The Matt Damon Column - May 2004 Archive

Updated 5/30/2004

Filming in Paris

Calendar

Ocean's Twelve

Eurotrip

The Bourne Identity

The Bourne Supremacy

The Brothers Grimm

Ocean's Twelve

Syriana

5/30/2004

Below are two scans from Us Weekly. Thanks again to Sandi.

5/29/2004

Here's a cropped page of photos from People magazine, scanned with thanks by Sandi.
And similar photos are featured in an article by the Italian magazine novella.
Photos of Matt and Lucy on the yacht, George providing a toast and Matt with George in Amsterdam are also below - courtesy of eastnews.
The Project Greenlight season 2 DVD is now available to pre-order - details here.

5/28/2004

From the Australian magazine Who, here's a page of photos of Matt, George, Brad and Lucy on the yacht in Portofino. The photos are also likely to be in the upcoming issue of People.

5/26/2004

More early reviews of Brothers Grimm are at AICN.
Photos of Matt filming in Paris, playing baseball with George in a Paris carpark and with Lucy at the Monaco dinner are from Rex and Abaca.

5/25/2004

Matt's participation in Syriana has been confirmed - details from Variety. Matt's character does not appear in Baer's book, and must have been created for the film. Filmjerk just reported that the film will open on 29 July 2005.

Damon, Clooney join forces for 'Syriana'
Marc Graser, Staff

Once "Ocean's Twelve" wraps, Matt Damon will reteam with George Clooney in the political thriller "Syriana," which Stephen Gaghan will write and direct for Warner Bros. and Section Eight.

Damon will play Bryan Woodman, a money man who reps a Middle Eastern country's oil interests, in the project being described as a "Traffic"-like tapestry of intersecting storylines that involve the CIA, foreign policy, the oil industry and terrorism.

Pic, which begins lensing later this summer, is inspired by Robert Baer's book "See No Evil: The True Story of a Foot Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism." Clooney will portray Baer, a former CIA agent.

Damon will next be seen in Universal's sequel "The Bourne Supremacy" and Dimension Films' "The Brothers Grimm." He is wrapping up Warner Bros.' "Ocean's Twelve," also with Clooney.

Section Eight's Steven Soderbergh and Clooney will produce "Syriana" with Michael Nozik, while Jennifer Fox and Ben Cosgrove will executive produce, along with Georgia Kacandes.
And the Hollywood Reporter article:

Damon, Peet map 'Syriana'
By Liza Foreman and Borys Kit

Matt Damon and Amanda Peet are headed for "Syriana," Warner Bros. Pictures and Section Eight's timely geopolitical thriller tackling oil, international politics and the CIA.

Peet is in advanced negotiations to play the wife of Bryan Woodman (Damon), a handsome oil executive who's in major deal-making mode with an oil sheik when he goes through a pivotal family tragedy. His wife, Julie (Peet), works with him to figure it out.

George Clooney is in advanced negotiations to play career CIA agent Robert Baer. He's tracking terrorists; the American president declares war.

"Traffic" scribe Stephen Gaghan will direct from a script he adapted from Baer's memoirs.
More small pics of Matt and Lucy playing pool at the formal dinner in Monaco are from Rex.
Footage of Matt, George and Brad in Monaco was shown on various entertainment news shows and will be available through yahoo video.

5/24/2004

TV Alert: Extra will air footage of the O12 cast in Monte Carlo on Monday's show - from their website.

"Oceans 12" star secrets revealed, as we go inside the blowout Monte Carlo yacht party with George, Brad and Matt.
Small photos of Matt, Lucy, George and Brad on a yacht in Portofino, Italy, on Sunday are at splashnews.
Another photo of Matt and Lucy at a Jaguar-sponsored dinner in St Tropez is from Rex.
And another sponsorship deal between O12 and Philips Electronics is announced here. Well, it's one way to keep the movie's costs down. Meanwhile, various reports are stating that shooting at the Rome studio Cinecitta will commence on Monday 31 May and continue in Italy for a month.

5/23/2004

There are some continuing problems with the site server, but I hope that all has now been corrected.

Matt, Brad and George have left Amsterdam and arrived in Monaco to attend the Formula 1 Grand Prix in a cross-promotion of Ocean's Twelve with Jaguar. Filming in Paris will commence on Monday. In Monaco the crew have posed at the airport, posed on a yacht, attended the Jaguar pits, spoken with the drivers including Australia's Mark Webber, and attended a dinner at designer Karl Lagerfeld's villa in St Tropez. Matt's girlfriend Lucy has accompanied him to all events. A selection of pictures is below, mostly obtained from the official photographer for Jaguar, gettyimages.com

From crash.net, a summary of the translated text from lematin, AP and The Independent.

Film stars hoping for Klien getaway...

True to rumour, the stars of Hollywood action flick Ocean's 12 were present in the Monaco paddock during Saturday's practice sessions, and made the most of the film's association with the Jaguar Racing team to prompt the most obvious headline of the weekend...

George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon were all snapped mixing with F1 tsar Bernie Ecclestone and Jaguar drivers Mark Webber and Christian Klien in the new pit-lane, bringing the first taste of glamour and glitz to an event renowned for attracting the biggest names of the season.

With the Cannes Film Festival going on just up the coast, stars of the silver screen have long been a fixture in the Principality on GP weekend, but the presence of the Ocean's 12 stars proved a particular draw. The movie centres on an audacious diamond heist, tying in with Jaguar's other one-off Monaco co-sponsor Steinmetz, and providing copywriters with a dream scenario...

Clooney, Damon and Pitt - who is currently starring in the Greek 'epic' Troy - as well as the latter's actress wife Jennifer Aniston, are expected to be present for both qualifying and the race this weekend.

Three male stars of Ocean's Twelve made an appearance yesterday in the pits of Jaguar (who are sponsoring the film). Chewing-gum and with a broad smile George Clooney seemed as relaxed as in his roles. Brad Pitt, at its side, appeared more tense, while Matt Damon was the most interested in F1. He raised many questions with the drivers of Jaguar. All three had arrived from Cannes the day before, but they remained only a few minutes on the circuit.

Hollywood royalty paid a visit to pit lane at the Monaco Grand Prix

Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and George Clooney caused a mini-sensation Saturday when they dropped by. Hundreds of TV cameramen, photographers and fans crowded the Jaguar team's garage when the stars met drivers Mark Webber and Christian Klien.

"There's Brad Pitt, the most gorgeous man in the world," gushed a radio reporter into her microphone as the stars' bodyguards eased them through.

"Hi, guys," Clooney said to the crowd.

From the Independent:

And just for good measure the celebrities were out in force. Sir Jackie Stewart showed Penny Lancaster round, Roman Abramovich played Mine's Bigger Than Yours with his yacht, bike-racing stars Max Biaggi and Troy Corser rubbed shoulders with Lionel Richie and Dannii Minogue. But none were more high-profile than the Ocean's 12 crew - George Clooney, Brad Pitt (but no Jennifer Aniston) and Matt Damon , who breezed into the diamond-infested Jaguar encampment. The punters - and Bernie Ecclestone - loved it.

A summary of a late report in Amsterdam from at5.nl.

Filming Oceans Twelve on Westgaarde

After twenty days Amsterdam the top actors of Oceans Twelve left on Friday for Paris. On the last filming day, Thursday, prerecordings were made on cemetery Westgaarde and at houses on the Keizersgracht. Director Steven Soderbergh was very satisfied concerning the filming in Amsterdam. Now we go to Paris, afterwards to Rome and LA, he said to AT5.
A report from Star magazine.

High times on the set of Ocean's Twelve

Partying in Amsterdam on the Ocean's Twelve set, which stars George Clooney, apparently got out of hand...

It sounds like the Amsterdam set of Ocean's Twelve was one hell of a party. According to an insider, "Warner Bros. got word that the partying got out of hand and was causing production delays," meaning it would cost more to make the film. The source connected to the film, which stars George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon and Catherine Zeta-Jones, furnished Star People with a memo from Warner Bros., dated May 8, which addresses the film company's concern about drug use in Amsterdam, where pot is legal.

The memo reads: "Though the laws regarding the use of alcohol and recreational drugs vary from country to country, we remind you that the policies of Ocean's Twelve, LLC, Warner Bros. Productions, Ltd., and Warner Bros., Entertainment Italia strictly prohibit the use of these substances during work hours." The next shooting locale is Italy, and the source says the suits at Warner Bros. are "thrilled that they are moving on to Rome."
An interview with the director of Bourne Supremacy, Paul Greengrass from the Guardian.

The majority of items from 1 to 19 May have been lost, but here's some of the photos. The first picture is of Matt at the Indian festival Holi, with the photo provided by Reuven Provenca of the Gomantak Times-Weekender. My thanks to Reuven.

Some items from early May.

The Bourne Supremacy trailer is available at the film's official website.
From the Boston Herald:

That Matt Damon's galpal, Miami barmaid Luciana Barroso, took a "leave of absence" from Crobar (described as Avalon on steroids) to globe trot with her Hollywood honey. Previously, Luciana was a cocktail shaker at the Voodoo Lounge, a hot dance club in FortLauderdale, where she's remembered for her sunny personality.

5/05/2004

Two photos of Matt, Lucy and George Clooney at the Amstel Hotel in Amsterdam are below, taken from the website of Thomas Schlijper.
A story about Brothers Grimm from Teen Hollywood. I believed up to a week of filming had been lost over the incident, rather than no actual filming days as mentioned below.

Matt Damon in Fight Over Nose

Matt Damon's nose caused an argument between the makers of his latest film. Director Terry Gilliam and studio boss Harvey Weinstein disagreed on whether the Hollywood heartthrob should wear a large false nose for new movie 'The Brothers Grimm'. Gilliam wanted Matt to wear the prosthetic nose, but Weinstein didn't.

A source revealed to Britain's Daily Express newspaper: "Terry had the make-up artist do tests and finally came up with exactly what he wanted - a large false nose for Damon."

But despite Nicole Kidman winning an Oscar after sporting a similar nose to portray Virginia Woolf in 'The Hours', Miramax boss Weinstein did not agree. The source added: "Terry sent the tapes of the make-up tests to Harvey and received the all clear for the shooting, but Harvey didn't see the tapes until the day before shooting began. He then immediately called up Gilliam, wanting him to drop the prosthetics.

"Harvey claimed he had paid to have Matt Damon as his star so he wanted to see all of his face on screen. The last thing he wanted was for him to be unrecognizable." After arguments between the pair, Gilliam finally backed down.

5/04/2004

Will Matt be collaborating again with George Clooney? The Washington Post reports that Matt may be co-starring with George in a new film to be directed by Stephen Gaghan titled Syriana. Details about the project can be found at GeorgeClooney.org.

An Oily Thriller in The Making
by Richard Leiby

Not all Hollywood types were in town over the weekend just to party. Oscar-winning screenwriter Stephen Gaghan ("Traffic") took meetings with ex-spy Bob Baer as filming nears on a movie based on Baer's 2002 bestseller, "See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism." Hollywood heartthrob George Clooney will star as Baer, and Matt Damon is lined up to play an oil trader in the political thriller.

Celeb-watching alert: Portions of the film will be shot in Washington in August, with Gaghan directing from his own script.

"They want it to be a real serious movie," says Baer, a District resident who spent 21 years in the CIA. " 'Traffic' told the story about drugs. This is going to be the story of big oil. They're both about addiction. This is about addiction to hydrocarbons and what it does to people and society. It's going to be George Clooney trying to do the right thing in the face of the enormous weight of the system." He also joked that Clooney will need to gain weight to play him as a "schmo in the CIA who learns about power in Washington."

Gaghan declined to comment, as did the film's executive producer, Jennifer Fox, both of whom made the scene Saturday night at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. (They were awestruck to shake hands with Colin Powell and pose for a photo for Paul Wolfowitz.) Amid the schmoozing, Baer, 51, took a brief call from a Sunni tribal sheik in Iraq. He later told us the film's title, "Syriana," refers to a place in the Middle East where trouble is always breaking out -- his stock in trade as a spy.
Thanks to Kelly for providing a still from The Third Wheel, and also a spoiler look at Matt's role in the film.

The scene is at a restaurant, Matt walks up while Stanley and Diana are having dinner and Matt lays into Diana about breaking up with him. Then the homeless guy returns from the bathroom and tells Matt that he took his seat so Matt goes off on him, and the homeless guy slaps him and then Matt starts crying.

5/03/2004

Matt and George Clooney have arrived in Amsterdam, and filming for Ocean's Twelve will probably start on Wednesday. There's an article and video footage here, and a similar article here. The articles only really state that Matt and George arrived early on Sunday afternoon and will be staying at the Amstel Hotel. Other cast members will arrive later in the week.
The Eurotrip DVD is available on 1 June, and will have the following features: Feature commentaries; Unrated deleted scenes with filmmaker commentary; Unrated scene indexes; 'Nude Beach Exposed' featurette; 'Music of Eurotrip' featurette; Cast & crew bios; Production notes; Script and photo gallery.
Kelly (thanks) from the Matt Damon Fan Page sent in a review of The Third Wheel:

Thought I'd provide you a short review of the movie The Third Wheel which came out on DVD recently. The Third Wheel had been shelved for several years before finally being released straight-to-video. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck both have cameo appearances in the movie and they were also credited as the Executive Producers. They've distanced themselves from the film because it never really showed well in previews and advance screenings, so I was quite expecting this to be a pretty bad movie. Thankfully it wasn't as bad as I was expecting.

The movie stars Luke Wilson who asks a coworker, played by Denise Richards, out on a date. It's your standard romantic comedy. Soon into the date they are involved in a car accident and run into a homeless guy (Jay Lacopo) and he ends up tagging along for their date. Matt plays Denise's ex-boyfriend who shows up in the middle of their date and nearly disrupts their dinner. His scene is fairly short and his acting at the end of the scene seems a bit ingenious, but it's a cute scene nonetheless. Ben Affleck plays Luke's coworker and appears throughout the film as he and other coworkers make bets on whether or not the date will work out. This side story doesn't work too well and the movie would be better out without it. The Third Wheel definetely isn't one of the best movies of the year, but it's good for a rainy afternoon. I'd give it 2 out of 4 stars.

5/01/2004

And more Chicago sightings from the Chicago Sun-Times.

Dateline -- The Party Line . . . Egads! They were all there. All the men, that is. Actors George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, producer Jerry Weintraub, Shecky Greene, Carl Reiner and Elliott Gould were spotted at Gibsons on Tuesday night enjoying a cast party for "Ocean's Twelve." Actress Julia Roberts was nowhere in sight as were other female cast members.

Damon data: Actor Matt Damon, who is also in "Ocean's Twelve," did his bit in the backyard of a Frank Lloyd Wright home on Forest Avenue in Oak Park Wednesday. Damon proved to be a good sport by signing autographs and taking pictures with a gaggle of neighborhood kids. Word is Damon's girlfriend, Luciana Barroso, spent some time with him here recently.
The AP summer movie preview includes Bourne Supremacy:

Also coming this summer is The Bourne Supremacy, with Matt Damon returning as the amnesiac spy from The Bourne Identity. Damon's Jason Bourne this time is framed for murder and on the run, and though his memories remain cloudy, he continues to find he possesses just the right skills to get out of any scrape.

"One of the hurdles we had on the first one was just the way I look. I don't look like your classic action guy," Damon said. "What we decided is, the more things I could do, the more believable and credible the character would be and the better the ride would be for the audience. So we just wanted to put me in as many situations as possible."
Actor Brian Cox talks about Bourne Supremacy at Movie Poop Shoot.

JH: You just finished filming THE BOURNE SUPREMACY but you've switched directors from Doug Liman to BLOODY SUNDAY's Paul Greengrass.

BC: He's very good and he's done it very well. He played a great game. I was worried at times about him because I thought poor Paul they're going to chew you up and spit you out because I know what Hollywood's like. Frank Marshall is a marvelous producer. That kind of filmmaking even though its blockbuster filmmaking, there's a slightly guerilla aspect to it because the scenes have to work on the day.

Poor Joan Allen. She's such a phenomenal actress and she'd never worked in this type blockbuster type movie before. Her concentration was immense so it was wonderful to watch her work. There's no fat on that stuff. It's all lean meat. It's all facts and it's all harsh stuff. But within that there's a very fine emotional line about these people who are pursuing a compulsion. The scenes turned out to be great. My part ended up being phenomenal.

We went through a lot of problems because the scripts weren't quite ready and Paul played a tremendous waiting game. He played a great game of poker and he won through in the end. The same with Matt [Damon]. His stuff was terribly monosyllabic on his own because he's like that character in THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR. So much of it is he's just doing stuff. It's very difficult and he really did it. He's such a good guy. He works his ass off.