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FEBRUARY 2003 NEWS


2/28/2003
  • Details on Stuck on you from the Boston Herald. Filming will now move from LA to Rockport, followed by the Miami area.
    Streep Meryl-ly signs on to Farrelly laughfest
    by Gayle Fee and Laura Raposa, Friday, February 28, 2003
    From the Things-You-Thought-You'd-Never-See File: Meryl Streep, the darling of the Oscars, the most serious of Serious Actresses, in a flick by Boston's favorite low-brows - the Farrelly Brothers!
    It's true. Meryl has signed on to play herself in a cameo role in ``Stuck on You,'' the Matt Damon-Greg Kinnear Siamese-twin comedy that Bobby and Peter Farrelly bring to Rockport Monday.
    ``Somewhere along the way, we bumped into Meryl and she told us that she always wanted to do comedy and to please keep her in mind,'' Bobby told the Track. ``And we thought, `What do we do with Meryl? What do we do with Meryl?' So we decided to have her play a comedic version of herself.'' So Streep will play Streep in a scene where the joined-at-the-hip twins - who travel from their home on Martha's Vineyard to Hollywood because one of them wants to be a star - are in a production of ``One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.'' Meryl plays Nurse Ratched.
    ``We are kind of winging it as we go along,'' Farrelly said. ``Because we don't have the rights to `Cuckoo's Nest' yet. But hopefully, we'll get them. If not, we'll have Meryl in something else. You know the old saying, `You don't bring a gun onstage and not use it.' ''
    Oh, no. If Meryl's agreed to work with the guys responsible for cheesy classics like ``Shallow Hal'' and ``There's Something About Mary,'' the Oscar gal won't be left on the cutting room floor!
    And guess what? Meryl's not the only famous face who will stick her mug in ``Stuck.'' Cher has also signed on to play a lead role.
    As Cher.
    And Andover homey Jay Leno gave the Farrellys a half-hour at the end of ``The Tonight Show'' the other night to shoot a scene where the twins get some couch time with Jay Leno. Of course. Real-life ``Tonight Show'' guests Luke Wilson and ex-Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura also hung around and will be in the flick.
    ``It's funny, Peter and I had just decided that we weren't going to do a bathroom scene with them. We just weren't going to go there,'' Farrelly said. ``Well, as soon as they sat down, they were improvising, and Jesse Ventura says, `I gotta ask. How do you guys go to the bathroom?' Within five minutes of us deciding not to go there, Jesse Ventura brought it up!''
    Farrelly said he and the bro, who shot for three weeks in La-La before heading East, are having more fun making this flick than they've ever had and they credit the stars. ``They are the nicest guys we've ever worked with,'' he said. ``And they're nailing the role. We're having a blast and taking that as a good sign.''
    After a week in Rockport, the traveling show heads south to Miami for eight weeks. (Miami will play Los Angeles, while Rockport subs for the Vineyard.) Then the brothers head home and spend the summer editing. The flick is scheduled to be released next December.
    File under: Star Stuck.

  • From zap2it.com and its summary of the tabloids:

    MATT DAMON'S NEW FLICK
    Matt Damon was filming his new movie, "Stuck on You" in front of the Vine Theater in Hollywood this past weekend. Most of the action in the scene was taking place at the adult book store and movie theater next door where the presentation for the day "Catch Me In The Can." Hmmm? whaddya think they'll do with "Stuck on You"?

  • Continuing the non-fight denials - this one from Bill Zwecker in the Chicago Sun-Times:

    EYE TO EYE: Seems those black eyes suffered simultaneously by Affleck and best buddy Matt Damon are just coincidental. Damon's stems from an eye irritation caused when he was sprayed with fake Mace on the set of his new film, ''Stuck on You.'' Affleck's reps are not commenting on his black eye, but trust me--it is NOT from a fight with Damon.

  • Gerry opens in several major cities today, including Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington, and the critical reactions are typically mixed. Some of the better ones are linked below:
  • Boston Globe is very positive: here
    Including:
    The best way to approach ''Gerry'' -- perhaps the only way -- is to treat it as a sanctuary, a film to be visited the way you would a Buddhist temple or a piece of ambient music: drifting off and coming back, calmly watching the man in the next row chew his arm off in frustration, then suddenly locking in as Van Sant's camera pans a gloriously slow 180 degrees across the mountains surrounding Affleck's head.
  • Chicago Tribune is quite positive: here
  • Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert) gives it three-stars: here
  • Love this end quote from a review in Philadelphia Weekly: here

    This movie left me in a stuporous haze I couldn't shake for days. When it was over I was so spaced out I couldn't find my car keys--yet others stood around hurling invective at the screen. (Press screenings are terrible places to see art films, as it's hard not to be embarrassed watching middle-aged professionals carry on like an unruly junior high class mocking a substitute teacher.)
    But with all due respect to the boisterous gentleman beside me who snored his way through the picture's second hour, it's the kind of movie you need to surrender yourself to. Gerry is strange, maddening and breathtaking. It might not be "for everybody," but it blew my fucking mind.

    2/27/2003
  • More news and denials on the alleged fight:

    The report from the NY Daily News could have been worded a little more carefully:
    In the public eye
    Eye caramba! A pair of puffy peepers has set off rumors that Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have had a brawl over Jennifer Lopez.
    For some time now, reps for all the parties have been swatting away tab reports that Damon doesn't want his buddy marrying J.Lo. The story festered again yesterday when London's Sun ran photos of Damon and Affleck sporting what it said were shiners.
    The paper quoted a source on Damon's new movie, "Stuck on You," in which he and Greg Kinnear play Siamese twins, as saying that Damon "wouldn't say what happened, making it even more intriguing."
    Affleck's rep didn't return a call by deadline. But Damon's spokeswoman Amanda Silverman told us: "In the movie, Matt is supposed to be sprayed with Mace. [His irritated eye] is a combination of whatever they sprayed him with and a little makeup."
    She added, "Matt loves Ben, and he loves Jennifer."

    And the shorter report from the NY Post:
    Eye-opener
    IS it makeup, or did Matt Damon really get beat up filming a fight scene in L.A. with Greg Kinnear? The two play Siamese twins in "Stuck on You." "In one scene he gets sprayed with mace, so his eye was irritated," Damon's spokeswoman said. Meanwhile, both Ben Affleck and Madonna are apparently sporting shiners on the Left Coast. Asked by the London Sun if it hurt, Affleck muttered "yes" before scurrying away.


  • Matt hosts and narrates three upcoming PBS documentaries in the "Journey to Planet Earth" series. The titles are On the Brink (airing 26 March), Hot Zones (airing 2 April) and Seas of Grass (airing 9 April). More details:

    On the Brink: Examine how severe environmental problems can lead to political crises and increased hostilities around the world.
    Hot Zones: See how changes in global and local ecosystems are connected to the increased spread of infectious diseases.
    Seas of Grass: Discover the world's grasslands, natural vegetation of nearly one-quarter of Earth's land surface, some of which are in grave danger.

    At the program's PBS website there's a link to a video introduction by Matt to the program and site with this summary: here
    Matt Damon, who narrates Journey to Planet Earth, introduces both the website and the upcoming Citizens Science Experiment.

  • Thanks to www.caseyaffleck.net for details about the above program. A reminder: Caseyaffleck.net also has a great collection of interviews and articles about Casey and Gerry.

    2/26/2003
  • Tabloid gossip from a source (The Sun, UK) which should not be trusted:here

    Matt's Ben belted
    HAVE pals MATT DAMON and BEN AFFLECK fallen out?
    Both sported shiners when they were spotted in LA but neither said how they got them.
    When asked if his bruise hurt, Ben just said: "Yes." And Matt said even less when quizzed on leaving a film set.
    A source on Matt's new movie Stuck On You, in which he plays a Siamese twin alongside GREG KINNEAR, told me: "Matt seemed in a lot of pain. He wouldn't say what happened, making it even more intriguing."
    Ben and Matt have been friends for years and jointly won a 1998 screenplay Oscar for Good Will Hunting.

  • The report has already been denied by director Kevin Smith on the View Askew messageboard, who wrote when asked about the incident: "Having just saw Ben not two hours ago, I can safely say he's not sporting a shiner."
    End of rumour.
  • Empireonline.co.uk's view of the above:

    2/25/2003
  • Meryl Streep added one day, Jack Nicholson and Al Pacino the next - there must be an awful lot of cameos or in-jokes in this movie. A minor warning: part of the information in the following story is contradictory to details previously released.
    From Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith's column: here

    Nicholson, Pacino in Farrelly movie
    Jack Nicholson and Al Pacino are joining the insanity of Bobby and Peter Farrelly's latest filmic effort, "Stuck on You" -- the flick that has Greg Kinnear and Matt Damon as conjoined twins, one of whom is burning to get into show business and drags the other along.
    Really.
    You may recall that Cher is also starring in "Stuck on You," playing a TV star who works with the twins. We hear she will be seen taking them trick-or-treating in one sequence. Seeing that they're joined at the head, they're wearing an octopus costume.
    We're not kidding.
    The Farrelly brothers -- who brought us "Shallow Hal," "Dumb and Dumber" and "Me, Myself and Irene" -- have been saying that they don't intend to make fun of the disabled with "Stuck," and that the twins will be winners. Latest word is, the production's been auditioning juvenile actors with really big ears for a part in the flick.
    Not that anyone's making fun of big ears.

  • From businesswire.com, a request for extras in Florida, and notice of a new cast member for Stuck on you, Meryl Streep:

    ADVISORY/Ellen Jacoby Casting Seeks Extras for New Movie, ''Stuck on You,'' Starring Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear
    MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 24, 2003--Florida casting director Ellen Jacoby is looking for people who want to be extras in the Farrelly brothers next movie "Stuck on You." In addition to having cast "There's Something About Mary," Ellen has cast such films as "The Hours," "Ali," "True Lies," "The Waterboy" and many, many more.
    The Farrelly brothers, directors of "There's Something About Mary," "Dumb and Dumber," "Me Myself and Irene," and "Shallow Hal" will be filming in Miami from March to May and are looking for paid extras. The movie stars Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Cher, Meryl Streep, as well as many others.
    The open casting call will be held at Loehmann's Fashion Island on Sunday, March 2 from 12:00 noon until 3:00 p.m. Loehmann's Fashion Island is located on Biscayne Boulevard at 187 Street in North Miami Beach. The casting call will be held in a storefront on the south side of the mall. For more information and directions please call 305-341-8686. Please bring any recent snapshot or photo to the open call.
    CONTACT: Ellen Jacoby Casting International, Miami
    Ellen Jacoby, 305/373-0073

  • Lisa passed on information about a special screening of Gerry in Chicago this week:

    "Gerry" screening in Chicago on Wednesday Feb. 26 at 6:00pm. The screening will be held at:The Gene Siskel Film Center of the school of the Art Insitute of Chicago, 164 N. State Street, Chicago, IL 60601
    Tickets are $8 at the door. For more information call (hotline) 312- 846-2800 (Gen) 312-846-2600. Or visit the website at www.siskelfilmcenter.org

  • From MSN Entertainment, a story from the Gerry press junket here

    Damon Still Single
    The hunky actor swears he's not engaged.
    By BeatBoxBetty
    Since his buddy Ben Affleck has been so busy tending to J.Lo and his Daredevil-ish career, it looks like Matt Damon has had to hang out with Ben's little brother Casey. In fact, the two are starring in Gerry, a new low budget movie that -- in all likelihood -- will be in limited release for a short time before going straight to video.
    Critics have been wildly mixed on the film, and Matt told BBC Radio that, indeed, it's rather quirky. "I would describe it by saying it's two guys who walk into the desert together -- two friends who become disoriented. And that's simply the kind of premise of the movie." Hmm, sounds like a bad acid trip or the plot of Ishtar to me!
    But dandy Damon sure manages to be a good sport when asked how the critics have taken his new film -- "We took it to Sundance and the reaction was everything from 'This is great' to 'You'll only ever see this movie if you're being tortured.'"
    And speaking of torture, Matt claims he has had enough of these reports that he's engaged to be married. For months rumors have claimed that he's ready to tie the knot with buddy Ben's ex-assistant Odessa Whitmire -- but the star swears he has no intention of getting hitched any time soon. "It's the third time this year someone has engaged us -- last year they engaged us three times. I don't know what that is, it's kind of weird." Yeah, but but you got to admit Matt: It's not as weird as that movie premise for Gerry.

  • The Bourne Identity will be released in the UK on DVD and video 10 March.

  • This story was posted last week, lost, and deserves to be posted again. From the Republican-American: here

    Cheshire athlete provides words that may help other young people with cancer
    Sunday, February 16, 2003, By Joe Palladino
    © 2003 Republican-American
    CHESHIRE Amanda Garbatini never asked to be a celebrity. But the 16 year-old Cheshire High sophomore isn't complaining. Garbatini has spent one week in each of the past five summers at Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall Gang camp in Ashford. She lost her left leg, a rib and part of a lung to cancer. When Newman announced plans to build a similar camp in California, this one to be called the Painted Turtle Camp, he asked Garbatini to speak at a celebrity fundraiser in Los Angeles.
    "What they did was have celebrities put on a show," said Garbatini of the event held last November. "Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, Jack Nicholson all acted in the play."
    The play was called "The World of Nick Adams", based on an Ernest Hemingway character, and the cast featured (among others) Newman, Joanne Woodward, Hanks, Roberts, Damon, Nicholson, Goldie Hawn, Kevin Kline, Bruce Willis and Annette Bening.
    After Garbatini spoke to an audience of 3,500 actors and celebrities, "There wasn't a dry eye in the house," as her mother, Lace, described it. "I could not believe how well she did."
    Highlights of the evening, including a portion of Garbatini's speech, appeared the next night on the syndicated television show Access Hollywood.
    The event raised more than $2 million, and almost as importantly, it earned Garbatini a new best friend. Oscar-winning actor Matt Damon was moved by Garbatini's story, and he invited the family to dinner and a Broadway show.
    "We went to dinner at Sardi's," said a beaming Amanda, "and then he got us tickets to see the play Paul Newman was in, "Our Town.' They were hard to get, and I guess he had to pull some strings, but he got us fifth-row seats." Later, Damon escorted the family back to Newman's dressing room. While Amanda was dazzled by Damon, her mom, Lace, was knocked out by Newman.
    "I couldn't believe I was in Paul Newman's dressing room," Lace said. "His eyes are so blue."


    2/23/2003
    A summary of recent news items:
  • Stuck on you will be released on 12 December 2003, as advised in a Fox press release:

    STUCK ON YOU showcases Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly's trademark mix of humor and heart. Academy Award winner Matt Damon and Oscar nominee Greg Kinnear portray Bob and Walt Tenor, conjoined "Siamese" twins who are winners at everything -- from flipping burgers at the diner they own, or performing miraculous feats on ice for their local hockey team. They never leave each other's side ... and wouldn't have it any other way. That is, until Walt decides he wants to follow his dreams of making it as a Hollywood actor, and persuades his reluctant sibling to go along for the ride. Tinseltown may never recover as Bob and Walt find fame, romance and a new perspective on their inseparable bond. Academy Award winner Cher and Eva Mendes also star.

  • From Variety: a possible new project:

    'Brothers Grimm' filled to brim Ensemble signs on for Gilliam-helmed fantasy By Marc Graser Matt Damon, Heath Ledger, Robin Williams and Jonathan Pryce are in line to become MGM's fairy tale cast for its comedic actioner "Brothers Grimm." In development at the studio for nearly two years, the film is now on the fast track for a 2004 release under the direction of Terry Gilliam. The action-adventure tale revolving around the legendary German brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm is set to start shooting around Prague in June.
    Written by "The Ring" scribe Ehren Kruger, the fictional plot has the folklore collectors, now called Jake and Will, traveling from village to village pretending to protect townsfolk from enchanted creatures and pulling off exorcisms. They are put to the test when they encounter a real magical curse, requiring genuine courage.
    Final negotiations on castings are underway, calling for Damon and Ledger to play the brothers, while Williams and Pryce would portray the villains Cavaldi and Delatombe. The talent deals and film's final budget are said to be contingent upon Damon's coming on board the project. The actor, who last appeared in Universal's action thriller "The Bourne Identity," recently signed on to star in Steven Soderbergh's "The Informant" at Warner Bros. He is currently shooting the Peter and Bobby Farrelly-directed comedy "Stuck on You" for Fox. The film being produced by Mosaic Media Group's Chuck Roven, who produced Gilliam's "Twelve Monkeys," along with producer Daniel Bobker. Mosaic and Roven are also behind MGM's spring action film "Bulletproof Monk," starring Chow-Yun Fat and Seann William Scott.

  • More information about the project from Empireonline.co.uk

    Gilliam's Grimm Tales
    23/10/2002

    Do you remember those freakily scary tales your kind parents decided to read to you at the exact moment you fell asleep thereby polluting your infantile dreams with terrifying imaginings and, of course, disturbing your psychological make-up for life? Well, as Empire Online's sleepless nights are still riven by such febrile thoughts, we were more than shaken to find out our last haven, the cinema screen, is set to become corrupted by the creepy stories of the Brothers Grimm as adapted by Terry Gilliam. Returning to the fantastical world of Time Bandits and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, the eccentric ex-Python has, after much grinding of the rumour mill, finally signed on the dotted line to direct the project called Grimm, which has been in development at MGM for nearly two years. The Grimm brothers' tales ? which include such quietly petrifying stories entitled 'The Girl Without Hands,' and the cheery 'The Story Of The Boy Who Went Out To Learn Fear' - depict a capricious and cruel world in which Satan pops up far too many times for our personal comfort.
    A surprising choice for some safe-playing MGM executive, we hear you ponder. Well, not quite. The characteristic chill of the original stories is going to be warmed up a degree or two by becoming a fictional action-adventure tale about the Grimm Brothers themselves, who will be transformed from the original Germanic Jacob and Wilhelm to the slightly less so Jake and Will. These plucky folklore collectors travel around villages pretending to protect townsfolk from enchanted creatures but meet their match in a real sorceress complete with terrifying powers in a mix which has described as Indiana Jones adventure meets Shrek humour. A canny re-imagining, if ever there was one.


    2/22/03
      Dear readers:
      As of today, this site is being managed by Felicity, our long-time and prolific contributor. Felicity has been the tireless source of Matt news since this site went up in 1998. I think Matt is fortunate to have a fan such as Felicity, and I am thankful that she is willing to take over the site.
      I know that Felicity will give this site a much needed breath of fresh air. I thank all the readers who have been visiting the site regularly, and particularly those who contribute news and sent in their gratitude. Please continue to stop by this site and keep it going in support of a great actor and a wonderful guy, Matt Damon, of whom I am sure we have not yet seen the best.
      The email address links on this page has been replaced with Felicity's. From now on, please send your email to Felicity at felix339@homemail.com.au.
      Many thanks.
    2/15/03
    • A big thanks to D. C. for sharing this report:
        This is from my friend Janine who was at Leno the day that Matt and Greg Kinnear filmed a scene from 'Stuck On You.' Here is her review:
        An ordinary trip to see a taping of Jay Leno turned out to be anything but ordinary on Wednesday, February 8. My roomate and I (along with the rest of the audience from that day)became unpaid extras in a scene for the new Farrelly Brother's movie, 'Stuck on You.'
        The basic premise of the movie sounds pretty funny. Greg Kinnear and Matt Damon play conjoined twins who share a liver. Greg's character is an actor on a prime time sitcom-but Matt's character is not an actor. They apparantly have shot around him all this time, and for some reason the secret of Greg being a conjoined twin comes out-so they decide to go on 'The Tonight Show' to talk about it to America.
        The scene we were in started with the twins coming onstage, as any guest at Leno does. (Note: The actual guests from that day's taping stuck around to be the other guests in the scene-Actor Luke Wilson and former wrestler/Minnesota Governor Jess Ventura.) Jay asks them how they iron pants with 4 legs, and they talk a bit about the sports the two were involved with as children. Greg's character is predictably outgoing, while Matt's is more reserved and shy. Lots of funny stuff though-including a part that was going to be filmed later on with special effects-Matt & Greg on the rings-showing off their gymnastics skills.
        All in all, it took about an hour and a half to film, and was very funny. Matt took the time to joke around with the audience between takes, and was his usual charming self. I'm not usually a big Farrelly Brother's fan, but this movie looks like it'll be full of funny gags.
    • From Felicity:
      • Bourne continues to do amazingly well on video:
        Born to rent: 'Identity' sets 12-day mark
        Feb. 06, 2003
        Universal Studios Home Video's actioner "The Bourne Identity" continues to break rental records, drawing in an estimated $18 million in gross rental revenue for the week ending Feb. 2, according to Video Store magazine data. The Matt Damon starrer set the all-time first-week rental gross record after it debuted Jan. 21, earning an estimated $22.76 million in just five days on rental shelves, eclipsing last year's topper, Warner Home Video's "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," which grossed more than $19 million during it first week in release. "Identity," which generated $121.5 million in domestic boxoffice revenue, has now amassed an estimated $40 million-plus in gross rental revenue after 12 days on shelves, breaking another record set by "Potter." The Nielsen VideoScan First Alert DVD sales chart for the week ending Feb. 2 shows "Identity" dwarfing sales of all other titles for the second straight week, with VideoScan's more complete DVD sales chart showing "Identity" finding itself atop DVD sales of Buena Vista Home Entertainment's "Signs" in terms of units sold through to consumers during "Identity's" debut week, Jan. 21-26.
      • Bourne's got a nomination in one of the many award races:
        Golden Reel noms get sounding
        Feb. 10, 2003
        The Motion Picture Sound Editors has announced nominees for its 50th annual Golden Reel Awards. Nominees for sound editing in domestic features, sound effects/foley, are: "The Bourne Identity," "Gangs of New York," "Minority Report," "Panic Room," "Road to Perdition," "Spider-Man," "Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones," "We Were Soldiers" and "XXX." In the sound editing in domestic features, dialogue/ADR, the nominees are: "Antwone Fisher," "The Bourne Identity," "Catch Me If You Can," "Chicago," "Gangs of New York," "Minority Report," "Road to Perdition" and "Spider-Man." Sound editing in a feature, music nominees are: "Adaptation," "Catch Me If You Can," "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind," "Gangs of New York," "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," "The Mothman Prophecies," "Road to Perdition" and "Unfaithful." (Gregg Kilday)
      • Another Gus article: here.
      • There's not really any point to this NY Post article:

        BEN THERE, DONE MATT
        By MEGAN LEHMANN
        February 10, 2003 -- THEY were once crowned the golden-haired twins of Hollywood, but now Ben Affleck is pulling ahead of his childhood buddy Matt Damon in the race for superstardom. Affleck, named People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive last year, is engaged to arguably the planet's hottest female star, Jennifer Lopez, and Friday opens in the title role of the hyped-to-the-hilt superhero film "Daredevil."
        Damon, meanwhile, seems to have taken a far lower road: He is affianced to Affleck's former assistant, Odessa Whitmire, and will go up against his pal at the box office this week with "Gerry," a difficult art film in which he gets second billing to Affleck's younger brother, Casey.
        Nice-guy Damon may be eating Affleck's dust - but that's just the way he wants it.
        Ever since they won Oscars for co-writing 1997's "Good Will Hunting," the former Boston schoolmates have deliberately struck out on divergent career paths.
        Affleck - who tends to dress like a Hollywood powerbroker in sharp suits and coiffed hair to Damon's low-key jeans and baseball caps - has courted the limelight with showy roles in big-budget blockbusters such as "Armageddon," "Pearl Harbor" and "The Sum of All Fears."
        The release of the latter movie last year marked the first time the two went head to head at the cineplex and, coincidentally, both played famous literary CIA operatives: Affleck as Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan and Damon as Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne in "The Bourne Identity."
        "The Sum of All Fears" opened at No. 1 while, two weeks later, "The Bourne Identity" was trumped by a dopey cartoon about a dog - a fact Affleck didn't allow to go unnoticed, good-naturedly ribbing his buddy by having a giant stuffed Scooby-Doo delivered to his door.
        But Bourne, a former spy struggling to get his memory back, was a more complex and challenging role - something Damon has displayed a penchant for with smaller films like "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and "Rounders," and plays like Kenneth Lonergan's "This Is Our Youth" on London's West End, alongside (once again!) Ben's little brother Casey.
        Although both are raking in the big bucks - Affleck's getting $11.5 million plus a share of the gross for "Daredevil"; Damon was paid $10 million for "Bourne" - Affleck is the one who has embraced the bling-bling life, showering J.Lo with extravagant gifts, including a 6.1-carat pink diamond engagement ring.
        The expensive furs, the flashy cars and their constant public canoodling means the pairing of "Ben and Jen" has usurped the once ubiquitous "Matt and Ben" in the spotlight.
        But the former little leaguers - who both made their movie debuts in 1992's "School Ties" - are still as close as ever, finishing each other's sentences in interviews and guffawing at inside jokes.
        They sponsor aspiring filmmakers through "Project Greenlight," and will reteam for the third time with their "Dogma" and "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" director Kevin Smith on this summer's "Jersey Girl," which will also star Ben's betrothed.
        And they're rumored to be working on a project that just might put them back on equal footing: A remake of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid."
      • The Daredevil premiere was held in LA Sunday night, but Matt didn't attend.
      • An interview mostly with Gus: here
      • The Village Voice review (of Gerry): here
      • "Stuck on you" finally has a listing on the Miami-Dade Film Commission site: 
         
Project: Stuck on you
Posted: 10 February 2003
Contact: Garrett Grant 
Status: Pre-Production
Fax: 305-673-5558
Address: 
Twentieth Century Fox 
605 Lincoln Road 
5th Floor 
Miami Beach, FL 33139
      • From zap2it.com, notice of another Live Planet project:
        CBS has also ordered a comedy called "All Grown Up," about a group of long-time friends dealing with the fact that two of them are about to become parents. Jay Lacopo wrote the pilot and will play one of the friends. The project is being produced by LivePlanet, the production company headed by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, and Bull's Eye Entertainment.
      • Entertainment Weekly's Owen Gleiberman surprisingly liked "Gerry", giving it an A-
        Review: here. New photo: here
        Gus Van Sant's Gerry is a very slow and beautiful and compelling movie about a couple of brash dudes, played by Matt Damon and Casey Affleck, who get lost in the stony pink grandeur of the California desert. Casually, they slip off the trail and try to get back, only to discover that Death Valley, in its beckoning vastness, has swallowed them up. The young men, who call each other by the mutual nickname Gerry, keep thinking that they're going to find their way out. They hike up and down rock formations, certain that the highway is over the next crest, but before long it's clear that they aren't getting anywhere. Van Sant, who crafts their nomadic voyage out of spectacular desert vistas and very little dialogue, teases the audience -- intimidates us, really -- with the prospect that the movie, too, is going to end up wandering into oblivion. Yet if you let yourself get all worked into a lather over whether Van Sant has made some sort of ultimate, showboating anticommercial art dare, you probably won't enjoy ''Gerry'' very much. The movie is on some level a stunt, but it has the fervent, sun-dazed pull of an authentic experience unfolding in real time, with glints of drama, comedy, and terror mixed into the almost-but-not-quite tedium.
        There's one very funny sequence -- it's like a primal act of Stone Age slapstick -- in which Damon tries to talk Affleck into jumping off a towering rock. Later, after days with no water, the two skulk along like ghosts at the gates of purgatory, and the shot is so transfixing that you scarcely want it to end. As the two shove and bicker and finally let down their guards, we realize that we're watching a male love story about a couple of quintessentially detached American jocks who can allow their souls to connect only through disaster and death. ''Gerry'' meanders, all right, but by the end of the movie, you know that you've been somewhere. EW Grade: A-
      • Even Gerry's negative reviews are interesting to read, like this one from LA Weekly: here.

      • ... nice to see that "Spirit" was given an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Film.
    2/10/03
    • From Felicity:
      • Another Boston Herald "Stuck on you" shooting update: The funny Farrelly Brothers and their location peeps scoured Rockport yesterday to find settings for their new Matt Damon-Greg Kinnear comedy ``Stuck On You.'' The Siamese Twin yukfest will shoot for a week on the North Shore in early March before moving on to Miami. Word is, the Farrellys scoped out Rockport's downtown and were seeking a spot to shoot an ice hockey scene.
      • On Bourne's video success, as reported in the trades:
        Bourne Identity: $22.76 million rental revenue in 5 days, for a total revenue as % of boxoffice = 18.8%
      • There's an interview with Casey and Gus Van Sant in the new "Out" magazine (February 2003). The interview is at a Casey site: here
      • The distributor for Gerry's site is here.
      • From an interview with George Clooney in Empire magazine - wasn't Matt also on the same 8% back-end payment?
        The last time George Clooney got paid was on a commercial project, Ocean's 11. He didn't ask for an upfront fee (he hasn't done that since The Perfect Storm) but both he and Brad Pitt saw more money on the back-end than they had ever made in their lives. "I think that's how it should be all the time," Clooney says. Indeed, the Section Eight business plan basically boils down to this: "Every odd year find an Ocean's I I -type film that can make a little money."...
        Perhaps it's just as well that Clooney isn't gambling with Solaris and Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind. The Ocean's 11 star is a lousy gambler. Matt Damon will not sit with him at a blackjack table and shoves him away if he comes near. Damon likes to tell the story of the time Clooney lost 20 hands of blackjack in a row, an almost impossible trick. "Bad luck," Clooney shrugs.
      • A brief story from the NY Times on Gus Van Sant and "Gerry": here.
        It mentions an invitation only screening of "Gerry" at the Gramercy Theatre in Manhattan this week - so this probably means the "premiere" will be either Tuesday or Wednesday (cinema closed to the public on these days).
      • From IMDB: Soderbergh: More Star Pay Cuts for 'Ocean's Twelve'
        Director Steven Soderbergh has confirmed that an Ocean's Eleven sequel will go ahead - but is determined to make his A-list stars take a pay cut. In the original 2001 remake Ocean's Eleven, Hollywood hot property like George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt all took salary cuts in order to get the film made - and Soderbergh insists salary negotiations for the tentatively titled Ocean's Twelve will be even harsher than before. He says, "When we were coming back from doing press in December 2001, I asked everybody if the idea of a sequel appealed and they were cool. But they had to make a promise: that is, we're gonna be the first sequel in history that costs exactly the same as the first one. And since the scale of the sequel's gonna be even bigger, they're all gonna have to take an even bigger pay cut than last time." And the Traffic Oscar winner sees himself as the man to reverse a film tradition that stipulates more extravagant second movies. He adds, "I think somebody needs to do this - stop the idea that the second one has to be more expensive."
      • From Ben's press junket interview, as reported in Dark Horizons:
        Question: In which roles would you cast Kevin (Smith) and your brother as superheroes??
        Answer: My brother I feel is a superhero. Incidentally, my brother has a movie opening this weekend as well, which I think is one of the great American art movies ever made. It?s a staggering movie worth checking out. Matt?s in it. Gus Van Sant directed it. It?s called Gerry. It?s like playing art houses and stuff and really worth seeing.
        Question: How does Matt (Damon) feel about you being a superhero?
        Answer: He?s threatened. He feels intimidated. Wishes he made that choice. A little jealous. He likes the tights. What does Matt think? (imitating Matt) Hey man, so you?re doing this superhero thing. You?ve met Matt, he?s like a hail fellow well met, he?s a pretty genial guy but I think he?s a little intimidated. I know that he feels a little comforted because on those lonely nights when he hears a noise in the room, he can say, honey, get up. Will you go look downstairs? And I?ll go down and look downstairs. (jokes) Jennifer is always the one who goes downstairs, and I?m like, Honey, get up and go downstairs.
      • EW Online has a story on 8 actors who could be in the running for Superman, and they include Matt (very negative). There's also a pic of Matt photo-shopped as Superman: here and here
        STATUS
        Back when director Wolfgang Petersen was scouting potential superheroes for ''Batman vs. Superman,'' he cited Damon, 31, as the type of performer ''who can really act and give complexity and emotions'' to the character.
        SUPERHERO CRED
        The Academy Award winner only recently got to play an action hero, in ''The Bourne Identity''...to mixed reviews.
        PRO His prep-school
        charm and well-coiffed (albeit dirty blond) hair work in his favor as Kent. Think Tom Ripley (''The Talented Mr. Ripley'') -- minus that whole sociopathic killer thing.
        CON He'd have to play Superman, too. Hard to imagine.
        VERDICT
        This is the sort of predictable career move that Damon buddy director Kevin Smith satirized in ''Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.'' It didn't go over so well in that film, and in this case, life would most likely imitate art.
      • The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Cher has a major role in "Stuck on you", and the report claims filming starts in Miami later this month (contrary to other reports, which cite LA as the first location). Cher is meant to be truly horrible to work with...
        Farrelly brothers 'Stuck' on Cher for Fox twin pic
        By Zorianna Kit
        LOS ANGELES (The Hollywood Reporter) --- Oscar and Grammy winner Cher will star opposite Greg Kinnear (news) and Matt Damon (news) in 20th Century Fox's "Stuck on You" for Bobby and Peter Farrelly (news). The project begins shooting this month in Miami.
        "Stuck" stars Damon and Kinnear as conjoined twins, one of whom aspires to act. Upon their arrival to Hollywood, they are cast on a television show starring Cher, whose recently released feature was a hit, and she is not too keen to be working on television. But the show becomes a huge hit, catapulting the twins to fame.
        The Farrellys and Bradley Thomas are producing the project through their Conundrum Entertainment. Charlie Wessler is also producing.
      • Filming for "Stuck on you" has already begun. Apparently audience members at the taping of Jay Leno's show Wednesday were asked to stay after the show and be extras in a scene - and Matt did appear. Reported by DivaChickie on here.
      • There was a premiere for "Gerry" at the Gramercy Theatre in NY on Tuesday. Matt did not attend, but Gus and Casey were there. A few photos are at here.
      • From WENN's report on Cher's involvement with "Stuck on you" (it's probably a fake quote, but it's still ridiculous):
        A movie insider says, "It is very funny and a little touching. Cher's involvement will really bring it up a peg or two."
      • A new online interview with Gus Van Sant at the Advocate's site: here.
      • From TV Guide Online - on USA Channel 24 at 9.00am, Sunday 9 February.
        PGA Tour Sunday
        60 min.
        Interviews with the PGA's Pat Perez and celebrity golfers Matt Damon, Kevin Costner and Chris O'Donnell. Also: examining Bing Crosby's interest in golf. (VCR Plus+ 597557)
      • An interesting, long article with Matt and Casey about Gerry, working on TIOY and the acting process: here
        With a photo at here
        There's also an article with Gus at the same site: here.
        And another Gus interview here.
      • After 15 days in release, the Bourne video is still number one in the rental charts with $40.8 million in revenue (33.5% of total boxoffice total). It's also number one in the DVD sales chart.
      • A quote from my local "Who" magazine, from Julietta Jameson, a writer who interviews a celeb each week, when asked for her favourite star (she interviewed Matt when he visited Australia):
        "Matt Damon is now on my list of the nicest guys alive. He was so natural and chatty. He's pretty easy on the eye, too."
      PHOTO
    • Our thanks to David for sharing this Gerry poster (see right).

    • Laura invites you to visit her new Matt Damon page: here
    2/1/03
    • From Felicity:
      • From Dark Horizons:
        The Bourne Identity: The Hollywood Reporter indicates the US video debut of the Matt Damon thriller beat out the first "Harry Potter" to become "the highest-grossing home video Week 1 rental of all time".
      • And from comingsoon.net
        The Bourne Identity Sets Video Record
        Thursday, January 30, 2003 12:35 CST
        Universal Studios Home Video's debut of The Bourne Identity, starring Matt Damon, has set the record as the highest-grossing home video Week 1 rental of all time, says The Hollywood Reporter.
        The title earned an estimated $22.76 million after five days on rental shelves to eclipse last year's topper from Warner Home Video, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, which grossed more than $19 million during its first week in release, according Video Store magazine data.
        The suspense thriller from USHV wasn't priced at sell-through on VHS, but its DVD counterpart carried a suggested retail price of $26.98. Most retailers, however, were selling the DVD for $18-$22.
      • Great news! The report from Variety is fairly vague, and there is no start date yet, but Matt has signed for "The Informant" with Steven Soderbergh: Damon, Soderbergh Wired for 'Informant' By Cathy Dunkley and Jonathan Bing HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Matt Damon (news) will star in the feature adaptation of "The Informant" for director Steven Soderbergh (news), who last worked with the actor in "Ocean's Eleven." The Warner Bros. project is based on a book by New York Times investigative reporter Kurt Eichenwald. It centers around the story of Mark Whitacre, a high-level mole at the self-declared "supermarket to the world," Archer Daniels Midland. Whitacre wore an FBI (news - web sites) wire for more than two years to uncover a major price-fixing scam with ADM's Japanese competitors that brought the company millions of dollars in profit. ADM pled guilty in 1996 and paid a $100 million fine. The studio bought feature rights to the Broadway Books tome in a high-six-figure deal last February for Soderbergh to develop at his Section Eight shingle. Scott Z Burns is penning the adaptation of the book. It is unclear when the picture will start shooting, as Soderbergh first will direct "Ocean's Twelve." The sequel to "Ocean's Twelve" is targeted for a March 2004 start date. Soderbergh, star George Clooney (news) and producer Jerry Weintraub are locked in. Some other original cast members will return, accompanied by new actors for the second picture.
      • The first interview in English from the Japanese press: here With a photo from the press conference at here.
        Matt Damon flexes his muscles
        Chris Betros
        TOKYO ? Matt Damon had a ball during his first visit to Japan last month. The 32-year-old star of "The Bourne Identity" was besieged by fans at a premiere of the film; then he took a whole day off and wandered about Tokyo with a map, after which he attended the sumo and is now determined to play a sumo wrestler one day. "I have wanted to come to Japan for a long time, but I've been waiting for a film I was proud of," he said, puffing away on a cigarette. It's hard to know what in his impressive body of work to date he wouldn't be proud of. With hits such as "Courage of Fire," "The Rainmaker," "Good Will Hunting," "Saving Private Ryan," "The Talented Mr Ripley," "The Legend of Bagger Vance" and "Ocean's Eleven," to name a few, Damon is in his Hollywood golden boy period.
        However, he is very laid back about his success. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Damon speaks slowly, sometimes inaudibly, but always politely. "I'm not genre specific or budget specific. I respond to the script and director. For example, I finished a film with Gus Van Sant, called 'Gerry.' In that one, there was no script; it was improvisational. And I bet very few people will see it. But it appealed to me."
        "The Bourne Identity" marks Damon's first foray into the action genre. Based on Robert Ludlum's novel, it starts with a bullet-riddled man (Damon) being fished out of the sea by an Italian fishing boat. Suffering from amnesia, he tries to find out who he is and quickly discovers he has some useful skills such as martial arts and linguistics. Before long, he and a babe he picks up along the way are being pursued by assassins and the CIA.
        "One complaint I have with action movies is they are so derivative. You can set your watch by the next explosion," Damon said. "What I liked about this script was that I was playing a blank character. He assumes he is good but everything he uncovers about himself flies in the face of that. The locations in Europe ? Paris and Prague ? were a big plus, too. Prague is great; they want you to film there and make you welcome. Paris is more difficult. You have to get permits six weeks in advance and provide diagrams showing where every car and truck will be on the street."
        Like his character Bourne, Damon possesses a few useful skills. "That happens a lot with my movies," he said. "I become exceedingly mediocre at a lot of skills, but I keep at them."
        For "The Bourne Identity," he trained for six months to get good at boxing and continues with the sport whenever he is in L.A. He also learned a form of martial arts unique to the Philippines. One scene in the movie involves a ferocious fight with an assassin (played by a former French kickboxing champion). "We really went at it. I told him I'd give him a bottle of champagne for each time I hit him. I ended up him giving him a case," said Damon.
        Asked about the possibility of a sequel, he hesitates. "Too many sequels these days are just milking a cash cow," he said. "Usually you just end up getting a big gun to shoot your way out. I would really like to direct and write more material."
        It's something he has been wanting to do since Ben Affleck helped him rework a script he had written before he dropped out of Harvard. It was to become "Good Will Hunting," which won them an Academy Award in 1997.
        "We wrote that just to get work as actors," Damon said. "We want to collaborate again, but it is difficult logistically because we are always in different places. Still, I know I am very lucky I don't have to wake up and go the same office every day."
        Damon hasn't made a movie since "Gerry," more than a year ago. He did a play on the London stage and amuses himself by making cameos in Kevin Smith's quirky films. He remains active in Project Greenlight, which he and Affleck along with Miramax set up to reach out to young filmmakers.
        "The idea is to give one filmmaker $1 million to make a movie. We get 7,500 applicants a year and all the scripts are posted on our web page. We ask each applicant to rate three other scripts besides their own. Then we narrow it down to the last 50 and take it from there. Now if only I can find one that calls for me to play a sumo wrestler."
      • Matt doesn't appear to be doing any talkshows to promote "Gerry", but his appearance on Conan for Bourne is being re-run on 10 February.
    • From Lisa:
      Matt on MTV:
      here. There's video feed there too
    • From Hiroko in Japan:
      Bourne" bears box office fruit in Japan bow
      SYDNEY (Variety) - There was something for nearly everyone at overseas cinemas during the weekend as the Japanese embraced "The Bourne Identity," Aussies joined the chorus of approval for "Chicago," Germans toasted "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and folks in a bunch of markets took the road to "8 Mile."
      Winding its foreign tour, "Bourne Identity" drummed up an estimated $2.3 million in Japan, knocking off "Harry Potter (news - web sites) and the Chamber of Secrets" which had ruled for 10 weeks in a row. The Matt Damon (news) starrer's bow was on par with "Gladiator,"which went on to gross a juicy $15 million in Japan. Its estimated foreign total hit $80 million. ...
    • M from the Midwest wrote:
      I was able to get a cardboard display for The Bourne Identity from a local Meijers (a store found only in a few states). So my recommendation for all you Matt fans is to inquire about the display for the video/DVD if you see it. Most likely it will become trash but then again "one man's trash is another man's treasure." In my case at Meijer's the display was never put on display and shortly would have been trash. So hurry to your local stores (perhaps Wal-Mart) and just ask. You may be able to walk home with a free Matt Damon movie display. You won't know unless you ask. It's well worth the effort.
    This is a no-frills web site dedicated to a weekly (or so) column on Matt Damon , the actor.
    The site is maintained by a fan of the actor and is stricly for the reading pleasure of others who admire Matt. Each column will address a specific topic, along with tidbits and news on Matt.
    Readers' emails are welcome. Write to me at felix339@homemail.com.au.
    Please write fan mail to Matt to:
    C/o Patrick Whitesell
    Endeavour Talent Agency
    9701 Wilshire Blvd.
    10th Floor
    Beverly Hills, CA 90212

    Click on a link

    I hope you enjoy this site. Sorry if you looked for Matt photos in vain. If you like photos, see Elise's site, which has an excellent photo gallery.
    Some good sources of Matt Info
    The greenlight project link: The site created by Matt and Ben for online screenplay submission.
    E-mail:felix339@homemail.com.au
    URL:http://mattdamon.cjb.net
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