The Matt Damon Column - September 2004 archive

Updated 9/26/2004

Matt and F1 driver Mark Webber in Monaco

Calendar

Syriana

The Bourne Supremacy

Ocean's Twelve

Syriana

The Brothers Grimm

9/26/2004

Filming for Syriana has now moved to Morroco, the only location where Matt is expected on set. This article suggests filming is taking place between Mohammedia and Casablanca, but it has been separately stated that filming is also expected in Casablanca, Tangier and Erfoud.
More praise for Matt from Australian television host Rove McManus in this New Zealand interview.

Enthusiasm works well for McManus. "I still get starstruck, but the more you meet so-called celebrities, the more you realise they're all really pleasant people."

Well perhaps not all of them. Lisa Marie Presley and Avril Lavigne were both intractable, leaving McManus scratching for conversation. But generally, "the likes of John Travolta and Matt Damon and Russell Crowe, they're actually some of the most down-to-earth people you could ever meet."

In fact, McManus rates Matt Damon as the most impressive guest he's ever had on the show. "He always delivers, and he's exactly the same on-air as off. He chats to everyone backstage, he's very accommodating."
An article at Potsdam newspaper PNN confirmed that Matt will return to Berlin for a premiere of Bourne Supremacy on 16 October.
This article provides a spoiler about the identity of the actor playing Matt's father in Ocean's Twelve - roll cursor over text if you wish to read the actor's name:

"Peter Fonda told me he will be doing a PBS film called Thief of Time and is about to film his part in Oceans 12 playing Matt Damon's father."

9/21/2004

Matt attended the charity auction for the Sean McDonough Charitable Foundation Sunday night, and the golf event Monday. Reports from the Boston Globe and a photo caption from the Boston Herald.

Homeboy helps out

Our favorite action hero Matt Damon relaxed with girlfriend Luciana Barroso at a party Sunday for the Sean McDonough Foundation. (The event, benefiting Boston area charities for children, raised a whopping $275,000.) Damon's duties included narrating, with actor Mike O'Malley, a half-hour showabout the foundation that'll be broadcast next month on Fox Sports Net. Yesterday, Damon joined McDonough and well-known jocks Ray Bourque, Bob Cousy, John Havlicek, and Craig James for the celebrity golf challenge in Bolton.

Matt Damon played through 18 yesterday at The Oaks Course at The International in Bolton to raise money for the third annual Sean McDonough Charitable Foundation Golf Classic. (Staff photo by Ted Fitzgerald)
Also from the Herald:

Tracked down: Matt Damon, galpal Luciana Barroso and a posse of pals catching the Oscar de la Hoya-Bernard Hopkins middleweight smackdown on the tube at Vinalia...
From People online, with the quotes probably taken from the recent European junkets:

He may be Hollywood royalty, but at heart, Matt Damon is just a down-to-earth guy. "I think right now my life is pretty manageable and pretty normal," says the actor, writer and producer, 33. "I just kind of work and when I'm not working, I'm living at my house in New York, and it doesn't feel out of control and kind of crazy. I understand people who say success is dangerous. But if it hasn't screwed me up already, I don't think it will." Well, okay, but isn't he one of those thrill-seeking actors who insists on doing his own stunts? "Actors are always talking about how they do their own stunts. That's total bull----," he says. "I mean, they don't let us do anything that's dangerous. They let us do things only that are very safe, so they're not really stunts."
And a late Boy from Oz show report from nj.com:

Waiting to enter the theater, we were passed by Barbara Walters, then Matt Damon. As Damon and his date walked by, women in the crowd screamed. Damon, oblivious to his appeal, looked around wondering what was going on. When he realized the excitement was for him, he beamed his pearly whites at the crowd.

Inside, there were sightings of Joel Grey; Deborra-lee Furness, Jackman's wife; June Lockhart; and Carol Bayer Sager, who wrote many songs with Allen. Walters graciously spoke with the circle of fans that formed around her. Damon happily signed autographs as cameras flashed.

Jackman's ability to ad lib has been the most talked-about portion of the show whenever people discussed seeing it: "What did he do when you saw him?" Well, nothing he did previously could have prepared the crowd, or the participants, for what was to happen in Act 2.

At the beginning of Act 2, Jackman acknowledged that this was the point when he often invites members of the audience onstage to dance with him. The crowd cheered. When he invited Walters onstage, the walls shook. When he then asked Damon to join them, the roof was raised. When Damon and Jackman performed a lap dance on Walters, I thought the building would come down. Walters was elegantly composed while Damon, reluctant at first, followed Jackman's lead and proved to have a few moves of his own. Then Jackman invited the members of the cast to join him as he performed a lap dance for Damon. Chorus girls donning their robes and wig nets and crewmembers stroked Damon as Jackman danced. The audience thanked them with whistles and hoots.

Jackman released Damon and thanked him for his good nature. When Jackman asked Damon if he would ever speak to him again, Damon called from the audience: "Right after the show." Jackman, as Allen, fainted.

9/20/2004

From the Boston Globe Monday.

Lending a hand as he does every year for the Sean McDonough Foundation, Matt Damon was slated to arrive late last night to the group's auction at the Boston Harbor Hotel. Damon will join host Sean McDonough and others today at the foundation's annual charity golf tournament.
From the NY Post:

Matt Damon and gal pal Luciana Barroso bumped into his rumored former flame Eva Mendes as they circumvented the velvet rope and made their way into Bungalow 8 around 2 a.m. on Thursday. Inside, Bjork, in a baggy white satin one-piece suit, jumped around to the music and Naomi Campbell slouched into a banquette in the back. But clubgoers were more interested in eavesdropping on Damon's exchange with Mendes. The only decipherable comment, however, was Mendes telling Barroso, "You're a great person!"
Thanks to Irma for this story from the Dallas Morning News:

It always pays to watch out for the quiet ones. Take the cast of the upcoming holiday sequel Ocean's Twelve. Who would've thunk that mild-mannered Matt Damon would emerge a hotter name than first-name-only types Brad, George, Julia and Cathy Z-J?

Matt's fresh off the smash hit The Bourne Supremacy, one of the few summer movies to actually show legs.

Meanwhile, Brad Pitt's Troy was not the expected mega-hit, while George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones starred in the Coen Brothers' Intolerable Cruelty, which never met expectations that it would be the irreverent brothers' biggest hit. Ms. Z-J followed it with Steven Spielberg's seemingly surefire The Terminal, with Tom Hanks. It proved that nothing's ever surefire in the movie biz.

Julia Roberts is still Julia Roberts, but she barely made a passing grade as a progressive college prof in Mona Lisa Smile.

At the moment, all those megawatt names would love a Bourne Supremacy-type hit. But Matt's the only one who delivered the goods.
The Bourne Supremacy has now passed $170 million at the US box office.
There's a 15 minute interview with Matt at the website of Australia's Movie Show.

9/16/2004

More photos from The Boy From Oz are above and at right, including from People online.

9/14/2004

Below are some stills of Matt on stage during the final performance of The Boy From Oz Sunday, from defamer (illustrated pic) and Isifa. Wireimage also has other smaller photos. Matt was apparently very gracious to fans at the theatre, and was sitting with Lucy and agent Patrick Whitesell (who also represents Hugh Jackman).
Reports from the show are at the Hollywood Reporter, The Australian and the IMDB.

Hugh Jackman and "The Boy From Oz" went out with a bang with Sunday's 365th and final performance at the Imperial. The SRO crowd that packed in to catch the Big Bang finale -- tickets ranged up to $351 for this particular performance, and scalpers were getting considerably more -- also were given an extra-added treat. During one interlude in the show -- in which Jackman as Peter Allen has regularly been inviting an unsuspecting audience member onstage for a spontaneous lap dance with Hugh/Peter -- he first brought up Barbara Walters then called to the stage Matt Damon, after which Jackman and Damon, with B.W. sandwiched between them, began doing all sorts of Peter Allenish bumps, grinds and gyrations. The house went wild.

HUGH Jackman spiced up the final Broadway performance of The Boy from Oz last night with a "lap-dance" involving actor Matt Damon.

Flirting outrageously in the Peter Allen role, Jackman called Damon on stage to perform for US television star Barbara Walters. The capacity audience went wild as Jackman and Damon stood either side of the seated Walters and danced suggestively.

"Will you ever talk to me again, Matt?" Jackman called out as Damon found his seat in the darkness.

"Right after the show," joked Damon, who exhibited no sign of embarrassment. Jackman, in high-camp mode, pretended to faint at the prospect of seeing the "gorgeous" actor backstage.

Damon and Jackman team up for lapdance

Screen hunks Matt Damon and Hugh Jackman gave American news veteran Barbara Walters the ultimate thrill on Sunday when they put on a lapdance for her. Walters, who is stepping down from her long-time role of anchor on news magazine show 20/20, attended Jackman's final performance of The Boy From Oz on Broadway, and was stunned when she was pulled from the audience for a little onstage action.

She says, "I'm sitting there minding my own business. (During) the second act he comes in and says, 'I usually dance with someone, but today is my last day and there is a lady in the audience and she is celebrating her last days on 20/20.' I thought, 'He's gonna make me dance. I can't get up there.' He says, 'No, you gotta come.' So I go up on the stage. He says, 'Okay sit down,' and then he says, Matt Damon,' are you here?' And Matt Damon hides his face and Jackman beckons him. And I sat while Matt Damon and Hugh Jackman did a lapdance with me!" An elated Walters adds of Jackman, "Whatever he's going to do (in the future), my fantasy was fantastic and he was fantastic!" Jackman did 397 performances as the late Peter Allen in the musical, which was housed at New York City's Imperial Theatre.

9/13/2004

Matt attended the last performance of Broadway musical The Boy From Oz, starring Hugh Jackman, and was called up on stage along with Barbara Walters for some on-stage fun that apparently involved a few lapdances. Barbara will probably discuss the show on The View Monday.
Also on Monday, Pat O'Brien will air a pre-taped interview with the cast of O12 in Rome on the first edition of his new The Insider program.
From a story about Mumbai cinematographer Sanjay Kapoor's involvement with the Bourne Supremacy shoot.

Kapoor's memories don't end here. "I happened to tell Matt Damon how my 14-year-old niece, Shiuli simply adored him," says Kapoor.

"Back in Mumbai, I received a package from LA: Damon had sent an autographed picture with a note for my niece. Made me her favourite uncle!"
Photos of Matt and other stars at the Deauville Film Festival are on Zof's website. Thanks.
Some video of Matt in Deauville is here, and another radio interview from Australia is here.
Here's a rough translation of a Belgian interview.

Question: How are you perceived?

Mr. Damon: I would say that the public sees me as a normal young American. It is hard to know what I could say on this topic. Personally, I find difficult to be defined. I can't summarise myself in a few words.

Question: In an action film, the hero is often an ordinary man plunged into an extraordinary situation. Do you think the same thing of acting in Hollywood?

Mr. Damon: Certainly. I often feel myself like an ordinary man plunged into surreal situation. And this is particularly true when promoting films. It is certainly disproportionate. To go to the premiere of a film, to go on the red carpet and to answer interviews are without any doubt things which are odd and artificial.

Question: How do you keep your feet firmly on the ground?

Mr. Damon: I pay people for that! (laughter) I don't try and analyze the situation too much. Before promoting a film, I tell myself that I will spend one week very strangely, that I will go to Deauville, Madrid, Berlin and give interviews. And then I will return home and I resume my normal life as if nothing has happened. For a premiere in New York, I leave my home, I put on my suit, and afterwards leave by the back door, come back to my house, take off my suit and continue living. I am able to attend a premiere in Manhattan, be photographed by tens of photographers and to return that way 20 minutes later without being approached! It's incredible. It's like playing another role a little and wearing a Spider-Man costume. I am very happy not to have to live with the constant pressure of the media. In small amounts, it is very controllable. And I love that because I could not live while being watched permanently. I would become insane and I would probably stop working.

9/09/2004

On Wednesday Matt arrived in Berlin from Madrid at 3.30am, and started a full day of interviews with a press call in front of the Brandenburg Gate at 10.00am. Matt said there would be a Bourne Supremacy premiere in Berlin on 14 October.
In recent interviews it has been reported that Matt is either filming Syriana in the Middle East later this month, or in Geneva and Morocco from October.
A roughly translated report from los-portales about the Bourne premiere in Madrid, where Matt's obviously talking about Penelope's relationship with his old friend Matthew McConnaughey.

Like he did the last time he was here, Matt gained the heart of his Spanish fans with his affection and good humor. From his arrival at the cinema where the premiere took place, the actor signed autographs for his fans and amiably attended to the mass media congregated there.

The actor, very elegant in a black suit, said that he adores Spain and Pen�lope Cruz is a great friend. In addition, he added that Penelope is enamored with a North American actor: "He has good taste. Her sweetheart is a great guy."
Another mention of the Lance Armstrong project from Army Archerd's column.

Continuing from the headlines to the bigscreen: Frank Marshall, readying to direct the Lance Armstrong story "It's Not About the Bike" for Sony, is now investigating the possibilities of the story of Joanna Hayes... While readying for the Armstrong film, Marshall admits he has taken on the sport of road biking himself. And he's talking to Matt Damon to play Armstrong.
From the Review Journal.

Bobby and Donna Baldwin are co-hosting with Ben Affleck a Hollywood-heavy "Keep Memory Alive" poker tournament Sept. 16 at the Esquire House in Los Angeles. The winner gets a seat in the World Poker Tour at the Bellagio in December. Others joining Affleck in this month's tournament include Matt Damon, Tobey Maguire, Vince Vaughan, James Caan, Christina Applegate, Dean Caine and former World Series of Poker winners Bobby Baldwin and Doyle Brunson.
The new Rounders DVD includes an enjoyable commentary track with Edward Norton, director John Dahl and the writers. There are lots of references (naturally) to Matt, and Edward tells some good stories from on and off the set, including the hours they spent quoting lines from Midnight Run back and forth to each other.

Edward talks about knowing that Matt was a 'total kindred spirit' very early in the filming, and says improvising dialogue was easy as Matt is 'a great writer' and has 'such a quick tongue', reflected in their ongoing easy banter. There are also a number of mentions of the late Ted Demme and Jean-Yves Escoffier. Incidentally, there is a tribute to cinematographer Escoffier on The Human Stain DVD, which includes brief behind-the-scenes footage from Good Will Hunting and Rounders.
A new long-form interview, based on a telephone call from Madrid, is at the Straits Times. Some excerpts:

He speaks in an easy tone slightly tinged with a laid-back, American East Coast drawl. Conversation with the Boston-born actor, who is reputed to be one of the nicest guys in Hollywood, flows easily. But while he is friendly, he keeps his life and opinions under wraps, often by presenting a breezily moderate attitude towards everything.

He has always managed to elude the media-hounding that dogs other stars by staying away from the press' radar. Outside of the occasional red carpet appearance, he is not known as a party-goer, preferring instead to visit quiet pubs. That blithe attitude extends to his work. He says that nothing too exciting happened on the set of Supremacy, which he filmed late last year.

An adaptation of the third Bourne novel, called The Bourne Ultimatum, is not out of the question for Damon. But, he warns, the circumstances will have to be just right. And he isn't talking about a bigger pay cheque.

'It depends on the script,' he says. 'If it's interesting, I'll do it. If not, I'll just bag it.'

Unlike Affleck, whose private life became media fodder when he dated and broke up with actress and singer Jennifer Lopez, Damon is cautious when it comes to talking about relationships. But he will say that his current relationship is serious, and that having Barosso's child around has got him thinking about having kids of his own.

'Do men have a biological clock?' he asks rhetorically. 'Because if we do, I think mine might be ticking.'

9/08/2004

Tuesday Madrid, Wednesday Berlin, Thursday New York. Matt attended a press conference and premiere for Bourne in Madrid, and will move to Berlin today before heading home. In Madrid Matt talked about doing the Bourne sequel if Paul Greengrass will direct, and says shooting on Martin Scorsese's The Departed will start in Boston next June. He also rejected all comparisons to Tom Cruise, saying their most recent films cannot be compared.
Photos of Matt playing golf in Deauville (probably with his father) are below, from lifepress.

9/07/2004

Matt's expected at the Adlon Hotel in Berlin today for interviews to promote The Bourne Supremacy. The film doesn't open in Germany until 21 October, but the German poster is very cool: here
Here's some of the text from Matt's cover story from Vitals magazine, where he's interviewed by Boston sports author Dan Shaughnessy. The article is hardly deep (the whole interview takes place during a baseball game), but the photos are great - mostly taken at Fenway Park. (And there's one obvious film-related error.) Some excerpts:

It's a perfect night for baseball. The Red Sox are back at home, and so is Matt Damon. He's sitting in the best seats at Fenway Park, right next to the Sox dugout, and center-fielder Johnny Damon is poking his head over the rail, having fun with Matt's 4-year-old nephew.

"My name's Damon too!" the boy tells Johnny Damon.

"I'll go up there and get a hit for you," the bearded Boston outfielder says. Everybody laughs...

From the dugout, Pedro Martinez makes goofy faces at the boys. Sox batting coach Ron Jackson rolls a couple of Chiclet-white baseballs across the rail and onto their laps...

When Garciaparra strikes out against Oakland lefty Barry Zito, there are a few boos from the Fenway crowd. The actor delivers a "Hang in there, buddy, we love you, Nomar" when the solemn short-stop walks past him on the long walk back to the dugout.

He won't give away any of his favourite Manhattan haunts for kicking back, but says they're "not too swishy, and the food's gotta be good. I love the kind of bars where, instead of nightclubs, there's a bar where you can sit down and have a conversation," he says.

He doesn't touch hard liquor, but he has a taste for full-bodied red wines, including those by Barolo, Brunello, Opus One and Coppola. He gets a discount on Coppola, and buys it by the case for Christmas gifts.

On his left wrist he wears a Tag Heuer, the same one he wore in The Bourne Supremacy. ("When we got done shooting, I just took it.")

No Armani tonight. Black sneakers, blue jeans and a casual shirt. Damon's nephews are crawling all over him, and this is not a time to be worrying about spillage. Damon has been tossing the little guys around since he came back from Europe a couple of days ago and says that's how he hurt his neck - which made it hard for him to take batting practice.

Boston third baseman Bill Mueller let Damon borrow his 31-ounce bat for practice, and now Mueller is stepping in to face Zito. He connects with a pitch and drills a three-run homer into the new seats atop the Monster.

"That's my bat!" Damon tells his people while Mueller rounds the bases. Losing all movie-star dignity, he thrusts fingers into the corners of his mouth and unleashes a whistle that can be heard in Cambridge...

On the way back to the hotel, the vehicle crosses the Charles River on the Boston Unversity Bridge, then peels towards Harvard Square. The perfect night has one last highlight.

"That's Linstrom Field!" Damon says, pointing to a miniature baseball diamond on the right side of Memorial Drive. "I hit one outta here in Little League."

No point in bragging about Oscars, billboards or Armanis. But a Little League homer? That's another matter entirely.

9/06/2004

Matt attended the Deauville Film Festival with his father, director Paul Greengrass and producer Pat Crowley. Photos are from yahoo, getty, and the official site.
In this Chicago Sun-Times interview from 9 August, Matt talked about his reluctance to another Bourne sequel:

"It is so hard to make one solid, good film. Sequels are rarely as good, and the ones that come third and fourth... they usually are just god-awful. I have no interest in participating in anything like that. There are too many original concepts I want to pursue."
But the studio, of course, seems to have other ideas - from here.

Fifth-place Universal Pictures's summer highlight was the terrific performance of The Bourne Supremacy, which has had a strong and steady run-up to a $157.7 million gross. "We love the property, and we love the character," says Universal Pictures Vice Chairman Marc Shmuger. "We always thought it was a real franchise in the making but never imagined it would have this much power in it. It just surpassed the highest-grossing James Bond movie. We are just kind of tickled looking to the future and imagining where this could go."
From this interview, it seems like there won't be a sequel that doesn't include Matt:

Damon ended up as Greengrass' co-pilot and consultant by being involved in the script-writing and production process from the start.

Said Damon: 'I had a lot of say in this one because I wasn't contractually obligated to do it and they couldn't do it without me.'
The extra features on the upcoming Bourne Supremacy DVD have been named as:

* An audio commentary with director Paul Greengrass
* Deleted scenes
* A Matching Identities: Casting featurette
* A Keeping It Real featurette
* A Blowing Things Up featurette
* An On the Move with Jason Bourne featurette
* Bourne to be Wild: Fight Training featurette
* Crash Cam: Racing Through the Streets of Moscow feature
* Go-Mobile Revs up the Action feature
* Anatomy of a Scene: The Explosive Bridge Chase Scene feature
* Scoring with John Powell featurette
* Cast and crew biographies.
Matt talked about Bourne's locations in this timeoff.com interview (the trip to Moscow was cancelled for obvious reasons):

Filming for The Bourne Supremacy was done on location in India, Berlin and Moscow, adding to the globetrotting spy saga style of its predecessor. And for Damon, it seems, working in such locations comes as a huge bonus.

"They were different and impressive, all, I think, but for different reasons. Berlin was the one we were in the most? The city is still reeling from the Wall coming down; the East and West are still fusing. It's really a fascinating place to be and [has] a tremendous amount of energy.

"Moscow, I'd never been, obviously, and that was a totally wild experience as a child of the Cold War. Standing in the middle of Red Square was a pretty great feeling. India was amazing too, and I know I'm kind of sounding like Miss America, but all three were incredibly different and incredibly beautiful. I plan to go back to all of them. I'm actually going to Moscow next week."
Thanks to Barbara for the scans from Matt's interview with the UK Hotdog magazine, including this quote about filming around the world:

"It's been really good to travel around and see all these places," remarks Damon. "But the location's the last thing I care about. I basically try and pick movies based on if I'd do it for free in Uzbekistan, and if I would then I know it's a good movie and then I find out where it's being shot. It's usually better for friends or family who are coming to visit because you end up as the person on set working six days a week and they get to travel around and see everything."
And a quote from the Total Film interview, conducted during the Bourne shoot, again thanks to Barbara.

"It's hard to describe the movie without giving too much away but it involves him getting sucked back into the life that he was running away from in the first place. This movie is probably darker. I'm sure that I'm not supposed to say that! It's the last thing studio people want to hear: 'Darker? Don't say that!"

"I like Matt tremendously," enthuses Greengrass. "I think he does interesting things with Bourne. He manages to play quite a full range, between dark and optimistic. Often with these big franchise films, the actually range of the series is terribly narrow."

So with Bourne in the bag, the helmer doesn't fancy a crack at Bond, then?

"God, no!" he laughs. "I don't think that sounds like me. James Bond is a real archetypal character but essentially James Bond is an imperial adventurer, he's a figure of the establishment. Everything that Bond is, Bourne isn't. Bond's a superhero. Bourne's just a clever guy who's against the establishment and on our side. And he's out on the streets and on the run and we hope he makes it home. Whereas James Bond's just some idiot in a casino..."
Another late story from Australia's Herald Sun newspaper for the local Australian Rules Football fans:

Clint makes Damon a Demon
By Daryl Timms

Actor Matt Damon reckons he'll stand out like a sore thumb when he pounds the streets of New York in his Melbourne jumper.

Damon was presented with the jumper by Melbourne's Clint Bizzell, who told the Hollywood superstar that he has been studying acting for three years. And Damon responded by telling the Demon player to look him up if he's ever in New York.

Bizzell and teammate Nick Smith, as part of Fox Footy's Living With Footballers program, regularly review movies. Their most recent assignment was The Bourne Supremacy, starring Damon. Bizzell recently caught up with Damon in Melbourne, and as well as explaining how to take a "specky", also presented him with the Demon jumper.

"I will go jogging in New York with this on, and every Australian in New York will shout out to me while I am running," Damon said.

9/03/2004

Matt did not visit Moscow as scheduled due to the terrorist threats in Russia. He is now in Deauville with his father ahead of Bourne Supremacy's press conference on Sunday.
Ten photos from Matt's appearance on Rove Live in Australia are here.
Universal expects Bourne Supremacy to make $350 million world-wide. Read the high expectations here, along with their implicit desire to see it become an ongoing money-making franchise, in a review of summer movies:

Universal Vice Chairman Marc Shmuger also feels that "this has been a good summer overall, and the business is healthy. But there were so few surprises, not counting 'Fahrenheit 9/11.' Everybody would have predicted the top two movies would be 'Shrek 2' and 'Spider-Man 2,' and in fact it turned out that way."

Universal had two films among the top moneymakers. While "Van Helsing" didn't perform as well here as the company had hoped, it is expected to gross about $300 million worldwide, Shmuger said. "Bourne" is on track to do $350 million worldwide, Shmuger added. Another installment is virtually assured because the company believes "it has a lot of vitality as an ongoing property," he says.
Some photos and a short summary of Matt's Sydney premiere are at the website of Greater Union:

Oscar winner Matt Damon thrilled hundreds of adoring fans last Monday night when he took to the red carpet at the exclusive Hollywood style premiere of his latest blockbuster, The Bourne Supremacy at the new Greater Union Bondi Junction. The likable star impressed crowds and media alike with his down to earth nature, taking time to meet and greet fans, who turned out in droves to catch a glimpse of the sexy superstar.
And a final local sighting from the Daily Telegraph:

More good words about Hollywood honey Matt Damon.

A reader says she waited on Matt and his girlfriend at the Sydney Cove Oysterbar earlier this week. "They were happy to talk and tried a few oyster shots and soaked up the sun," she said. "One of the nicest, easy going persons I've met. Happy to sign an autograph. A great guy."

9/01/2004

Matt and director Paul Greengrass will present The Bourne Supremacy at the Deauville Film Festival in France this coming Sunday.
The DVD of Bourne Supremacy will be available on 7 December, but no special features have been announced yet. From dvdanswers.
Thanks to Sally for this photo she took of Matt and crew on the set of Bourne Supremacy in Goa earlier this year.
Another fun interview with Matt is at the site of Australian radio station Triple M. Matt talks about Brad Pitt, Heath Ledger, and being unable to eat the local food in India as they wouldn't risk his health when filming every day (which contradicts Indian media reports). He also jokingly says that if the Bourne sequels keep coming, the final one would be called "The Bourne Colostomy" and that it will no longer be about amnesia but finding a cure for Alzheimers.
Here's the text of Matt's interview on TV show Mondo Thingo, and there's also a really interesting Radio National interview here. Matt talks about the filming of Gerry, Gus Van Sant's influences and the working style of Terry Gilliam.