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

• My Details magazine has arrived. I'll copy bits out later, but here's probably the most interesting thing (the date for this part of the interview was Valentine's Day this year):
  Then he describes what is likely to be his next movie. Steven Soderbergh has just acquired the rights to 'The Informant', a nonfiction book about corporate swindling at Archer Daniels Midand, and he wants Matt to star. "This is why you don't want to have committed to something just because you were worried about working," he says. "I would hate it if Steven came to me and I had to say, 'Sorry, I'd love to, but I'm getting $25 million to play Gilligan."
• An item in a local magazine:
  Insiders confirm that Matt Damon is miffed that director Anthony Minghella chose Jude Law for the lead role in "Cold Mountain", instead of him...

• From from the Evening Standard:
  Matt Damon, the latest Hollywood actor to hit London, is moving into a rented West End apartment close to such distractions as Chinawhite, the Met Bar and the Ivy. It will happen after the premiere of This Is Our Youth at the Garrick next Monday. "Matt is staying at a hotel during rehearsals as it's less bother for him," explains coproducer Phil Cameron. "But then we'll rent a flat for him near the theatre." Two-bedroom flats around Soho, St James's and Mayfair can cost £1,000 a week upwards.
• From The Times:
  Also next week, just as the West End was getting used to the starry presence of visiting film names Jake Gyllenhaal, Hayden Christensen and Anna Paquin in This is Our Youth, the Kenneth Lonergan play is getting three new Hollywood actors to light up the Garrick Theatre marquee: Casey Affleck (brother of Ben), Summer Phoenix (sister of Joaquin) and Matt Damon, star of The Talented Mr Ripley and Good Will Hunting.
  “It should be different,” Lonergan says of his play with the new cast. “There’s no point in trying to squash the new actors into the old actors’ performances; it’s a waste of an actor to try to be someone else.”
  Lonergan advises against the sort of replication that may have been expected from Goodman. He is letting his new trio of stars approach This Is Our Youth in their own way. “I wouldn’t have advised any of them to see (the play) if they hadn’t already seen it. I would advise them to do their own version and not try to do what’s being done now. They are different types and slightly different ages.”
• From an interview on indiewire with ThinkFilm head Mark Urman:
  The exec will undoubtedly have his hands full later this year when he unveils Gus Van Sant's "Gerry." A movie that few buyers cheered about at Sundance (although indieWIRE touted it as "spellbinding"), will no doubt rattle a few cages. Urman calls it a movie that "can be launched on the basis of legitimate controversy." It is by all accounts an aesthetically challenging movie, shot on video, featuring Matt Damon and Casey Affleck in roles where they barely speak.
  Few industry colleagues would respond with their thoughts on the film back at Sundance, recalled Urman. "It is a film that literally had me vibrating with what it could do for us and I could do for it," he offered. When polling biz folks, Urman was met with the same response that followed the film in many circles at Sundance: "it isn't commercial." Urman would counter, "But I asked if you liked it."
  Recalling the reactions earlier this week, he explained that once ThinkFilm announced the acquisition of the picture, many people admitted that they did appreciate the film. "Too bad," Urman explained, "I got it." [Eugene Hernandez]

• Thanks again to CDG for sending in more pics from the Details Magazine article, one of which is shown as today's feature pic. With more to come.
• Joanna wrote:
  Thank you guys for all the latest on Matt in London. Keep it coming! I will be there in mid-May and have tickets to the play that he is in. Don't hate me!
• J.M. wrote:
  Did anyone else catch Andy Richter last night? I swear there was a joke about Matt?
• From Felicity:
  Already covered by the NY Post:
  NO ENTRY
  MATT Damon can still throw his weight around in Hollywood, but Londoners tell him to stuff it. When Damon showed up at the Ivy restaurant in the West End recently with B-listers Casey Affleck, Summer Phoenix and a six-pack of pals, managers told the gang of nine to bugger off. "He tried to sweet-talk his way in," a rep for the restaurant - which boasts a six-month waiting list - told the London Evening Standard. "It didn't carry any weight."

• Our thanks to C.D. for sending in this big-smile picture.
• Our thanks to Kathryn, who sent in this item:
  Here is the transcript of an article published in Real (UK), 9-22 April edition.
  Mom Knows Best
  Pity Minnie, Winona and any other woman Matt Damon dates. They have a lot to live up to, says Gabrielle Donnelly
  It’s just another star-studded Sunday afternoon at the luxurious Century Plaza hotel in Century City, Los Angeles. Down one corridor sweeps veteran actor Robert Redford, all craggy features and golden hair, earnestly discussing the future of the environment in the current politcal climate. From around a corner appears George Clooney, dark-eyed and dashing, guffawing with a group of buddies about his latest practical joke. All heads turn as Kate Winslet, looking radiantly beautiful, wafts past. For a moment, the combined voltage of all this megastar power seems enough to cause a blackout. And then, at the same time, they all move on in different directions, leaving behind a rather lost-looking young man, medium in height and slight in build, casually dressed in jeans and a plain T-shirt, with mousy hair slicked back in a style that - not to put too fine a point on it - shrieks geek.
  Matt Damon is ready for his interview.
  Yes, this is the same Matt Damon - actor, screenwriter, Oscar-winner and (when he decides to smarten himself up) heart-throb - who could, if he chose, enter the room with as much fanfare as any star in Hollywood. What sets Matt apart from the rest is that he doesn’t choose to. He’s 31 and has been a member of the elite A-list for the last five years. Like any young star, he’s been fawned over, flattered, and endlessly written about. But unlike too many of his peers, he has managed to keep a steady head on his shoulders. At work, he is recruited for his talent and praised for his professionalism. Off-screen, he lives in an apartment in New York and spends much of his spare time seeing his parents, his elder brother, and a close group of friends he has known since childhood.
  Ask Matt how he has stayed so sane and he proudly announces it’s all down to his mother - Nancy Carlsson-Paige. ‘She’s really good at helping me keep things in perspective,’ he explains. ‘My mother is a professor and very socially conscious. She worries about me - not about my career so much as my soul. When I say that, I mean she doesn’t care about the external success of any movie I decide to make, so much as what the message of the movie is - whether it’s good or bad, responsible or not. My mother is a great sounding board for any decision I make, and a huge and important influence on me. When I’m filming, she always ends up visiting me on the set.’
  Hmm... sounds like he’d have to shape up a bit when Mom hits town? Rather reassuringly, he laughs. ‘No, she just enjoys being on the set. She always wished she could have been an actress, but her father wouldn’t let her, so she went to college to be a professor instead. She comes to visit me and gets all excited, seeing who the director is and talking to some of the crew and the actors, and just hanging out for a few days. It’s become a kind of ritual.’
  Matt’s mother and his father, Kent Damon, a retired stockbroker and real estate agent, divorced when Matt was only three. Although he’s close to both his parents, he admits he can’t even imagine them having ever been a couple. ‘They are SO different. The fact that they could ever have been married is just amazing to me and my brother. We sit there and say: “How could you guys ever have looked at each other and decided to spend the rest of your lives together? We can’t even imagine you spending an hour with each other.” But the fact is that they married quickly and they married young. They got together and then both changed. One thing they have both said to me separately is: “Make sure you really get to know someone before you marry them.”
  It’s advice that their son has taken to heart. Once linked to a string to glamorous young actresses - William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet star Claire Danes, followed by Minnie Driver, followed by Winona Ryder - Matt is now, or at least claims to be, resolutely unattached. ‘I’m single,’ he says firmly. ‘I’m honestly single. You’re looking at me like you’re thinking: “Yeah, right.” But it’s true... Well, all right, if you must know, I do make time to spend with the opposite sex, but that’s as far as I’m prepared to go right now.’ Which is not to say that he hasn’t thought about marriage and parenthood. His elder brother, artist Kyle Damon, is happily married and a father to two small boys. Matt admits that that kind of life looks awfully attractive - but only when he’s ready for it. ‘It’s nice to go visit my brother in Boston and hang out with my nephews and do things like get up at 6am because my one nephew won’t leave the room until I’m out of bed. I like kids... but a friend of mine once said that you get two families in your life. You get the one you don’t choose, that you were born into, and you get the one you do choose - the one you start when you have a family of your own. Now, a lot of people choose to start a family in order to try to overcome the mistakes that were made in their family of origin. But for me, when it does happen, I’m just going to have to try to live up to the really incredible family I was born into, and that’s daunting for me to think about. So let’s just say my biological clock isn’t ticking just yet.’
  Meanwhile, Matt’s career is going very nicely, thank you. Ocean’s Eleven, having been largely overlooked on the awards circuit, is quietly making a name for itself as one of the smartest, funniest and most sophisticated films to come out of Hollywood in a long time. Coming up soon is The Bourne Identity, a thriller based on the bestselling novel by the late Robert Ludlum, to be followed by Gerry, in which Matt and his buddy Casey Affleck (brother of Ben) star as two guys lost in the desert. It’s an offbeat film which was shot on a low budget, meaning, Matt says gleefully, that ‘nobody was breathing down our neck and telling us what we had to do.’ Next on the agenda, says the famously hard-working actor with audible longing, is some much-needed relaxation. ‘For so long, it was impossible for me to say no to work. Don’t get me wrong - I’m happy I’ve done every movie I’ve done. But now my perspective has changed a little bit, and I think that in the future I’m going to be a bit more selfish with my schedule and take some time off to recharge my batteries.'
  Matt, it seems, has taken his mother’s advice - and has no intention of losing his soul to Hollywood.
  (these quotes, many of which we've seen before, are also included)
  Matt On...
  His early fame: ‘My picture was in one of those teen magazines. My friends put it up on the wall and everyone would throw darts at it. I’d pull it down and another one would go up.’
  Winning an Academy Award for GWH: ‘I remember reading an article comparing the effect winning an Oscar had on Jack Nicholson and me. He’d won before and everyone knew him. It was a wonderful thing, but it didn’t really change his life that much. But for me and Ben to come out of total obscurity - it turned our lives upside down.’
  His success: ‘There are actors far more disciplined and just as gifted who have never got the chance to do what I’ve done.’
  Landing a part in SPR: ‘It reminded me of my first day at Harvard. You feel like they made a mistake in letting you in and they’re going to tell you to leave once they realise it.’
  On why he dumped girlfriend Minnie Driver on national TV: ‘I was raised in an open household where we talked about our feelings and our problems. In the end, I’ve become more guarded.’
  Others On Matt
  His mother, Professor Nancy Carlsson-Paige: ‘Matt’s become a commodity. He’s a product and people use him. I worry how it will affect him. It’s not healthy. He has become an object which people can pick up and judge.’
  Ben Affleck, friend and co-star in GWH: ‘Matt and I grew up together and we share a common frame of reference. It’s pretty easy to work with someone like that. Familiarity allows you a certain shorthand. And we also share a common sense of humour.’
  Minnie Driver: ‘I’m happy to see them (Matt and Ben) skyrocket into their egoistic oblivion. I wish them the very best in whatever they do.’
  Anthony Minghella, director of TTMR: ‘There is something so apple pie about Matt. You just know he was the best-looking kid in his school, won all the awards at track and field and dated the most popular girl.’
  George Clooney: ‘We worked together on Ocean’s Eleven. Matt’s so talented and a real gentleman. If I was his age and had had his kind of success, I don’t know what I’d have been like - probably something ridiculous like hanging from a tree dressed as an ape.
• And more from Kathryn:
  These two reports on Matt being turned away from prestigious London restaurant, The Ivy, come from Ananova and This is London respectively.
  From Ananova:
  Matt Damon turned away from The Ivy
  Matt Damon has been turned away from one of London's most famous restaurants.
  He turned up at The Ivy with co-stars from his play This Is Our Youth to celebrate their first day off rehearsals. But he was told by managers at the restaurant he could only get a table for four. The group of nine, which included the late River Phoenix's sister Summer and Ben Affleck's brother Casey, decided to dine at Sheekey's fish restaurant in Covent Garden instead.
  A spokesman for The Ivy told the London Evening Standard: "There is a six-month waiting list for a table here - though we do keep three tables for regulars to book at short notice, and for when celebrities are in town and book very late. In this instance, Damon was turned away with his friends and tried to sweet-talk his way in. It didn't carry any weight since we only have one table which can take nine and that was booked. We're certainly not in the business of rearranging people in the restaurant just to accommodate a Hollywood star."

  From This Is London:
  Hollywood actor Matt Damon was dealt an embarrassing blow at the weekend when he was turned away from one of the capital's most celebrated restaurants.
  The Ivy, which reportedly banned Liza Minnelli recently for ranting at staff, took a call from Damon on Friday wanting to treat a party of eight of his theatre co-stars to a meal on Saturday night.
  He was told that he could only get a table for himself and three friends. But banking on talking round staff with his celebrity status he turned up with eight friends anyway.
  To the Talented Mr Ripley star's shame, he was turned away at the door with the suggestion that he might like to try another restaurant a short walk away. With that, Damon, 31, and friends Summer Phoenix, 23, the sister of the Gladiator star Joaquin and the late River, and Casey Affleck, 26, the brother of Ben Affleck and five others, walked to Sheekey's fish restaurant in Covent Garden.
  The blow was doubly hard for Damon as he had planned the meal to celebrate their first day off rehearsals. Damon, Affleck and Phoenix have been told by the producers of This Is Our Youth at the Garrick Theatre on Charing Cross Road that they must refrain from late-night drinking if they are to make the West End show work when it debuts in less than two weeks. Their decision to dine at The Ivy was to be the one extravagance of their stay.
  [Insert The Ivy spokesperson quote here about Matt trying to "sweet-talk" his way in]
  The trio, who have been in London a week, had been working 12-hour days and turning-in early every night at their suites at the Covent Garden Hotel in Monmouth Street. On their 18-day stay, they are paying a special luxury room rate of £220-a-night - or £11,880 for their entire stay. After that, the theatre is putting them up in chic London apartments. (My note: Possibly the only time I've ever wanted to live in London)
  They have been told that there is no time for partying in the capital. A source on the show said: "They are being told in no uncertain terms to get some sleep rather than go out when they finish rehearsals each day.
  "Matt, Summer and Casey take over from Hayden (Christensen), Anna (Paquin) and Jake (Gyllenhaal) in two weeks and there's still a lot of ground to cover. There's no suggestion that they won't be up to scratch by the time the curtain raises, but we are all aware there is a lot to do."
  Ironically, their regime couldn't be further from the plot of the play they are rehearsing which culminates in a hedonistic drug and drink-fuelled spending spree.

• All's quiet, but a big thanks to Sea-Era, who wrote:
  Matt is featured.......”in the Spotlight” section of the May 2002 issue of BIOGRAPHY magazine
  Article:
  Claim to Fame:
  Young leading man cited for “earnest boyishness, “ with an all-American aura. The relative unknown broke away from the pack by co-writing and starring in the hit film Good Will Hunting (1997), as a genius janitor wrestling with his feelings and future. Damon, the film, and his co-stars garnished nine Oscar nominations. Won for Best Original Screenplay with Ben Affleck
  Soon To Be Seen In:
  the action-thriller The Bourne Identity, based on Robert Ludlum’s espionage trilogy. The film finds super agent Jason Bourne afflicted with amnesia and pursued by assassins while he traverses Europe in search of who he is.
  Recent Roles:
  A pickpocket in the multi-million dollar Vegas casino heist film Ocean’s Eleven (2001); a war-ravaged, Depression-era golfer coached by a cosmic caddie in The Legend of Bagger Vance; an ingratiating nobody who takes the life -- and assumes the identity --of a rich playboy in The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
  Beginnings:
  Born October 8, 1970, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, near Boston, the younger of two sons of a businessman father and a college professor mother. After they split when he was a toddler, his politically active mom moved the family to a commune where creativity was encouraged. Active in children’s theater, Matt was later introduced to an agent by friend and neighbor ---Affleck. Attended Harvard as an English major. Left college a few credits shy of a degree. His first major role was an impressive but unnoticed performance as a junkie Gulf War vet in Courage Under Fire (1996)
  Next Project:
  Gerry, with Casey Affleck; they mostly improvised the script with director Gus Van Sant. The comedy follows two guys, both named Gerry, who are stranded in the desert.
  Giving Back:
  With Ben Affleck (of course), started Project Greenlight to mentor aspiring filmmakers. Their contest gave $1 million and a chance to direct to the best screenplay submitted. (The first winner, the metaphysical drama Stolen Summer, was released in March.)
  There is a picture with the article, but unfortunately I was unable to scan it.
• From Felicity:
  • From the NY Post 'We Hear' section a few days ago:
    THAT Sarah Jessica Parker, Matt Damon and newly married Debi Mazar are designing Lacoste shirts to be auctioned off at Barneys May 9 to benefit UNICEF . .
  • There's an interview with Casey Affleck in the May issue of the UK Cosmopolitan magazine.
  • No press yet from London except this item from an article on the thisislondon.co.uk website:
    Gone are the days when your Larry Hagmans could be half-cut during filming, and now even mildly high living is seen as a potential threat to the final product. Matt Damon, Summer Phoenix and Casey Affleck have been on a strict party ban since they arrived in London last week to rehearse for their new West End show, This is Our Youth. There's no suggestion that they need to be protected from themselves, just that business and that kind of pleasure no longer mix.
  • Matt's still scheduled to attend the Kids Choice Awards this weekend.

• From Felicity:
  • Here's the cover of the Details magazine (could have been a lot better) - from an ebay item: Picture at here. ( - also shown as today's feature pic.) Item at here.
    The title is: Matt Damon Just another average white guy
  • There's a mixed/positive Bourne review at: http://www.tnmc.org/dp/0411021.shtml.
• From a Big Matt Fan:
  FYI: Army Archerd reports this in Variety:
  Meanwhile, Jerry Weintraub is heading overseas to seek new financing for a hefty group of pix in preparation at WB. It helps when he shows 'em "Ocean's Eleven's" international box office: $435,923,886.
  ...Another cooking is "Conflict of Interest," set in Boston, with a cop and his attorney-father. He'd like one of his "Ocean's"' alums, Boston native Matt Damon, for this one.

4/10/02
Felicity wrote:

• From Ananova:
  Matt Damon's West End debut postponed
  The first few performances of This Is Our Youth starring Matt Damon have been cancelled.
  The performances from April 22 to 24 at the Garrick Theatre will not now take place.
  The new all-star cast of Damon, Casey Affleck and Summer Phoenix are being given more time to prepare.
  They will now take over from the current cast of Hayden Christensen, Jake Gyllenhaal and Anna Paquin on April 25.
  The run is likely to end on June 8, rather than June 15 as originally scheduled, due to Matt Damon's prior commitments.
  This Is Our Youth, Kenneth Lonergan's first play, depicts the lives of three middle-class teenagers who have to spend a stolen $15,000 in 48 hours.
  **
  This would seem to allow more time for Matt to attend the Kids Choice awards on April 20 and participate in the Bourne publicity. Was it a reaction to the NY Post article??
• From the Boston Globe:
  Damons at work
  Matt Damon has become the latest in a line of Hollywood luminaries to be lured to the stage. Damon is set to replace Hayden Christensen as the lead in ''This Is Our Youth'' at the Garrick Theatre in London. ... And while we're on the subject of Damons, local artist Kyle Damon will raise money for the Resolving Conflict Creatively Program by taking on the grueling Ironman USA triathlon this summer in Lake Placid, N.Y. He said he and Matt, his younger-actor brother, will work both coasts to bring in funds. ''Hopefully, I can raise $700 and Matt can do the rest,'' the older Damon joked. The Resolving Conflict Creatively Program works on conflict resolution and intergroup relations for schoolchildren. For those wishing to chip in, e-mail Damon at kdstudio@attbi.com. Kyle Damon says he'll run, bike, and swim in memory of friend Jesse McKie, who died in Cambridge in 1990 after he was robbed of a leather jacket and stabbed.
• This solves an old question: In a November 1997 interview Matt talked about a friend's murder which he relived during a scene in 'The Rainmaker'. I had narrowed the murder down to four possible people in Cambridge, including Jesse McKie. It's a horrible story - he left behind an unborn child, and it was a truly senseless killing. More information about the murder in this 1990 MIT Tech story: here.
  Related information about Jesse and his father: http://www.tiac.net/users/wntl/artdeal/mckie.html

• From Rutso:
  On TimeOut.com, if you work your way to London and then to Theatre, you can eventually get to ticket sales, where you'll find this (note the correct name of the play, also the shift from 2 males and 1 female, to an all-male cast):
  This is Our Youth
  Set in 1982, at the dawn of the Reagan era, Kenneth Lonergan's first play depicts forty-eight hours in the lives of Dennis, Warren and Jessica – three rich and bored middle-class teenagers, from New York's Upper West Side. Caught up in the new yuppie culture (for which money, power and success are all) they have stolen $15,000 from their parents without much of an idea of what to do with it. So, without a care of the consequences, they blow it all on a reckless, hedonistic spending spree. This is Our Youth is a tragicomic portrayal of youth on the brink of adulthood and reveals the ache at the heart of the slacker generation.
  Starring Hayden Christensen, Jake Gyllenhaal and Anna Paquin.
  As of 22 April the cast will be Matt Damon, Casey Affleck and Summer Phoenix.
  Also the BBC at here:
  Playwright Lonergan was nominated for an Oscar for his screenplay You Can Count on Me in 2001.
  He is also credited with writing Hollywood movies Analyze This and the yet-to-be-released Gangs of New York.
• From the Big Matt Fan:
  ... Caught a few minutes of Winona's "True Hollywood Story." All I saw was a bit about how, in 2000, she seemed to have it all including, "a sexy boyfriend, Matt Damon." However, later, it mentions that in spring of 2000, the two broke up, and that hollywood gossips speculated on the cause, from a NY Post report on Matt's interest in Penelope Cruz, to the rumor that Winona had lost $1 million due to "Damon's financial advisor." Ted Casablanca then said that the only people that really know aren't saying anything
• From Kelly:
  So far the best info I've found is this blurb from theatrenow.com April 4th.
  "Oscar Winner Matt Damon Makes West End Debut in This Is Our Youth"
  Movie star Matt Damon will make his West End stage debut in This Is Our Youth at the Garrick Theatre beginning April 22.
  Damon, one of the hottest young talents in Hollywood, will be joined in the three-character play by Casey Affleck and Summer Phoenix. Affleck is the brother of film actor Ben Affleck, who co-wrote the Oscar-winning screenplay for "Good Will Hunting" with Damon, which also starred Damon and both Afflecks. Damon's other film credits include "Ocean's Eleven," "The Talented Mr. Ripley," "Saving Private Ryan" and "School Ties."
  This Is Our Youth, which is playing at the Garrick, is a witty study of three rich but bored teenagers living in Manhattan in the early 1980's. Written by Kenneth Lonergan, its current cast features Hayden Christensen, Jake Gyllenhaal and Anna Paquin.
  Damon's arrival marks the latest in a line of Hollywood stars to tread the London stage. Brendan Fraser recently starred in a production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and Katheen Turner is currently reprising her London performance in The Graduate for Broadway audiences.
  Lonergan's This Is Our Youth had its world-premiere production at Off-Broadway's Intar Theatre with a cast that included Mark Ruffalo — who later starred opposite Laura Linney in Lonergan's film You Can Count On Me — Josh Hamilton and Missy Yeager.

• Natalie wrote:
  hi, i just saw on the news that some guy has a screen play that he wrote 10 years ago and he wants Matt and Ben to read it so he put up a sign on a billboard that says "Matt Damon and Ben Affleck please read my screenplay". I wonder if they would actually read it,haha.
  ;)
• Felicity wrote:
  • wondered if this was true - from the NY Post and Victoria Gotti's column (note the two errors). If Matt's on eight shows a week over six days, promoting Bourne is going to be very difficult - especially press junkets. Let's expect the denials to start soon.
    VICTORIA'S SECRET: Matt Damon is so upset with the finished product of his flick "The Born Identity," he's fleeing the country in an effort to avoid the usual melee of p.r. junkets. Diehard Damon fans can catch the overachieving star in London, performing in the play "This Is Our Use."
  • A review of the upcoming Ocean's DVD is now available at chud, here.
    Including this review of the commentary track:
    2. Feature length commentary by Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, and Andy Garcia.
    Could they find a more unpretentious group of actors?
    These guys don't spend their whole track gushing about their director and saying what needs to be said to ensure they get hired again (as if they have to worry). They HAVE FUN, and it's contagious.
    Damon (who does some good impressions) and Garcia recorded together and it appears Pitt recorded at a different time because sometimes the info they share overlaps. However, it's almost as if it's edited to make us think it was recorded together. Weird.
    Regardless, there's tons of anecdotes and jabs (Pitt on Clooney especially) and it really helps flesh out the offscreen personas of these guys.
    I expected Garcia to be a little serious and stiff but he and Damon do well together and it's obvious what a blast these people had on the film.
    I defy anyone to not appreciate the film more after hearing these.
  • Or the DVDfile.com review:
    The Pitt, Damon and Garcia is certainly notable, if only because how often do you get three big actors like this all doing a commentary? This one is even more fun, and thankfully all three were in the room together at the same time, so we aren't gypped with a collection of press interviews spliced together as a single track. At the beginning Damon worries that there's "only going to be five people listening" to this commentary, while Pitt guarantees that he's going for "that Mystery Science Theater 3000 thing." And that just about sums it up, because this is often a kick if a bit too ass-kissy. These guys have a hoot making good-natured fun of Clooney, and Pitt is very funny with his sarcastic banter. Unfortunately, there are a few suspicious gaps of silence later in the flick, which led me to believe that they said some good stuff that got cut out?
  • Just clarifying: Lisa wrote about last year's Premiere power list - Matt's not on this year's (2002) list.
  • How Matt became involved in the London play - from The Independent (UK):
    But extensive networking in America and a stroke of luck have combined to secure an even stronger cast to take over on 25 April until mid-June.
    By chance, Casey Affleck caught the very first matinee performance and was so struck by it that he went again that evening. He returned to New York where he raved about it to Damon.
    Clare Lawrence, thought to be the youngest producer in the West End at 26, said: "They're all part of the same group of friends in New York and they decided they wanted to come and do the play together.
    "I don't agree with bringing stars in for anything, but if you've got good people in and they're cast appropriately to do good work, it's fantastic. I do think it creates a buzz."

• Angelann wrote :
  I saw the Bourne Identity at the screening. I can't give it away, but let it suffice to say that it was fabulous. I think it might be his best role since Will Hunting. The audience really responded to the film. Everyone laughed and screamed and gasped at the same time. I think it will be a big hit.
• Aimee also went (big thanks!) and offered a different view:
  So...went to the "Bourne Identity" screening last night at the theaters at Universal CityWalk in Hollywood. It was my first screening so I didn't know that movies shown this early were not the final end product shown in the theaters. The people putting it on told us this... but throughout the film there were only a couple of blips and unedited shot ends. Ok, let me start by saying the best thing about the movie was Matt and his acting. He convinced us thoroughly of his amnesia as well as his abilities as an international spy. This is because there were some great action sequences (including a car chase) that keep you on the edge of you seat. But, in my humble opinion, that ends the list of strengths of this movie. The relationship between Franka Potente's character, Marie and Jason Bourne was unconvincing and a bit predictable. *SPOILER* the ending totally follows a formula and was expected. The dialogue was also trite when dealing with his ex-CIA compatriots who are now trying to kill him. Plug it into any other spy movie and it would work. Sure, there were a few times the audience laughed out loud and the action scenes always got hoots and The car chase even got the whole theater applauding. But other than that the plot was pretty much simplified (I've read the book) and had none of it's complexities with might have given it some respectibility. Julia Stiles' role was pretty minor...she must've had like 10 lines. Truthfully, my friend and I got sick of her scenes and the scenes at Treadstone headquarters because they just showed her and them sitting around looking at computer screens muttering dialogue that was quite less than ingenious. Finally, of Matt's performance I will say again, it was superb. His action scenes were great and he looked great doing them. His character was tricky to play because he's supposed to not remember his own name and yet know how to hack into systems, discreetly disappear, know international spy game rules. He played both parts amazingly and believably. I would give this movie 2 stars (out of five). Sure, support it but for those a bit more impartial...wait until the video.
  Finally, Thanks for making known the opportunity for me to go see it!
• Kathryn of Edinburgh wrote:
  From this month's Empire:
  First Look: The Bourne Identity
  Release date June 21
  Matt Damon is the amnesiac on the run with Franka Potente, in this Doug Liman-directed thriller which, if the budget ($75m) and plot (too twisted to reveal here) are anything to go by, is going to rock your socks off. Clive Owen, Julia Stiles and Brian Cox are among those rounding out the cast, and joined the stars on location in Prague and Paris in late 2000/early 2001. Potente and Damon had a hand in the rewrites. "Matt did win an Oscar for his screenwriting," explains Liman of his acceptance of the star's dabbling. That'll be that gold doorstop in his house, then...
  I have mislaid my copy, but there's also a quote from Matt in the latest issue of Now (Halle Berry cover) about winning his Oscar. It's part of a section about how various winners felt about stepping up to the podium on the night.
• Vanessa and many readers (thanks to all!) sent in this news item:
  This comes from people.com. Hope you like it. It is a new aspect of Matt, well I think so. Vanessa........ April 5, 2002
  Matt Damon Takes New Job in London
  STEPHEN M. SILVERMAN
  Matt Damon is joining a long line of American performers who tread the stage boards in London's West End. The screen hunk, 31, will open this month in the Kenneth Lonergan play, "This Is Our Youth," at the Garrick Theater, reports Variety. (Lonergan's credits include the screenplay for the Billy Crystal-Robert De Niro comedy "Analyze This.") The play, set in 1982, is described as a lacerating look at affluent young Manhattanites and depicts two days in the lives of three college-age Upper West Siders who come from wealthy families but are living in drug-ridden squalor. Damon, who is replacing actor Hayden Christensen ("Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones"), 20, is making his stage debut in the play. Other Yankee stars to play the West End have included Macaulay Culkin, Jessica Lange and Kathleen Turner. Turner opened on Broadway in the stage adaptation of the classic 1967 movie "The Graduate" (based on the novel by Charles Webb) Thursday night. The show was a hit in London and advance ticket sales in New York have been pretty strong, but Friday morning's reviews were less than complimentary. The New York Times called it "leering" (Turner, 47, appears nude, though under diplomatic lighting) and "undercooked . . . the most cynical specimen to date of the theater's current vogue for cannibalizing Hollywood classics." The New York Post said, "'The Graduate' Fails." Jason Biggs ("American Pie") and Alicia Silverstone ("Clueless") costar. Critics called him bland and her whiny.
• The news is echoed in an article sent in by Evi:
  Damon Makes London Stage Debut
  Fri Apr 5, 5:04 AM ET
  By Matt Wolf
  LONDON (Variety) - Screen actor Matt Damon makes his London stage debut this month in "This Is Our Youth," replacing Hayden Christensen ("Attack of the Clones") in the Kenneth Lonergan play at the Garrick Theater.
  Photos
  Reuters Photo
  At the same time, Casey Affleck and Summer Phoenix will step into the roles currently being played by Jake Gyllenhaal and Anna Paquin.
  Lonergan's play opened March 15 in London to mostly excellent reviews, including general raves for a cast of theatrical neophytes, two of whom -- Gyllenhaal and Christensen -- had never done a professional play.
  Paquin, who won an Oscar for her childhood role in "The Piano," had only one previous legit credit, an off-Broadway play by Rebecca Gilman late last year.
  Christensen will be in movie theaters next month as the young Jedi knight Anakin Skywalker in "Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones."
  The extension of "This Is Our Youth" with a new cast will take the 1996 play through June 15. Director Laurence Boswell is also directing Madonna (news - web sites) in her West End debut, "Up for Grabs," opening May 23 at Wyndham's.
  The casting of Damon, et al., is the latest in a long line of film names keen to play London, where the potential upside is great (the prestige factor) and the downside not nearly so bad as it might be on Broadway.
  Macaulay Culkin, Jessica Lange, Kathleen Turner, Glenne Headly and Anne Archer are just a few of the American film names to have appeared onstage in London in recent years.
  Damon had been mentioned some years back as a possibility to co-star in an Almeida Theater revival of "Sweet Bird of Youth," but that staging never happened.
  Lonergan, meanwhile, is well represented at the moment in the British capital, where his off-Broadway entry from last year, "Lobby Hero," opens April 10 at the Donmar Warehouse, with a British cast.
• Felicity wrote:
  • The theatre project is confirmed by a story on the Variety homepage which I can't access.
    Here are some details about the Garrick Theatre. It's in a perfect position right next to the Leicester Square tube station and London's tourist hub. Read the story here
  • Matt seems to be off the Premiere magazine 2002 Power list - Ben's at 77 (85 last year - rehab helped him).
  • There's a horrendous title but mixed reviews for Bourne Identity (and bad reviews for Matt) at aint-it-cool-news.com
  • I don't trust this item at all from beverlyhills213 magazine: Robert Redford directed Matt Damon in The Legend of Bagger Vance, and now Matt wants to return the favor. Matt is considering taking the director's chair and a co-starring role in Strike Three, the story of a coach (Redford) who drives his son (Damon) hard to become a professional baseball player.
• Not that the power list is that important, but Lisa (thanks!) wrote to let us know that -- gulp -- Matt is still on it:
  Premier magazine listed most powerful hollywood player. this is what they said about matt: (see here.)
  The 2001 Power List
  Who has it, who doesn't, who found it, who blew it.
  Our annual scorecard ranks the 100 most powerful people in Hollywood.
  93 Matt Damon
  A Star Is Bourne
  Rank Last Year: 88.
  Title: A Star Is Bourne.
  Status Report: Furrowed industry brows by failing to open or score Oscar nominations for All The Pretty Horses or The Legend of Bagger Vance. Studies reverently at the feet of prominent directors but needs to secure his leading-man status. Decision to make amnesia thriller The Bourne Identity (for $10 million) could prove a catapult. Will appear in Ocean’s Eleven, followed by his first real hiatus since Good Will Hunting. Yes, It’s True: His weight obsession continues unabated. Offered dieting tips to Bourne costar Franka Potente.
• Sea-Era wrote:
  Just a note of clarity..Kelly worte after doing some searching she found out that Chris Raab's dad and Matt's dad are brothers. That would make them first cousins -- not uncle and nephew. His nephew's would be his brother Kyle's sons, which I thought were small children. Can anyone clear this up for me?? Thanks
• Penny wrote on the same subject:
  Hi everyone!! Correct me if I'm wrong, but if Chris Raab is related to Matt, he would be Matt's cousin. If their fathers are brothers, then they would be cousins. The only nephews Matt has are his brother's sons. I think the confusion is on Chris' bio. It says he likes... his uncle, Matt Damon, girls, etc.. Matt is just listed as something he likes. Can't blame him!!

• From Felicity:
  • ET showed a teaser at the end of today's show for Matt's "steamy" kiss with Franka Potente from Bourne Identity, to be viewed on Thursday's show.
  • Jules wrote about Chris Raab and his possible connection with Matt: From Chris' personal profile and his list of "likes": my uncle, Matt Damon He also lists GWH and Rounders in his favorite movies list. here.
    He's originally from Glen Hills, Pa and part of a skating group called (and headed by) Bam Magera, and they are currently filming the "Jackass" movie, after appearing in the series. So, he's certainly claiming Matt is his uncle, but it's not definitive.
  • On the subject of Matt and Ben's ownership of The Continental restaurant - there was a story last year that their interest had been sold after it became too popular and they could no longer hang out there quietly with friends. It was also said to be one of the poor investment decisions they made on the advice of now jailed financial adviser Dana Giachetto.
  • The Kids Choice Awards will be broadcast on Nickelodeon 20 April.
  • NY Post sighting:
    MATT Damon, Casey Affleck and Joaquin Phoenix showing up at Sway, and asking that mere mortals not be booted from the VIP room. They packed in with the hoi polloi and partied till closing . . .
  • From an old People story on how the stars celebrate(!):
    For the past two years straight, pals Ben Affleck and Matt Damon also have followed this laid-back, comfy party tradition. Last year, the two bachelors rang in the New Year with a quiet party at Tribeca lounge La Parue, the New York Daily News reported. The group of revelers, which included Joaquin Phoenix and Ben's actor brother Casey, ate fast food and watched the Times Square ball drop on television. Sound familiar? The year before (for 2000), Ben and Matt celebrated together at Sonsie, an eatery on Boston's Newbury Street. Guests including the stars' moms and a bunch of Cambridge friends and family, and 30 cases of champagne flowed, reported The Boston Globe.
• Kelly sent in this note with subject line "nick n nephs":
  Hello... To answer Jules' question, yes Chris Raab really is Matt Damon's nephew. I was watching the skate video "Camp Kill Yourself" and when Chris Raab came on there was a pop-up that said "Matt Damon's Nephew" on the screen. After doing an internet search it turns out that their fathers are brothers.
  BTW, the Kid's Choice Awards are April 20th at 8PM EST.

• Amiee very graciously wrote:
  In today's LA Times' Liz Smith's column:
  Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, [spotted] at a table in L.A's the Continental restaurant, which they own: They're working on their next movie, "Lay Down Easy." It's about two blue-collar brothers in Massachusetts. (Hey! Remember, they won a writing Oscare the last time they got together as writers, on "Good Will Hunting")
  Thanks for the reminder, Mz. Smith =) but it's the first time I've heard of "Lay Down Easy." As a side note, TV guide reports that Ben (who is shooting "Gigli" with Jennifer Lopez) is taking out ads in the trade magazines saying how much he admires JLo. Strange. He'll also be in Hollywood at Paramount Pictures on Melrose this sunday at 6pm for his "Changing Lanes" premiere.
  PS Thanks for the great heads-up on the "Bourne" movie passes!
• Anne also wrote about the restaurant:
  Maybe this is old news... don't know. Didn't realize that Matt and Ben owned a restaurant in L.A.?! Check it out: here.
  Thought you might like to know.
• And a big thanks to Kristin, who wrote:
  I heard last night on Entertainment Tonight that Matt is going to be a presenter at the Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards. I'm not sure when the show is airing, but it must be pretty soon!
• Felicity sent in the items above, plus these:
  • Excerpt from a google groups post by author Pat Marcello, who wrote one of those celebrity profile books on Matt:
    I get all of my information from other published sources and the Internet. I got close to Matt Damon when I was doing the book, but the publisher decided they didn't want me to talk to him. I was truly bummed, as I think he's an interesting and very smart young man--not to mention very cute. I'm not sure why they blocked me; however, it probably had to do with being unauthorized. I'm a writer, not a lawyer. I've never slammed a personality, so it doesn't worry me. I'm sure no one I've profiled would be annoyed by what I wrote.
  • This was in Moriarty's article from Aint-it-cool-news of his summary of films this year:
    That's the same reason I hope that Doug Liman's THE BOURNE IDENTITY is a winner. Matt Damon's a good choice for this type of film precisely because it's not what you'd expect. Franke Potente also goes a long way towards convincing me to see a movie... any movie... and the script for this was good, with a lame ending that I hear got reworked extensively before it was shot.
• Jules wrote:
  My nieces met a young man named Chris Raab, who claims to be Matt's nephew. (Chris is a skater, looks kinda like Matt, and was somehow involved in the MTV show "Jackass.") Does anyone know if this is true, --I thought he might be joshing them?

• A Big Matt Fan wrote:
  From USA Today, a bit of info on "Push, Nevada":
  And ABC is considering Push, Nevada, a proposed series from Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, the team behind Project Greenlight. Nevada is a traditional drama about a small-town murder mystery, but it adds a twist: Viewers who correctly piece together clues can win the money that the fictional characters are seeking.
• We thank Molly, who wrote:
  Teen People's May 2002 issue has this to say about Matt in it's Have You Heard? section: "Although Matt Damon's movie Gerry got mixed reviews at the Sundance Film Festival, he easily took the award for most popular. Local's in Park City, Utah, couldn't stop raving about the actor's friendly demeanor. One of his good deeds? Presenting a lucky cabdriver with tickets to the festival's hottest flick, Tadpole. "

• Erik wrote:
  Dear Matt Damon fans,
  I was trying to figure out how to fill up a theater for an advance screening of Matt's new thriller THE BOURNE IDENTITY, when it hit me... I should go to the websites and contact the webmasters. So, here we are...
  If you or anyone else that you know or any of your frequent visitors to your sites wish to see his new film this Wednesday the 3rd in Los Angeles, let me know through email. I have many passes and need to fill the place up. That's my job. It will be at 7pm and it is totally free.
  You all have nice sites and show tremendous support for Matt!
  Email me at iceman90037@yahoo.com
• We heard from the Big Matt Fan:
  Yesterday, I saw "Stolen Summer," or, as the marquee read, "The Project Greenlight Movie: Stolen Summer." If the marquee isn't enough to remind one that this film is an ancillary product of the HBO series, the first few minutes of the movie do. After the Miramax previews (The Importance of Being Earnest, About a Boy), a brief summary of Project Greenlight is shown, complete with Matt and Ben interviews and the more explosive moments from the show. This film is being promoted as the product of the series, not as film worthy to stand on its own.
  So how was the movie? Better than one might expect, though at a rather Hallmark tv movie level. Pete Jones was extraordinarily fortunate to acquire the services of Bonnie Hunt, Kevin Pollack and Aiden Quinn. It was their sheer talent, I think, that made up for a lot of the weaknesses in the script. Quite frankly, the strongest and most moving scenes in the film are those that primarily involved the adult characters. In fact, to a surprising extent, their B stories actually seem to overshadow the main plot.
  I hate to say it, but honestly, to me, the two boys and their story were the weakest elements of the film. Both young actors spoke in that pert, declaratory fashion that so many mediocre child actors employ. They were cute, but not entirely convincing. Of course, it didn't help that their dialogue seemed, quite often, painfully artificial. On the series, I vaguely recall Matt arguing that kids don't really talk that way. Pete Jones had insisted that they do. Having seen the film, I have to say, I think Matt was right.
  I have a sneaking suspicion that some of the boys' scenes were cut due to their inadequacy. We know from the series, in fact, that at least two major scenes involving the boys did not make it into the film. As I said before, the film is best when it's adults only, and I wouldn't be surprised if the movie was edited around that fact.
  On the whole, I found "Stolen Summer" to be a generally likeable film, a decent first try. There were some moving moments, some funny lines. I must admit, I did tear up slightly at one point. However, I'm not too surprised the knives are out against it.
  FYI: Entertainment Weekly currently has a piece which follows Pete Jones around LA to various theatres showing his movie. Sadly, none of them were full. However, despite the general promotion (Oprah, Leno, etc.), there really isn't a lot of marketing money spent on this. I didn't even realize the film was already showing in LA until I read an article that said it had only made $65,000 in four cities.
  Anyway, if PGL fails, ah well, it was a noble endeavor. I'd be interested to see if any critics look back at the PGL series AFTER watching "Stolen Summer." I think they'd find that many of their criticisms were initially brought up by Matt, but that he was, unfortunately, outvoted.
  Still, have a Happy Easter all!
• Desiree wrote to remind us of this item:
  According the updated bio on IMDb, Matt is engaged to Odessa with wedding plans in Winter 2003. Any truth to this?
  This news item has been mentioned in the Matt Damon Column before. We have not yet heard any followup on this.
• From Felicity:
  • ...It is interesting to know how little publicity Miramax has given the theatrical release of 'Stolen Summer'. Maybe they thought the TV show was enough? And it's pretty sad to know that interviews with Matt/Ben are being used to promote it before the showing. My guess is that they'll do another contest, but on a smaller scale, maybe without some of the online content. There's been too much publicity for it to fade away quietly. Another alternative may be to fast track one of the more riskier Greenlight scripts Miramax optioned, like The Upgrade.
  • There's a really nice signed professional pic of Matt for sale at ebay to benefit a 9/11 scholarship fund, the Families of Freedom. Item is at: here and the Photo is at here. (Photo is shown to the right.)
  • In a message on google groups, someone mentioned that Matt was carded buying cigarettes at a 7-11 following the 1am arrival in Virginia after that horror flight from LA...
  • For information: the Ben push for his new movie continues with an appearance on Jay Leno 11 April.

• Thank you, Jen, for writing:
  I think I can answer her question ...
  Kristin wrote:
  I've been wondering this for a while; and when I saw ATPH on HBO for the 10th time, I just had to ask. Does anyone know what the Mexican police captain means when he asks about Blevins' feathers? (It's the part where Matt is being interrogated when he is first brought to the jail) I've never read the book and thought maybe it was mentioned in there. Is he implying that Blevins is an Indian? I know it's a silly question, but I love the movie and every time I see that part I am left wondering. If anyone knows, I'd appreciate some help.
  Well, I don't know if it was just me, but I always thought that the Mexican police had stripped Blevins and were commenting on his pubic hair when they talked about his "feathers." That is why John Grady has this bizzare and almost sick look on his face when he says something like, "I wouldn't know about that." I hope I'm not in the minority here! I'm not a pervert I swear! LoL.
• From Felicity:
  • From the NY Post Friday:
    FEARFUL FLIGHT
    MATT Damon, Casey Affleck, Summer Phoenix, Samantha Mathis and John Leguizamo almost didn't make it back from the Oscars. The stars took a midday American Airlines flight from LAX to JFK, but as they approached the city Tuesday, a storm kicked up. After a couple of harrowing hours, the plane finally put down in Richmond, Va. Rattled by all the turbulence, Damon, Affleck and Phoenix rented a car and drove to New York, while the other passengers flew out four hours later.
  • Project Greenlight looks to be trouble - there's (mostly unsubstantiated) rumors of the site being shut down in the near future. It's been brought on by the recent stories of money troubles, and web producer Allyn today saying she finishes tomorrow, and that no replacement is being sought.
  • Happy Easter weekend everyone!

• From Felicity:
  • Thanks to Kathryn for the update on the Empire magazine - just saw it mentioned somewhere without any details.
  • From the Fox News column Sunday, talking about Miramax' pre-Oscar party. Matt and Ben did not attend this bash, and nor did they attend the Vanity Fair party post-Oscars for the first time since GWH:
    The evening also featured a live acoustic performance by Sting of his Oscar-nominated song "Until," as well as a few short films including an animated feature by the late director Ted Demme in which the Weinstein brothers run a deli instead of a movie company and a very trenchant parody of Project Greenlight in which Martin Scorsese is chosen as the winner of the latest version of the contest and wants to make Gangs of New York for $129 million. The latter film featured Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Chris Moore, as well as Scorsese himself.
    (Wouldn't you love to see that video!)
  • From eonline's celeb sightings:
    Matt Damon Rachel (Mar 25, 2002, 02:34 PM)
    Matt's dad is the head coch of our high school(Newton North) basball team.I had heard rumors that Matt came to some of the games. I did not really belive the rumors , but at one of the games I head some ones cell phone ring so I looked beside me and there was MATT. He looked so hot. After he got off the phone I talked to him for a few minutes. He is so nice.
  • A reminder that Winona's True Hollywood Story on E! will be shown from April 7. From the TV Guide summary:
    The hour chronicles Ryder's birth to hippie parents ('60s guru Timothy Leary is her godfather) and life on a California commune before landing roles in such films as “Heathers” and “The Age of Innocence.” Her highly publicized relationships with Johnny Depp, Soul Asylum's David Pirner and Matt Damon are also recounted
• Kristin wrote:
  I've been wondering this for a while; and when I saw ATPH on HBO for the 10th time, I just had to ask. Does anyone know what the Mexican police captain means when he asks about Blevins' feathers? (It's the part where Matt is being interrogated when he is first brought to the jail) I've never read the book and thought maybe it was mentioned in there. Is he implying that Blevins is an Indian? I know it's a silly question, but I love the movie and every time I see that part I am left wondering. If anyone knows, I'd appreciate some help.

• Kathryn wrote:
  Re: Summer reviews
  Quote from the rotten tomatoes site:
  "Miramax further indicted itself as being the ultimate Angel/Satan, as did actors Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, the latter of whom at least seemed to foresee the blah abyss the movie was leading itself into."
  One thing in particular struck me: many of the reviewers tend to refer to Summer as an "after-school special", the very thing that Matt said it might turn out to be (correct me if I'm wrong). I think it's a little sad that Summer's marketing has, effectively, renamed (or taglined) it "The Project Greenlight Movie". I also tend to believe the reviewers who placed some of the blame for the movie at the feet of the judges who ultimately chose the screenplay (and who should have perhaps chosen another one) were somewhat justified in their criticism. Have any other Columners been, or are going to see it? (I won't be going when/if it's ever released here).
• About Empire (April - I couldn't remember whether I'd bought it or not, of course I had :); there's nothing about Matt in the Sundance article

• Felicity's finds:
  • The current issue of Premiere (Angelina Jolie cover) has its annual section on Sundance, and it usually photos the stars and talks about the films. Has anyone seen the issue yet?
    The April edition of Empire (UK) also has an article on Sundance.
    
  • The reviews for "Stolen Summer" are pretty bad, with some exceptions (Ebert, NY Post). They're almost unfair in their criticism, and attack the PGL concept, the choice of script, marketing of the film etc.
  • From the NY Post:
    FOUL MOUTHS
    CHILD actor Mike Weinberg exacted fines from the cast and crew of "Project Green Light" every time they uttered a dirty word. The documentary produced by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon follows the making of "Stolen Summer," which stars Weinberg. So when Damon was posing for pictures at the Chicago premiere of "Summer" last week, Weinberg stormed up to the boyish star, telling him, "You owe me $2 for cursing." Damon gave him an even $10, while exec producer Chris Moore had to pony up $28.
• A reader wrote:
  From the Lights out entertainment sight from March 3rd: Lights Out Entertainment: Movie News Director Antoine Fuqua will helm The Sigma Protocol based on the late Robert Ludlum's book of the same name for Universal. Universal is already prepping another Ludlum adaptation (The Bourne Identity) for release this summer. Bourne, which stars Matt Damon is hoped to be a running franchise for the studio. Fuqua will start Sigma after completing the Bruce Willis actioner Man of War in Hawaii.

• Big thanks to Ziggy, who wrote:
  • I just picked up the April 2002 Issue of Details Magazine. Ben Affleck is on the cover and he does an interview inside. It's mostly about how he's doing since rehab. He mentions that he's working on a script with Matt and Casey right now. Here's the blurb about the script: "Affleck and Damon--along with Affleck's little brother, Casey--have started writing again. This time, it's a story called "Lay Down Easy," set in blue-collar Revere, Massachussettes, and centered around two brothers, one of whom races his dog at the Wonderland Racetrack."
    In the beginning of the magazine, there is a small write-up from the Editor of Details (letter from the editor)...the editor mentions that he's an acquaintance of Ben's and spells out why he hates guys like Ben (good looking, movie star etc...). Anyway, he mentions Matt in his write up and states that Matt is on next month's cover of Details magazine (May 2002). I thought everyone would like to know so they can keep an eye out for it when it hits the newstands next month.
  • From E!Online's "The Awful Truth": here
    Fly's the Limit
    This eyeful is so downright revealing, it deserves its very own showcase. Readers, ready to lower your zippers?
    Just this past weekend, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon's Project Greenlight premiered its first film, Stolen Summer, in the Windy City. Stars Bonnie Hunt, Aidan Quinn, Kevin Pollak and Eddie Kaye Thomas all trotted down the green carpet. (Less glitzy types like Pete Jones and producer Chris Moore, who found 14 and a half minutes of fame in HBO's behind-the-scenes documentary, followed.)
    However, these famous peeps weren't the only thing premiering this par-tick night. Newly minted movie honcho Damon arrived on the press line to the usual whooping from fans. But those adoring cheers soon turned to gasps and downright merriment when myriad eyes noticed that M.D. needed to, shall we say, XYZ.
    Oblivious to his fully flared fabric faux pas, Matty-babe continued working his way past TV cameras and such, until a female reporter with my eye for headline and crotch grabbin' yelled, "Matt! Your fly is down!"
    With movie-stah grace (or with as much as one can muster in such a wide-open sitch), M.D. sheepishly finished dressing and explained, "And to think this happened on the one night I forgot to wear underwear!"
    An uncutting comeback, I'd say.
• Ali wrote:
  As usual you have the best news about Matt! Tell Kelly that I taped the Oprah interview; might be able to work a deal after I move and uncover all my stuff again. I too have lots of Matt stuff on tape. Sorry to hear that he was "caught" smoking again; old habits die hard. Probably doesn't help being around others that smoke also; Odessa, Ben, etc. Anyway, thanks for the info and keep it coming.
• Felicity wrote:
  • From Fox News:
    By the end of the night — after attending the opening of Gucci's new boutique on Rodeo Drive — Late, Late Show talk show host Craig Kilborn was overheard in a heated sports trivia marathon session with Miramax's Harvey Weinstein — who, I am told, knew more than Kilborn. Weinstein offered to do a full Late, Late Night episode if he could bring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck with him. Sources say the deal is being worked out now. Anyone who caught this trio on Inside the Actor's Studio knows this should be an amusing and enlightening event.
  • From the Rocky Mountain News:
    Film stars aligned for cosmic convergence this summer
    By News Wire Services
    March 21, 2002
    Best buddies Matt Damon and Ben Affleck -- both of whom could use a hit -- will be locking horns at the box office May 31, when Damon's Bourne Identity and Affleck's Sum of All Fears hit theaters.
    The films are getting solid buzz -- more so in the case of Bourne, an adaptation of the Robert Ludlum thriller about an amnesia victim who doesn't know if he's a good guy or a bad guy.
    "Bourne Identity is more hip than Sum of All Fears," says an insider, referring to the film version of the Tom Clancy thriller involving a terrorist attack at the Super Bowl.
    Damon and Affleck are just a few of many major names who will grace the screen this summer. As Paul Dergarabedian of Exhibitor Relations notes: "Last summer, there were practically no films with big stars. This summer the list seems endless and includes Tom Cruise, Nicolas Cage, Tom Hanks, Will Smith . . . " Cruise's Minority Report, Cage's Wind Talkers, Hanks' Road to Perdition and Smith's Men in Black 2 all are expected to be well-received. In fact, the latter is expected to be a monster hit, as are Spiderman, Austin Powers 3, and Stars Wars: Attack of the Clones. Clones will hit theaters May 16.
    Dergarabedian predicts: "It's going to be an unbelievably big summer, probably the biggest ever." Still, he points out:
    "The competition is going to mean that some movies won't do the business they deserve. They can't all be No. 1. Some will do well their first weekend out, then drop fast. When you've got so much strong product, some will get hurt."
  • According to upcomingmovies.com, "Gerry" is scheduled for a platform limited release in October.
  • Did you see that Jude Law will star with Nicole Kidman and Renee Zellweger in Minghella's "Cold Mountain"? I was a little stunned... The symmetry's a little too cute - from supporting role to lead in Minghella's latest two films. I wonder if Matt was approached?
  • Variety's website was down Wednesday, so non-subscribers could access all stories. Here's a few examples:
    An old Variety story on Matt in Pretty Horses - January 14 01:
    'All the Pretty Horses'
    By NICOLE PANTER
    An adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's beloved, National Book Award-winning novel "All the Pretty Horses" tells the story of cowboy John Grady Cole, who goes to Mexico in search of a vanishing way of life. Key to bringing the acclaimed book to life was the casting of Cole, who begins his journey as a teenager and ends it as a man. When it came to casting, there was never any doubt in helmer Billy Bob Thornton's mind that Matt Damon was the right choice. Says Thornton, "We never even considered casting anyone else."
    Damon had his work cut out for him, as he would be in nearly every scene in the movie. According to screenwriter Ted Tally, "John Grady Cole is the heart of the entire story. The whole movie had to be built around that performance."
    Not only that, says Tally, the role itself had nuances that weren't apparent right away. "It's a deceptively difficult part. He had to be able to do a Texas accent. He had to be convincingly this rough, west Texas ranch kid. He had to be able to ride, even ride bareback, and rope and do all of those sort of cowboy things. He had to be able to speak Spanish and he had to be convincing in the love scenes."
    And it was an actor with that kind of versatility that Thornton and Tally were seeking to fill Cole's boots. "It's just a huge burden of a role, and I was thrilled when Matt took the part," Tally says. "To me there's no other actor of his generation who would have been as right in this part. He is smart and sensitive, and he's an actor who can sell tickets and do all of the things this role needed."
  • A pic of Matt and Bernie Mac at the O11 premiere: here
  • About the "Smoke Signals" premiere:
    Tales of the Indian
    Gotham museum hosts 'Smoke' preem
    By Monica Roman
    Sherman Alexie, who wrote the screenplay and the book that inspired the film, said "he felt like a 16-year-old girl" when he saw Ryder's date, Matt Damon. "I got all 'Tiger Beat'-y," confessed Alexie. "I wanted to ask him what his favorite color is."
  • There's even news on 'Push, Nevada' casting from the Hollywood Reporter: ...while Derek Cecil (Fox's "Pasadena") and Scarlett Chorvat (UPN's "Freedom") have been cast as leads in the mystery interactive drama "Push, Nevada," a co-production with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's LivePlanet
  • There's interviews with Pete Jones today at hollywood.com, NY Daily News and filmforce.com

• From Felicity:
  • As reported on ET, Matt attended the Publicists Guild annual luncheon today with Brad Pitt to present Ocean's 11 producer Jerry Weintraub with an award.
    Lots of photos are at wireimage, including these: here, here, and here.
    Yahoo has one pic: here.
    There are more from the event at gettyimages of Matt smoking and signing autographs for fans outside the venue.
  • From the Chicago Sun-Times:
    Damon data . . .
    Actor Matt Damon, who joined actors Bonnie Hunt and Aidan Quinn at a private party at Gibsons last week for the premiere of "Stolen Summer," was so excited to find out Bulls star Jalen Rose was dining in another corner . . . he hied to Rose's table, took a pix with him . . . and exchanged phone numbers.
  • This item was at the end of Roger Friedman's Fox News column today:
    If you were looking for real star power, though, La Cienega Boulevard going south seemed like the right place. That's where Gotham magazine publisher Jason Binn and I pulled up to a red light side by side with none other than Matt Damon. He was 'Good Will Driving' a snappy looking Jaguar with New Jersey plates, and looking like a Movie Star with a big face-busting smile. Why the foreign plates? "It's a loaner," Damon told us as we idled side by side, then sped off with his girlfriend presumably to some swell dinner. A kid from the wrong side of the tracks in Cambridge, Mass is living in the dream in Tinseltown. Right on, I say!
• A big thanks to Ziggy, who also sent news in about Matt's appearnce at the award show:
  From Yahoo Entertainment News: here
  Actors Brad Pitt and Matt Damon speak at the 39th annual Publicists Awards in Beverly Hills March 20, 2002. Pitt and Damon prepared to honor producer Jerry Weintraub with the Publicists' 2002 Motion Picture Showmanship Award bestowed by publicists working in the entertainment industry. Pitt and Damon starred in Weintraub's film "Oceans 11." REUTERS/Rose Prouser
  Here's the photo
• Thanks to Angelann, who wrote:
  Just thought I would let you know that I saw that Matt was at some awards luncheon held in L.A. today to present someone with an award. The clip they showed was of him giving the guy a hug, but because I wasn't really paying attention before I realized it was him, I have no clue who that person was. I know that Warren Beatty and a local entertainment reporter were also honored. I saw it on KABC (Channel 7) in L.A.. Tell the other Matt fans to keep their eyes peeled.
• And we thank L., who wrote:
  Hi there. I live in the Cleveland, OH area and was listening to an Akron station 96.5 fm on the way into work. Pete Jones was in the studio talking about Stolen Summer. The DJ asked him what it was like to work with Matt and Ben. The same old answer was offered, as in all the interviews surrounding PGL and Stolen Summer, "They are just regular guys who happen to be super stars." The DJ said that they should ask Matt about that and starts dialing a number on the air. You could hear the beeps b/c he dialed live on the air. Anyway, Matt's voicemail picked up and said he wasn't able to take the call and to leave a message and he would call back. It was certainly Matt's voice. The DJ left a silly message about having Pete Jones there and to call back. It was cute. Small news but it was local for me and a bit of a harmless personal glimpse into Matt's voicemail. By the way, for those Clevelanders, the morning show on 96.5 is, I think, aired on a local tv station (PAX TV Channel 23).
• Stacey wrote:
  The Bourne Identity website has been updated with a flash intro, which leads into a big picture of Matt saying "Matt Damon is Jason Bourne". Some new features added too, like a photo gallery, but only one new photo. It has yet to be rated.

• Many thanks to Lisa, who wrote:
  saw 40 days/40 nights this weekend. Bourne Identity preview was shown... looks great. Should be released soon if the trailers are already in the theatres.
• Kelly @ MattDamonFanPage.com wrote:
  Hello, in reply to Tome, I ordered a copy of the Project Greenlight series off of someone on ebay and it should arrive sometime this week. I am also looking for a copy of the Oprah interview on tape. I have many Matt Damon appearances which I could trade if anyone is interested. I left a post on the Matt Damon Message Board (http://www.efgforum.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=forum&f=94) if anyone can help.
• And a big thanks to Amiee, who wrote:
  Hi,
  Just wanted to give your readers a heads up for some "Stolen Summer" related TV spots coming up. Bonnie Hunt will be on Letterman this Wednesday March 20th and on Live with Regis and Kelly on Thursday the 21st Aidan Quinn (one of my favorite actors) will be on Rosie Friday the 22nd and on The View on Wednesday the 27th and the Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central) on Thursday the 21st Pete Jones, I saw earlier was scheduled to be on Leno on the 26th but since th