-faced self-deprecating extrovert, said he didn't feel
terribly self-conscious about starring in the film-within-the-film. "Usually
it was a cameraman, a producer, a light guy--between two and four
people--all the time. And I had no choice but to get used to it." He pauses.
"Which is weird that somebody finds my boring life interesting enough to
follow around 24 hours a day."
When watching Jones and his cohorts in action, "boring" is not a word that
comes to mind. Opinionated, cantankerous and anxiety-ridden, perhaps, but
not boring.
Early in the series, contest judges Damon, Affleck, Moore, Miramax Film
execs Jon Gordon and Meryl Poster and Billy Campbell, head of Miramax's
television division, frankly dissect the contest's top three candidates.
Jones' script actually is not the unanimous favorite. Even Affleck concedes
to his co-panelists, "It'll play like the after-school special I made when I
was 13."
Only after pleading his case in person does Jones win over the judges, but
talking his way into the top spot turns out to be only the first of many
battles. Before long, Jones is on the phone with Miramax asking for a bigger
budget.
Executive producer Moore, Jones' cheerleader, coach and critic, observes,
"Sometimes the reaction to Pete was 'Hey, dude, quit fighting for stuff.
You're lucky as hell; you only won a contest.'"
"Stolen Summer" takes place in Chicago in 1976. Both the period and the
location will add to the film's costs, line producer Pat Peach explains to
Jones. What about setting the story in contemporary times to save money?
"Over my dead body," snaps a recalcitrant Jones, during a conference call
with Miramax headquarters in New York.
"Look," Jones says in between bites of a chicken salad sandwich, "it's all
checks and balances. My job is, I'm just going to keep asking for as much as
I can. It's the producer's job and the studio's job to say, 'Here's the
line, pal, go do your job.'"
Affleck and Damon lend their star power to the first few episodes of
"Project Greenlight." Affleck, the rambunctious one, does a wicked
impersonation of Jay Leno one minute, then violates protocol when he phones
Miramax boss Harvey Weinstein directly to lobby for a bigger "Summer"
budget, much to Gordon's chagrin. Damon comes across as a witty
straight-shooter, snorting contemptuously when someone suggests a scene set
in Lake Michigan could be shot more cheaply in a swimming pool.
"Stolen Summer" cast members Aidan Quinn, Bonnie Hunt, Kevin Pollak and
Brian Dennehy plus two young Chicago actors named Adi Stein and Michael
Weinberg are shown in a few brief scenes. But the real stars of this
warts-and-all soap opera are the casting directors, studio suits, line
producers and assistant directors who would normally give their most
dramatic and amusing performances in relative anonymity.
Presiding over the "Stolen Summer" crew is Moore, a drawling Maryland native
who's been involved in producing 11 feature films in five years, including
"Good Will Hunting," "American Pie" and the recent "Joy Ride." Moore's star
turn in the documentary comes when he flies to Chicago and chews out just
about everyone, including Jones, for failing to run a disciplined set.
Moore said it was a "jolt" to watch himself in action. "I was more
embarrassed than anything. The documentary was fair in the sense that I'm
usually right, but being right isn't an excuse to go in and be a jerk. On
the flip side, having an [aggressive] personality is what gets things done."
Speaking by car phone, Moore said the struggles depicted in "Project
Greenlight" are par for the course. In fact, Moore said, some of his
colleagues worry that the production clashes portrayed in "Project
Greenlight" will strike industry insiders as old news.
"HBO and Miramax TV kept fighting me about what to put in the show because
they were like, 'Look, that stuff is pretty common; you're not showing the
viewers this huge great original thing.' And I said, 'It's common to me and
you, but it's not common to everybody else.'"
In 1996, Jones moved to Los Angeles from Deerfield, Ill., a Chicago suburb,
with his wife, Jenny, a schoolteacher. Determined to have a career in
movies, Jones made a tough decision after their first child was born two
years ago: He quit his job as a TV production assistant and went into debt
to focus full-time on writing.
So even though he lacked formal training, Jones was dead serious when he
finally got his break. "What you see in the documentary is an edited version
of me," Jones says.
"I think I was at times mischaracterized almost as if I were a country
bumpkin who's going to learn a lot of lessons, but you know what? You learn
a ... lot of lessons growing up in a big Irish Catholic family. I got four
older brothers, and one thing you learn is how to persuade, how to get what
you want without getting beat up. And I think these lessons help you out
when you're making a movie."
Jones concedes he's not entirely objective about his portrayal. "I have to
laugh, because when I watch the documentary and see things that I like, I
think, 'Oh, that's how it was.' When I see things that I don't like, all of
a sudden, I go, 'Oh, it was edited that way.'"
Will there be life for Greenlight after "Stolen Summer?" That depends. HBO
and Miramax Films have options to renew their deals for four more years.
The final episode of "Project Greenlight" has yet to be completed. It will
cover Jones' trip to the Sundance Film Festival in January for "Stolen
Summer's" first public screening.
But Jones is already shutting down his office at the LivePlanet
headquarters, which is vacant but for some cardboard cartons filled with
film dailies and a couple of presents for his newborn daughter.
Looking back at his trial by fire, Jones says, "It's like taking that family
trip when you're a kid in the car. It's hell when you're doing it, but it's
a blast to look back at it. That's what filmmaking is to me: difficult and
stressful. But that's exactly what makes it so worthwhile afterward, looking
back and having the stories to remember."
If nothing else, Jones has a calling card when it comes time to pitch his
next project, said Moore. "Pete's still in the same game he was March 1,
getting people to give him work in Hollywood over other people. But he has a
much better resume now, and he's got a few more people in his Rolodex he can
call."
As for other young filmmakers, Jones hopes "Project Greenlight" will give a
shot of confidence to any novice who sees the series. "I think this
documentary is going to demystify the movie-making process. Young filmmakers
out there are going to see ... if you've got a good story and you've got
good people around you ... anyone can direct a movie."
-
An Ocean's 11 review:
here
-
A transcript of an Ocean's group press conference:
here.
-
George Clooney is on Letterman tonight.
-
ET had a segment on the Greenlight series and brief interviews with Matt and
Ben on today's show.
- Ryan wrote:
hi from your friend at damonweb.net! :)
just thought i'd let you know that the ocean's 11 site now includes some new
pictures of MD (i've attached a few of them), in addition to a bio and so
forth.
an interesting note--his bio on the o11 site states that bourne identity is
being released in february 2002. error or not? we can hope it's true,
anyway!
- Wrote the Big Matt Fan:
For those of you who may have followed the US's Big Brother 2, Will and Mike have since formed a writing team with hopes of selling a television series. Entertainment Weekly has the actor wannabees quoted as saying that they, too, wanted to "try doing the Matt Damon and Ben Affleck thing." For better or worse, they've inspired a generation...
-
Allison wroteL
Kevin Smith's message board on his web site had this link recently:
here.
It's a picture of Ben Affleck with some girl, and one of the replies claims
that it's the now infamous Odessa. I don't know if it's accurate or not
though, especially since her hair seems a lot longer than the US Weekly
pictures, but if it is her, I think it's definitely a more flattering
picture.
Just thought you might be interested...
11/26/01
- From Felicity:
-
"Gerry" wasn't named in the 2002 Sundance lineup. That would have been
great press and a good boost for the movie - maybe it wasn't ready? Only
two sections of the festival were announced today, with the others to come
Tuesday. "Stolen Summer" was named as part of the non-competition category.
-
An interesting article in New York mag about Miramax boss Harvey Weinstein:
Only relevant mention of Matt -
Harvey talking here:
"I'm preparing to direct a movie about the Warsaw Ghetto. About Jews killing
f...ing Germans in great numbers," he says with enthusiasm.
True to the cliché, what Weinstein would really like to do is direct. He
plans to get behind the camera for Mila 18, Leon Uris's epic portrayal of
the Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto who used guile and ruthlessness to attack much
better-armed opponents. Scorsese and Spielberg may executive-produce. Look
for Matt, Ben, Gwyneth, all his pals, to clear out their calendars. There's
a line in the Weinstein-backed Producers that suggests "it's good to be
king." It's even better to be Harvey Weinstein. Just ask Harvey
-
This is so ridiculous - the NY Post has twisted the George/Matt/Variety gag
into a completely different story (also discussed on ET Monday):
AD BLITZ
VARIETY foiled a scheme by George Clooney to humiliate pretty boy Matt
Damon. Clooney says Damon was hoping to be named as People magazine's
"Sexiest Man Alive," and "I knew it would kill Matt if people thought he was
lobbying for it," Clooney told the San Francisco Chronicle. So Clooney tried
to place an Oscar nomination-style ad in Variety reading, "For Your
Consideration: Matt Damon for Sexiest Man Alive." "But Variety wouldn't
accept it," Clooney laments, "even though I kept telling them it was just
for fun."
-
Project Greenlight show review from the Kansas City Star:
Lights, camera and `Project Greenlight'
Date: 11/26/01 00:01
Several things separate HBO's "Project Greenlight" from run-of-the-mill
reality shows. Not least of which are Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.
"Project Greenlight" (9 p.m. Sunday) is a documentary-style account of the
contest sponsored last year by HBO and Miramax Films in which a rank amateur
was awarded a contract to direct a feature film. More than 10,000 entrants
submitted screenplays. The field was eventually narrowed to 10, and a jury
made up of Miramax executives, Affleck, Damon and their "Good Will Hunting"
producer Chris Moore chose the winner.
The lucky director got a $1 million budget, marketing and distribution for
his film. (I'm not giving much away by revealing that the winning entrant
was a guy.) HBO sent its cameras to follow the winner as he learned the
elaborate rituals of moviemaking. I've seen four episodes so far, and
they're totally absorbing. The politics, the numbers-crunching, the daily
humiliations, the endless checklist of worries...they're all documented here
and from various points of view.
To the credit of all involved, especially the Miramax executives who are
having an uncomfortable light shed on their usually secretive process,
everyone seen in "Project Greenlight" speaks with surprising frankness.
The first hour is about the contest, and Affleck and Damon get a lot of face
time. Affleck, in particular, seems genuinely tortured by the thought of
having to pick just one winner from a short list of finalists -- many of
whom remind him of himself a few years ago, tossing scripts over every
transom. When the winner emerges, it is with an impassioned speech that is
as surprising as it is convincing.
-
From ananova.com:
Affleck and Damon reveal Hollywood secrets in new TV show
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are to feature in a new TV show about Hollywood.
The 11-part documentary series, called Project Greenlight, promises to lift
the lid off Tinseltown.
It follows the ups-and-downs of an inexperienced filmmaker in Los Angeles.
Project Greenlight will be shown in the US this week. It is part of a
project which aims to make filmmaking more accessible.
Ben Affleck says Project Greenlight isn't just another US reality show.
"This is not about a bunch of people stabbing each other for a million
dollars or getting naked or doing some weird stuff," he told Radio 1.
"This is a documentary hopefully showing people what it's really like to
make a movie, but at the same time providing the opportunity for somebody
who was on the outside of the Hollywood power structure to get the
opportunity to make their movie."
Matt Damon says he struggled to fit the project into his busy schedule.
"It's a time-suck, yeah. That's why we kind of involve ourselves only in
things that we really think are compelling or good. And with this project it
was worth the time that we're putting in on it. I think it's really good and
it's going to work."
-
I wonder if there's a party this week for the launch of the Project
Greenlight TV series?
-
The Jules Asner specials appear to be one hour with each star.
-
Screencaps of the Barbara Walters special are at Ruth's George page:
here
-
A Big Matt Fan wrote:
Reminder: On Extra! tonight
They‘re the Rat Pack for Generation Next. Now, Clooney, Damon, Roberts and Cheadle get up-close and personal with EXTRA in an OCEAN’S ELEVEN ALL-STAR REVIEW.
- A reader wrote about the "Bourne" trailer:
Just watched the Bourne trailer. While some people feel Matt was miscast (my father, for example) I personally think it looks like a terrific movie - exactly my type, with action, suspense, and of course Matt. It'll be interesting to see how different this role is for Matt compared to his other ones. I think it will be a good move for him, hopefully pushing him into more action movies. Can't wait for it to open
- And another reader wrote:
Here are some more chances to see Matt on TV. Two of his films will be shown on cable later this week. All times shown are EST.
Thursday 11/29 at 8:00 p.m. on Fx: Courage Under Fire.
It will be aired again Friday 11/30 at 12:00 p.m.
Saturday 12/1 at 12:00 p.m. on TBS Geronimo; An American Legend.
It will be aired again Sunday 12/2 at 3:15 a.m.
11/25/01
- From Felicity:
-
The Bourne Identity trailer was released with prints of 'Spy Game'.
-
Two new TV spots for Ocean's (30 seconds each) are at Katie's George Clooney
site: here.
-
The Revealed with Jules Asner shows are confusing - don't know if this one
is the Julia Roberts show or a separate one: Thursday 6 December at 10pm on
E is Revealed with Matt.
-
From the SF Chronicle, talking about Clooney (similar stuff):
He thought Matt Damon, who co-stars with Clooney and Pitt in "Ocean's
Eleven," ought to get a crack at the title. So Clooney attempted to place an
Oscar nomination-style ad in Variety reading: "For Your Consideration: Matt
Damon for Sexiest Man Alive." "I knew it would kill Matt if people thought
he was lobbying for it, but Variety wouldn't accept the ad, even though I
kept telling them it was just for fun."
-
An outfit of Matt's as Linus Caldwell is part of the official Warner Bros.
auction. Here's the description of his character, role and outfit,
available at
here.
Assigned to shadow Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), the rich and powerful owner
of the three casinos Danny Ocean (George Clooney) has targeted, Linus
Caldwell (Matt Damon) spends his days watching Terry's every move. As the
day of the heist nears, Linus updates Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) on Terry's
habits and schedule. "I'll tell you, you guys really can pick 'em. This guy
is as smart as he is ruthless He doesn't just take out your name, the guy
goes after your livelihood and the livelihood of anybody you ever met."
Amused, Rusty asks, "You scared?" to which Linus responds, "You suicidal?"
Standing by the lobby stairs, Linus continues, "Now comes the girl. She
comes down after him if they're in a snit. Aw, there she is. This is just
the best part of my day." Glancing up, the men see a stunning Tess Ocean
(Julia Roberts) walking down the stairs. Seeing Danny's ex-wife, Rusty turns
his back, so she doesn't recognize him. Linus finishes his update, "Still
don't know if we can use her yet. Actually, I haven't even caught her name,"
to which Rusty chimes in, "Tess. Her name is Tess." Purchased for use in the
film, this costume includes a jacket, button-down shirt and pants. The tan
silk jacket features a zip front, two side pockets and two button cuffs. The
white button -down shirt features a chest pocket. The flat front khaki pants
feature a zip front, two side pockets, a small change pocket and two rear
pockets, both with button closure. The manufacturer's label has been removed
from the backside of the pants. All pieces show some signs of wear
associated with usage during actual production, but otherwise are in
excellent display condition. No sizes are available for the jacket or shirt.
The pants are size 34" x 32".
and some other dialogue relating to Terry (Andy Garcia):
Assigned to shadow Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), the rich and powerful owner
of the three casinos Danny Ocean (George Clooney) has targeted, Linus
Caldwell (Matt Damon) spends his days watching Terry's every move. As the
day of the heist nears, Linus begins to update Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) on
Terry's schedule. Observing his arrival at the hotel's motor court, Linus
says, "That guy's a machine. He arrives at the Bellagio every day at 2 PM.
Same car. Same driver." Linus and Rusty watch as Terry steps from the car
and confidently walks to the entrance, smiling and engaging the staff in
small talk. "He remembers every valet's name on the way in. Not bad for a
guy worth three-quarters of a billion."
-
And Kathryn wrote from Edinburgh:
I was going to send you my thoughts on the trailer as soon as I checked the Column yesterday, but it proved to be a busy day, so I left it until today.
The trailer. It's not the best trailer I've ever seen (although I always enjoy the Universal/Fox/Paramount logos "changing" into something to do with the film). I thought the introductory bank sequence seemed a little out of place, if only out of its quickness - immediately Matt (or rather Jason) is handing out karate chops left, right, and centre. And the "He's trained... conditioned... built to disappear" line made me laugh out loud, but it was only because I thought it was going to be "built to destroy" - which would really make it more of a Ben Affleck/Bruce Willis/Arnold Schwartznegger movie. :)
The Jason/Marie scene(s) ("I'll give you $10,000..."): I found this, these, to be, like Felicity said, incredibly stilted. Barring the fact that Jason's "greeting" to her in the first instance isn't a good line anyway, I can't see the beginnings of any chemistry they might have (although Liman obviously wants me to think that they have chemistry through the end of the trailer and its short, sexual shots).
I must admit I was a little disappointed by what I saw. Bourne is proving to be (perhaps) a little too conventional for me, mainly in terms of gender roles - it's like I said before, if the roles were reversed, it would be more interesting to me. I will go and see it, though, when it is released (and I'll continue to give you Bourne promo info).
I *did* like the one lone shot of Bourne walking through an alley (?), however - but I'm not too sure about his choice of clothing. As much as it's nice to see a half-naked Jason Bourne sitting beside a fire, does he have to wear what he's wearing? And just how the hell does one drive a Mini down a flight of stone stairs and survive? :)
11/23/01
Thanksagiving tidings from Felicity (who hails from Australia!)
- What did everyone think of the Bourne trailer? I thought the locations
looked great, Franka had some good lines but the conversations seemed
stilted. It also seemed to be very conventional, if fun.
-
The Bourne Identity website has been changed, but there's no new
information, apart from the trailer.
-
From Cindy Pearlman's syndicated column:
Q: Didn't you pull an especially heinous prank on Matt on the set of
"Ocean's 11?"
Clooney (laughing): "Well yes, and I'm glad that you asked. Steven
Soderbergh and I went to Variety magazine after we put a real ad together.
You know how they do For Your Consideration' ads for the Oscars. We made up
one that said: 'For your consideration: Matt Damon, Sexist Man Alive.' And
we were going to make it look like Matt Damon paid for the ad himself. I
actually called Variety and they said, 'You know this is a professional
publication. You can't place that ad. I cried, 'But it's funny!'"
Q: Let's talk about filming this version in Las Vegas. Is it true George you
have the record for the most losses in Vegas at the blackjack table?
Clooney (laughing): I do hold the record for most blackjack losses in Vegas.
I ran out of a line of credit. First, I had cash and it was gone. Then you
dance around to get a line of credit at a casino. I threw out all my money
and lost everything in seconds. Even Matt Damon said, 'This is ridiculous.'
Matt started putting down money for me and I said, 'I have to tell you. I
have the worst luck.' I lost about 25 hands in a row."
-
It looks like Matt's featured in Thursday 6 December's episode of the
Eonline Jules Asner special (George and Julia on consecutive days).
-
Two new Ocean's 11 clips (not featuring Matt) are at Counting down, with
more clips to be added in the next few weeks:
here.
-
The new Ocean's poster:
here.
-
Slightly different pic of Matt and Alec Baldwin after the benefit:
here.
-
Instyle.com's look at the Nick Adams bash, including a pic of Matt (shown as today's
feature pic):
here.
-
Matt's on the CBS Early Show on 6 December (would be taped as that date is
after the premiere and the cast is en route to Turkey).
-
In addition to the Revealed program of the Ocean's cast with Jules Asner,
there's a special
on the Ocean's premiere:
Ocean's Eleven Revealed
Type: Network Series / Entertainment
Duration: 1 hr
Description: The Hollywood premiere of "Ocean's Eleven." Host: Jules Asner.
Airing: Wed 12/5/01 10:00pm (Eastern) E!TV
-
"Gerry" may be at next year's Sundance, held from January 10-20 2002. From
Casey's bio at the Ocean's website:
Coming up this Spring, Affleck will co-star opposite Matt Damon in Gus Van
Sant's newest film entitled Gerry. The film is a return to Van Sant's My Own
Private Idaho days in which two friends go on a hiking journey where they
encounter life-threatening circumstances. The film is set to be shown at the
2002 Sundance Film Festival and anticipated to release in Spring of 2002.
-
Cute quote from the Ocean's press notes:
Soderbergh and his talented team captured the remarkable chemistry and
camaraderie of the Ocean's Eleven ensemble - but it wasn't all high-caliber
acting and movie magic. "When we went to Las Vegas to start shooting, we
made a conscious effort on a production level to have the 11 guys hang out
together," Jerry Weintraub says. "It wasn't hard to do because they all
liked each other and as soon as they started spending time together away
from the set, real friendships developed. You can't buy that. When you have
actors who can't wait to go to work and work with one another other and be
with each other, that's exciting. In all my years in show business, I don't
think I've ever had as much fun as I've had on this movie."
George Clooney concurs. "After Matt Damon completed his role, he called from
Paris just to say he missed us and missed the set. Can you imagine - he's in
Paris and he called to say that."
11/22/01
-
From Felicity:
- TV guide reports that Matt will be on Leno 4 December (day before the
premiere).
-
An article from Newsmax.com about Fox News presenter Bill O'Reilly, who has
criticised the slow distribution of money after the telethon. I don't know
the source of Matt's quote.
He also lambasted the "childish nonsense" of Hollywood pretty boy Matt
Damon, co-starring with O'Reilly nemesis George Clooney in "Ocean's 11," for
complaining about the tough stance of "The O'Reilly Factor" on getting the
Sept. 11 donations to the families of the terrorists' victims.
-
From the NY Post:
A STARRY 'ADAMS' FAMILY
By DONALD LYONS
November 21, 2001 -- THERE was a one-night, star-drenched performance of
"The World of Nick Adams" at Lincoln Center on Monday.
"The World of Nick Adams" was a 1957 television special in which author (and
Hemingway friend) A.E. Hotchner dramatized a bunch of early Hemingway
stories and a bunch of incidents from Hemingway's early life to make a
narrative in which a young man breaks from an oppressive family and sees the
country on the road.
Aaron Copland wrote some beautifully sad, yearning music for the program.
The work has not been heard since 1957, and was done at Lincoln Center (in
concert version - the actors carried scripts) to benefit a children's camp
project of Paul Newman's.
James Naughton, seated in a chair off to the side, played Ernest Hemingway.
He introduces us to a young version of himself, called Nick Adams (a bland
Matt Damon).
Nick runs away from his depressed doctor dad (Brian Dennehy), his smothering
mom (Joanne Woodward) and his demanding girlfriend (Gwyneth Paltrow).
He goes on the road with a friend (the skeptical, sarcastic Philip Seymour
Hoffman) and meets two hookers (a hilarious Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts),
two killers (Danny Aiello and Kevin Kline) and assorted oddballs (a
punch-drunk Paul Newman, a screwball Kline and Alec Baldwin as a bum).
The Orchestra of St. Luke's played the Copland. Hotchner's blending of
stories and life is a disservice to both, but it tells us how the 1950s saw
Hem.
The evening was anyway ablaze with star wattage, and some of it was very
enjoyable.
-
Only report from the NY Daily News:
Pretty Witty Woman
Even Julia Roberts' flubs get laughs. Monday night, at the Lincoln Center
reading of Ernest Hemingway's "The World of Nick Adams," Roberts' character
was taunting Meryl Streep's character about sleeping with some guy.
"How can you say that?" asked Streep. Forgetting her line, the newly blond
Roberts ad-libbed, "Uh, how can I say that?" while she quickly found her
place in the script.
Streep and co-stars Paul Newman, Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman, Brian Dennehy,
Kevin Kline, Alec Baldwin, Joanne Woodward, Gwyneth Paltrow, Philip Seymour
Hoffman and James Naughton all giggled, but none harder than Julia. (The
show benefited Newman's Hole in the Wall Gang camps.)
Meanwhile, Variety's Army Archerd reports that Roberts, Damon and their
"Ocean's Eleven" co-stars George Clooney, Andy Garcia, Brad Pitt and Don
Cheadle are due to visit our troops next month at a base in Turkey.
-
From USA Today - story on what the stars are thankful for at Thanksgiving:
Actor Matt Damon. The Ocean's Eleven star is from Boston, so he felt a
connection to the tragedy because he often flies from Boston to L.A., the
intended route of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center.
''Obviously, everybody's thankful for people who can go home and sit at the
table with their families and be in good health and know everyone's safe.''
His mother and brother, in New York for Paul Newman's theater benefit
(story, 10D), will be driving back to Boston with Matt for the holiday.
-
And the story:
Stars come out for benefit show
By Elysa Gardner
USA TODAY
NEW YORK -- W.C. Fields warned his fellow entertainers of the dangers of
being upstaged by children. But that advice went unheeded Monday night at
Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall, where a posse of Hollywood's biggest
names -- Paul Newman, Julia Roberts, Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, Morgan
Freeman and Meryl Streep among them -- shared the spotlight with a group of
ailing but plucky tykes and teens.
The event -- a new, one-night-only concert version of The World of Nick
Adams, playwright A.E. Hotchner's dramatic adaptation of a series of short
stories by Ernest Hemingway, with incidental music by Aaron Copland -- was a
benefit for the Association of Hole in the Wall Gang Camps, Newman's
charity, which furnishes outdoor retreats for kids with cancer and other
life-threatening illnesses.
Kevin Kline, Danny Aiello, Alec Baldwin, Philip Seymour Hoffman, James
Naughton, Brian Dennehy and Newman's wife, Joanne Woodward, also were
featured in the presentation, which began with a film short documenting the
charity's purpose and progress and concluded with a group of young Hole in
the Wall Gang members joining the stars on stage and thanking them with
speeches and song.
In between, the actors gave animated readings of the play, which follows
World War I ambulance driver Adams, the semi-autobiographical young hero of
more than 30 Hemingway stories, as he reflects on his life after being
seriously wounded. Damon played the willful Nick, while Naughton made an
imposing Hemingway, sitting opposite the other cast members and serving as a
sort of narrator and commentator.
Other actors got to showcase their comic skills. Woodward and Dennehy amused
the audience as Nick's overbearing mom and appeasing dad, while Aiello got
laughs as both a hit man and an old-school Italian army officer. Streep and
Roberts nearly stopped the show as a pair of feisty prostitutes arguing over
a dead man, while Kline demonstrated his enduring flair for physical comedy
as a sloppy drunkard.
Leonard Slatkin, music director of the National Symphony Orchestra,
conducted the Orchestra of St. Luke's, ensuring that Copland's sweeping
melodies were heartily delivered. After the curtain call, he accepted a
request from one of the Hole in the Wall kids, who asked for musical
accompaniment as she and her friends sang in gratitude -- to a sustained
standing ovation, of course.
-
And another story from fashionwiredaily.com:
The Most Star-Studded Play of the Year
By Karin Nelson
Fashion Wire Daily NY November 20, 2001 - It took a village of film, music,
literature, theatre and opera luminaries to put on a one-night-only showing
of "The World of Nick Adams" last night at Lincoln Center - a play based on
the stories of Ernest Hemingway, starring Matt Damon, including music
composed by Aaron Copland, and supporting Paul Newman's "Hole in the Wall
Gang" Camps for terminally-ill children.
And though the Academy-Award winning Damon, playing the
semi-autobiographical role of Adams, was enough to draw a packed-house
crowd, it was the all-star cast, which included Gwyneth Paltrow, Julia
Roberts, Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Alec Baldwin, Paul Newman,
Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline, Danny Aiello, Brian Dennehy, James Naughton,
and Joanne Woodward that had photographers paying up to $250 to gain
red-carpet access to the show.
And, as is the case when you cast a one-nighter performance with a slew of
big-screen mega-stars, prep time becomes minimal. "I just started rehearsing
this morning," admitted Damon, whose flawless performance belied that fact.
"It was a wonderful experience, just a bit rushed," he added, rushing out
the door to meet up with his family.
Others had a little more trouble grasping the material in one day. Julia
Roberts, who played a prostitute along with Meryl Streep, burst into
hysterical laughter along with Philip Seymour Hoffman, when she at one point
forgot her lines. But the crowd didn't seem to mind, laughing and applauding
along with the presently Paltrow-blonde star.
The most moving moment, though, came at the finale, with a song performed by
some of the "Hole in the Wall" kids. "That's what made the whole performance
worth it - those children," explained a much-moved Aiello. "It was the best
part of the play," echoed Dennehy.
Did it similarly move platinum twins Paltrow and Roberts? Good question. And
we asked it. But the two, apparently thick as thieves with arms wrapped
'round each other and giggles to share, posed ever so briefly for photos
before breaking away to join the cocktail party downstairs.
-
Bourne Identity trailer is now online at Aint it cool news:
here.
-
First PGL article from the Modesto Bee:
'Good Will' results in 'Summer'
November 21, 2001 Posted: 05:20:05 AM PST
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck and their producer Chris Moore basked in such
good luck with their first co-production, "Good Will Hunting," that they
decided to share the wealth a bit.
They started Project Greenlight, a screenwriting contest on the Internet,
which would result in a feature film. Unknown filmmaker wanna-be Pete Jones
won that contest from 10,000 entrants and made his movie, "Stolen Summer."
It is scheduled for release in March.
What it was like for a first-time director to be at the helm of a $1million
movie will be the subject of a 12-episode documentary beginning Dec. 2 on
HBO.
Movies about making movies have been done before, such as "Hearts of
Darkness" chronicling Francis Ford Coppola and the producing of "Apocalypse
Now," and "Burden of Dreams," which is about Werner Herzog fabricating
"Fitzcarraldo."
"We talked about the movies that we'd done, between Chris, Ben and myself,"
says Damon. "Thirty or 40 movies and there was always some kind of drama
just inherent to the process, just because people are under the gun and
they're trying to make decisions fast and they're working really hard. We
thought it would make fascinating television, just the way it does when you
see Werner Herzog freaking out on a river in 'Burden of Dreams,"' says
Damon.
Both Affleck and Damon made anonymous "cold calls" to studios trying to
interest them in the script. The system closed up tight, says Damon.
"Every studio basically told us, pardon the French, but to ---- off. They
said, 'Go get an agent.' And then we called all the big agencies and all the
agencies said, 'Well, we don't take unsolicited material, either. Call a
lawyer.' So we called the lawyers and they said, 'Well, we've got to get
referred by an agent."'
So Affleck, Damon and Moore cut through all that swamp water and, voila!
"Stolen Summer."
- MG wrote:
Just wanted to let you know, in case you missed it,
Matt was on Access Hollywood today - they talked to
him briefly (along with others) about the Nick Adams
performance in NY on Monday. They also showed some
scenes from The Bourne Identity - it said that it will
be out in May 2002. It was interesting seeing Matt in
"action" scenes from the movie - the movie looks
pretty different from anything else he's been in
before...
Also, just wanted to say that I was thinking the same
thing as you about the picture from US weekly. Not
really the most flattering picture of his new
girlfriend!
- Kelly wrote:
Just wanted to let you know that Matt Damon will be on Jay Leno, December 4th.
- Vanessa wrote:
OK, I have to talk about the Odessa thing, I don't understand a concept. Maybe Matt Damon is really going out with her, but my question doesn't rely on if he does or not. My question deals with why did we find that now. Well, let's think a little bit, Matt Damon has a new movie (big one) coming out. He is friend with A-list actors, and we all know that he might be paid more after this movie. So everything works really well for him. But the thing I don't understand it is if Matt is actually going out with this girl (for maybe 8 or 9 months) why did it come out now? They were so discreet that no one knew and by coincidence his big movie is coming out and is relationship too !! I just find it a good planning! I don't want you to think that I am being sarcastic or anything. I love Matt Damon as much as you do (maybe even more), it maybe the only thing that makes me think that this relationship is not that much serious. But on one hand, he said "I am a happy man", which means everything and nothing! And on the other, the guy is 31 and thinking about getting married (Barbara Walters' show), and having a family! So I find this a little strange! But I just don't get it, if you wanted your relationship secret (and that for 9 months), you definitely know that if you do house hunting, everyone will know that you are going out with that person! Did you get what I just said? She could have look for a house and tell him her choice after, talk about it later! Why going in public and not talking about it later! The promotion of Ocean's 11 is intense now because everyone talks about the relationship. Even in Europe, he is getting more "popular" because of Odessa. So it is why I don't understand if they have a relationship or not! But deep deep deep inside my heart, I think they do ....
(this is a point of view of a French fan)
11/21/01
- Our thanks to the many readers who sent in photos from the Nick Adams event (see above).
- From Felicity:
-
From the NY Times at
here
THEATER REVIEW | 'THE WORLD OF NICK ADAMS'
Hemingway Papafest for Paul Newman Charity
By BRUCE WEBER
Talk about Americana. At Avery Fisher Hall on Monday night 2,800 people
sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" together, the orchestra played an overture
with the red- white-and-blue chords of Aaron Copland, the movie stars came
out - Paul Newman! Julia Roberts! - and then the play began, a kind of
ur-text for the 20th-century American coming-of-age story. For men anyway.
It was Ernest Hemingway, after all.
"The World of Nick Adams," an adaptation by A. E. Hotchner of several of
Hemingway's early autobiographical stories, was dramatized on television in
1957 with a Copland score, but until this week it hadn't been seen since.
The script, missing for decades, was discovered earlier this year amid
Copland's papers in the Library of Congress, and Mr. Hotchner did some work
on it to make it into a kind of concert piece. This is what was performed on
Monday in grandiose fashion, with a 29-piece chamber ensemble (the Orchestra
of St. Luke's) conducted by Leonard Slatkin and a cast aglitter with
celebrity.
The occasion was a benefit for the Association of Hole in the Wall Gang
Camps, a charitable organization founded by Mr. Newman and Mr. Hotchner that
has built and runs five free camps for children with life-threatening
diseases in the United States and Europe, with three more under construction
(including one on the border of Jordan and Israel).
A dozen or so of those children were present on Monday night. They were
paraded out at the end of the evening and sang a thank-you song to the
audience members who had paid up to $2,500 a ticket, a grown-up orchestrated
display that smacked a little of dog-and-pony exploitation. Nonetheless the
evening was expected to raise more than $1 million, and the children seemed
poised and genuinely grateful, not to mention delighted to be embraced by
the stars who took part in the evening's presentation. As Mallory Cyr, a
16-year-old camper from Connecticut, who, along with her sister, Maisy, 8,
suffers from a rare blood ailment, remarked from the stage: "It's like they
stepped off a movie screen just for us. Thank you, thank you, thank you."
The cause seems a popular one in Hollywood; even by benefit standards, the
program was unusually starry. In addition to Mr. Newman and Ms. Roberts, the
actors were Matt Damon in the title role, Gwyneth Paltrow, Meryl Streep,
Morgan Freeman, Alec Baldwin, Kevin Kline, Joanne Woodward, Brian Dennehy,
Danny Aiello, Philip Seymour Hoffman and James Naughton.
Some of the actors arrived in New York just a few hours before the show, so
the director, Frank Corsaro, had little time for rehearsal, and the
performers read their lines from the scripts.
"These things can turn out to be great evenings or great disasters," Mr.
Hotchner said (accurately) in an interview beforehand.
But happily the audience, either star-struck or borrowing from the good will
of the occasion (probably some of both), was not only understanding but
exuberantly appreciative. The first standing ovation of the night occurred
at their first glimpse of the stars, before the first line was delivered.
And the biggest laugh was for a bit of dialogue between Ms. Streep and Ms.
Roberts, who, playing drunken prostitutes in a railroad station from the
story "The Light of the World," were both apparently confronting their lines
for the first time.
"How can you say that?" Ms. Streep challenged Ms. Roberts at one point.
Prepared to respond, Ms. Roberts looked down at the script.
"Um," she said, and then, with a comic flourish, turned the page.
The stories themselves have been linked by Mr. Hotchner in ingenious
fashion. Hemingway wrote 30 or so stories featuring Nick Adams, his young
alter ego, many of them dealing with moments of emerging maturity, when a
boy does a manly thing for the first time.
Mr. Hotchner has selected a handful of them, plucked from Hemingway's first
three story collections - "In Our Time," "Men Without Women" and "Winner
Take Nothing" - beginning and ending with "Now I Lay Me," a story drawn from
Hemingway's experience as a wartime ambulance driver in Italy.
In it Nick has trouble sleeping and looks back over his life; in Mr.
Hotchner's adaptation, what he looks back on are the episodes told in other
stories, among them the breakup of a romance ("The End of Something"), an
encounter with hired guns in a small-town diner ("The Killers") and, after
being thrown off a freight train, a meeting around a campfire with an addled
ex-prizefighter ("The Battler").
Mr. Hotchner's script doesn't quite manage to keep out the sentimentality
that Hemingway worked to avoid, and he adds more than a few clichés. (To
name a small one, when Nick breaks up with his girlfriend, Marjorie - it's a
painfully brief story, wrenching in what the characters refuse to say or
can't say to each other - Mr. Hotchner adds considerable dialogue, including
this line from Nick: "It's not you. It's me.") He has invented whole scenes
for Hemingway's mother and father and, particularly in the narration (read
by Mr. Naughton), some reflections on the writing life.
Still, with the help of the people onstage, the spirit of Hemingway, his
fondness for the subject of a young man's education in manliness, shone
through. Mr. Damon did a particularly nice job in this respect, maintaining
the affectless quality in his line readings that Hemingway always strove for
in his sentences. His scene with Ms. Paltrow as Marjorie was surprisingly
touching.
Other moments of note included Mr. Aiello and Mr. Kline bringing an ominous
comic timing to the long-coated hit men of "The Killers"; the burly Mr.
Dennehy, wearing a white beard and looking like Papa himself, giving young
Nick a sadly paternal embrace; and Mr. Newman, a wool hat pulled over his
head, making himself gnarled and small and desperately floundering,
reprising the role of Ad Francis, the ex-boxer he played in a 1956
adaptation of "The Battler."
The segment of "The Battler," with Mr. Freeman playing Bugs, the boxer's
sidekick who cares for him with an odd formality and a harsh brand of
kindness, was the highlight of the evening. So, as a critical summation of
the entire evening, it's appropriate to cite the opening lines of the story
as Hemingway wrote them: "Nick stood up. He was all right."
-
There's a photo of Matt and Paul Newman at the site:
here
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There's a photo of Matt and Alec Baldwin after the Nick Adams event at
yahoo. Only two photos of the event released
so far:
here.
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Archerd: ``Ocean's Eleven'' stars talk Turkey
By Army Archerd, Daily Variety Senior Columnist
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Once again, it's time for that Jack L. Warner motto to
come to the fore. It's ``Combining Good Citizenship With Good Motion Picture
Making.''
On Dec. 6, the stars of ``Ocean's Eleven'' will board a giant jet bound for
a U.S. military base ``somewhere in Turkey.'' Producer Jerry Weintraub says,
``It's a gift to the troops.''
The film will be screened for multinational forces based in the area. The
stars will dine with the troops and leave behind a print of the picture to
be shown to those unable to get in for the premiere screening.
After a day with the armed forces, the planeload of stars heads to Rome and
London to press the picture. In addition to Weintraub, those making the
journey include director Steven Soderbergh and stars George Clooney, Matt
Damon, Andy Garcia, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts -- and Don Cheadle, if knee
surgery permits. The trek was cleared with the Dept. of Defense. But WB
picks up the tab for all of the plane-premiere expenses.
Weintraub is a friend of both George W. Bush and his father, former
President George Bush. No, the White House has not yet seen the film. It
preems in L.A. Dec. 5 in Westwood at both the Village and Bruin theaters,
with a party to follow. Vegas premiere plans were canceled.
-
Matt's featured on tomorrow's ET, and he talks about 'the girl':
here.
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Matt's New Mod Squad!
November 20, 2001
From Clooney the prankster to his new Vegas adventure and a rumored
girlfriend, MATT DAMON filled JANN CARL in on the experience of making
'Ocean's 11' and his offscreen life!
JANN CARL: How much fun did you have making this movie?
MATT: It was everything that I hoped it would be. GEORGE [CLOONEY] has a
reputation of being just a great person to work with and a guy who makes it
his mission to make sure everyone is having fun.
JANN: Did he pull any pranks on you?
MATT: The things about George's pranks are that for the most part, they are
pretty brilliant and most of them play out over a period of time. He had one
that I know [of]: It was to buy a page in the Daily Variety, you know how
they do those Oscar ads that say, "For your consideration: So and so for
best actor"? He wanted to do a four-year consideration for "Matt Damon as
the Sexiest Man alive for People Magazine," and then make it look like I
took the ad out and paid for it! He knows that it would be my nightmare.
JANN: Did he do it?
MATT: Well he was on the phone with Daily Variety and they refused to do it.
They said, "We are a serious publication," and he was like, "Oh come on,
it's funny."
JANN: There were all kinds of stories coming out of Vegas when you guys were
doing this movie. Now, who was the biggest partier?
MATT: The entire crew! The crew was great because they had worked with STEVE
[SODERGERGH, the director] on a bunch of other movies so this was getting
absorbed in a group of people that are like family.
JANN: If you had to describe this movie to someone in 15 seconds, what would
you say?
ATT: Eleven guys try to knock off three casinos in Las Vegas-- but
organized by George Clooney!
JANN: I have to ask you about the cover of the new US Weekly. There's this
whole item about you and a new girlfriend who happens to be BEN AFFLECK's
assistant. How do you deal with that all the time?
MATT: I think it's what you make of it and how much energy you give it.
JANN: Did you also flip to see what they wrote?
MATT: I flipped to see the picture!
JANN: You did? Did you read it?
MATT: No, I didn't.
JANN: You didn't! How could you not read it!
MATT: Well, I know the story.
JANN: Is it true, are you guys dating?
MATT: Well, if I answer that then I set the precedent that I will talk about
it -- but I can say that I am a happy man.
JANN: I'm curious: As we approach a Thanksgiving that will be very different
than past ones because of the world situation, what are you most thankful
for?
MATT: The same things that I am thankful for every year. It's the same kind
of prayer that I say in my head of thanks, [thanks] for my family and
friends and their health and safety. But it just takes on a little more
meaning this year.
-
The Extra interview with Matt is now up at their website (a few minutes in
length):
here
-
The Winter Hill Gang project as resurfaced - information at
here.
-
More on the OS trip from the SF Gate:
Holiday surprise for troops: 'Ocean's Eleven' stars
JEFF WILSON, Associated Press Writer Tuesday, November 20, 2001
Breaking News Sections
(11-20) 11:53 PST MALIBU, Calif. (AP) --
Movie producer Jerry Weintraub had an idea so he called the nation's 41st
president.
As a result, "Ocean's Eleven" stars George Clooney, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia,
Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts and Don Cheadle will be going to Turkey to visit
U.S. and coalition troops.
"We want to bring them a little bit of home for Christmas," Weintraub said
Tuesday in a telephone interview from his Malibu estate Blue Heaven. "We
really wanted to do something for these kids. We can pat them on the back,
sign autographs and tell them we care."
The remake of the casino heist caper "Ocean's Eleven" will be released
nationwide on Dec. 7.
Hours after the film's Dec. 5 premiere in Los Angeles, the "Ocean's Eleven"
stars, Weintraub and director Steven Soderbergh will board a jet headed for
a U.S. military base "somewhere in Turkey," Weintraub said.
The exact location won't be disclosed but Weintraub said American service
personnel as well as British coalition troops will be on hand. Warner Bros.
is paying for the trip.
"It won't cost taxpayers a thing," Weintraub said.
They will greet, eat and talk with the troops, sign autographs and show the
film, the producer said. "It's a gift to the troops."
"We were talking about doing a premiere in Rome or Paris and I said, 'I've
got a great idea. We've got troops over there in harm's way. Why don't we go
over there and show it to them? To hell with the press,"' Weintraub said.
"George jumped up and said great and everyone came on board," said
Weintraub, who quickly put in a call to his longtime friend and former
president. "I called President Bush, the 41st, and he said he thought it was
fantastic. He made a call and two minutes later I got a phone call from the
Pentagon and we got the ball rolling."
DVD copies of "Ocean's Eleven" and other films will be left at the base and
Weintraub said DVD copies will also be sent to 11 U.S. warships.
The "Ocean's Eleven" entourage will spend several days in Turkey before
traveling to London and Paris for media interviews.
-
More Ocean's preview tickets in Atlanta, Nashville and Charlotte now
available through a competition at chud: here.
-
Chud also covered the press junket - one excerpt:
I asked Damon the first thing that popped into my mind - never do that.
"What's happening with you and Affleck? Working on that next script, yet?"
He seemed oddly excited by this, and said: "We both have this week off, so
we're starting it now."
-
The EOnline special on Oceans (with Jules Asner) stars December 5.
-
Another pic of Matt and Alec Baldwin at the benefit:
here
-
A shot of Matt attending the Ocean's party in LA:
here.
-
And our thanks to Evi, who also sent in the aforementioned ET story:
Found an interview on Et online today with two pictures,
here is the link.
-
And ditto to Jess, who sent in links to the Yajoo pics as well.
11/20/01
-
Felicity wrote:
-
From the NY Times:
The Gambling Life
Mike Piazza, Matt Damon, Charlize Theron and other celebrities meandered
through a casino's grand opening Thursday night in Las Vegas. At Nine, an
upscale restaurant and bar serving delectable crab cakes and spicy chicken
skewer, they could have stared at a beautiful naked woman posing on top of a
bar. On the other end of the Palms, the new casino owned by the Maloof
family, was a sports book with all the amenities for the gambling lifer.
Samuel L. Jackson showed. Penny Marshall, too. Big-name directors. Hugh
Hefner and his harem.
-
Confirmed by the Las Vegas Sun:
Saturday night's big bout after-party was at the Rio's Palazzo Suites. Maxim
(the men's mag that's just a pastie or two shy of Playboy) has made a deal
with Harrah's to throw celebrity parties at its properties a few times a
year -- as long as the stars are assured privacy privileges. Part of the
deal requires Harrah's to allow celebs (such as Saturday's attendee list of
Charlize Theron, Matt Damon, Cuba Gooding Jr., Drew Carey, Macy Gray, Tara
Reid, Jon Lovitz, Jeremy Piven, Mark McGrath and assorted others) to do
whatever they please in the Rio's 4,000-square-foot high-roller suite.
-
An old Las Vegas Sun story (August 17) - do we believe this one?
While Ben's away, Matt still plays. With his pal Ben Affleck safely tucked
away at a Malibu, Calif., rehab facility, Matt Damon was spotted cruising
the Strip early Friday morning in a classic Corvette convertible -- a buxom
blonde at the wheel.
-
Ratings from Hollywood Reporter - the show was second to NBC:
...Barbara Walters' 10 p.m. special (11.8 million, 4.5/14) featuring the
star-laden cast of Warner Bros.' upcoming feature "Ocean's Eleven."
-
Extra has a story on Ocean's (presumably footage from the press junket) on
Monday's show.
-
Summary of the Project Greenlight HBO show, from TV Guide:
Project Greenlight
60 min.
Debut: With back-to-back episodes, HBO rolls out the red carpet for this
12-part documentary, which offers an intriguing and uncensored look at the
filmmaking process. Spearheaded by Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and producer
Chris Moore ("Good Will Hunting"), the series chronicles a competition in
which wannabe filmmakers submit scripts via the Internet. In the opener,
more than 10,000 applicants submit their work, and the field is pared down
to three finalists. After hours of deliberation, Affleck, Damon, Moore and
Miramax executives choose a winner, who is awarded a $1 million budget to
make the film. Future episodes follow all phases of production, culminating
in the film's theatrical release.
- The Big Matt Fan wrote:
RE: Barbara Walters. I, too, enjoyed the way Matt interacted with the other stars.
It's obvious that he feels very comfortable among them, and that there's a
genuine affection within the group.
-
It was surprising to hear Matt confess his insecurity regarding his last two films,
but Pitt and Clooney's comments, though humorous, I think were intended to be supportive. Truth is, all of them, Julia included, know what it is to have flopped. (Remember, "From Dusk Till Dawn"? "Mary Reilly?")
- There was that segment where Barbara asked the group, "Who's the gambler?" and all five pointed at Matt. He expressed surprise, but then talked about the time he and George played blackjack. We've heard that Matt's not the high roller that Ben was. However, he was recently in Vegas, again. Let's hope it's nothing serious.
- I found Matt's comments regarding Sept. 11 illuminating. He said he spent the whole day tracking down college friends who worked at the Towers. Good to know that he still keeps in touch with them. His sta
