Welcome to the Matt Damon Column

Matt Damon Takes a Break with BLOCKBUSTER!
Hey all you Matt Damon fans, you're going to love this one! Our editor recently had the chance to sit down and chat with Matt while he was on the set filming his current movie in Miami. Hear everything Matt had to say about the movie business and, of course, Project Greenlight!

Question: What was the first movie you saw in a theater that made an impact?
Answer: "Star Wars, because me and my brother Kyle saw it over 20 times and that was when I first realized I had a love for the movies."

Question: What are your favorite movies?
Answer: "The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, The Conversation, High Noon, Sunset Blvd., City of God, Midnight Run, Fargo, The Man Who Wasn't There, Fearless, and Sling Blade."

Question: Who is your favorite director?
Answer: "I can't pick one director. I have been very lucky to work with so many great directors and would work with any of them again."

Question: Who is your favorite actor?
Answer: "Ben Affleck"

Question: Do you rent from BLOCKBUSTER?
Answer: "Yes, all the time."

Question: What does BLOCKBUSTER bring to Project Greenlight?
Answer: "BLOCKBUSTER brings the love of movies. BLOCKBUSTER has an incredible ability to promote awareness and having a BLOCKBUSTER executive on the panel this season brings tremendous credibility."

Question: Where would you like to see Project Greenlight go?
Answer: "In success, I'd love to see every studio have a system like Project Greenlight in place. Therefore, it would give so many struggling film makers a start in this business."

Sightings
MATT Damon, James Caan and Brett Ratner helping Shakira, who arrived on a black stallion, celebrate her birthday at the Shore Club's SkyBar in Miami . . .

However, photos on wireimage.com indicate the event on 15/3 was actually for model Shakara (not singer Shakira) and Brett Bratner (not Ratner) attended. Tabloids...

At 32, Matt Damon is a busy man. On the night before he was shot for this year's cover, Damon flew in from the Sundance Film Festival. Once he was done posing for V.F. he was on a plane to Japan for that country's opening of The Bourne Identity. His willingness to squeeze in events and people suggests that Damon, who plays a C.I.A. agent with amnesia in that movie, has not forgotten his roots.

Five years after he and best friend Ben Affleck won an Oscar for the script of Good Will Hunting, the two are helping aspiring filmmakers follow their dreams of breaking into the movie business, thanks to a second round of Project Greenlight for HBO. (The series sponsors a competition that awards amateur writers and directors with a $1 million budget from Miramax and a guaranteed release in theaters in exchange for being reality-show fodder.)

And, speaking of strong ties, after he got back from Japan, Damon began shooting Stuck on you, a movie about twins joined at the hip; he'll be sharing his anatomy with Greg Kinnear.

Screenwriter Gilroy Is 'Bourne' Again
By Claude Brodesser
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Universal Pictures has rehired "The Bourne Identity" scribe Tony Gilroy to adapt Robert Ludlum's sequel, "The Bourne Supremecy," for the big screen.
Deal is valued at $300,000 against $500,000 if the film gets made.
In "Supremecy," a Chinese vice-premier has been slain by the legendary assassin Jason Bourne. Of course, there is no Jason Bourne. The identity is simply a cover for the CIA's David Webb. But with someone else assuming the Bourne identity, the U.S. must find a way to avert an international diplomatic scandal that imperils Sino-American peace.
Last year's "Bourne Identity" starred Matt Damon as a martial arts-trained agent with amnesia struggling to recover his memory while he is hunted by assassins. Gilroy's recent credits include "Armageddon," "Bait" and "Proof of Life."

Warner Bros. also is in for a headache or two trying to lock the "Ocean's Eleven" cast for a sequel. Everybody halved salary and gross last time. Why should Matt Damon take less than George Clooney and Brad Pitt after carrying the hit "The Bourne Identity?"
Soderbergh and producer Jerry Weintraub will want gross, as will Julia Roberts if she's back. Even if everybody halves gross deals, Warner could still give up 34 percent, a tall order for a film with no toy deals.

Why we love Matt Damon
We all know Matt Damon looks completely gorgeous on screen but what's he like in real life? We caught up with him to find out his hopes for the future and which celeb females he fancies...
Q. So, now you're a big star, can you still maintain your friendships?
A. The friendships I have aren't at all changed by celebrity because the friendships existed before. My friends wouldn't allow me to act like an asshole, they just wouldn't be my friends anymore and I couldn't live like that.
Q. Do you think Good Will Hunting changed you?
A. It definitely changed my career. I suddenly had the opportunity to work with these amazing directors and that was a huge challenge for me. People wanted to give me work, and that alone was a big thing.
Q. Is an Oscar the definition of success?
A. For me, it was the chance to work with great people. I feel like I've just been to an intensive university as an undergraduate trainee. It's been a learning curve where for five years I've been basically apprenticing all these incredible people. Success really is the ability to work.
Q. Do you still write with Ben Affleck?
A. We have started talking about new ideas. It may be five years or next week before anything comes out. We dictate our own pace.
Q. Have you got a clause written into your contract that you have to work with beautiful women?
A. No, but I'm always surprised to read that I'm supposed to be going out with them. The women I have worked with are all so beautiful in person, but the big screen transforms them into something magical.
Q. Who do you find sexy on screen?
A. There are many gorgeous women. I find the less conventional woman attractive. I love to watch great actresses like Meryl Streep, I don't know if it's sex appeal, but she definitely has a dominant presence.
Q. What could seduce you?
A. I think I would be seduced if I ever took a break. I might never want to go back to work. I could see myself just sitting on a beach and saying "wait a minute this is really cool, I want to do it again." I can definitely see seduction in that.
Q. How did you celebrate your thirtieth birthday?
A. I had a huge party in New York. My whole family from Boston and a bunch of my friends from LA were there. Ben [Affleck] organised this bar to have the party in. It was one of those nights where there were about 100 people there who I am really close to. It was fantastic.

ACTOR MATT DAMON IS HOST/NARRATOR OF AWARD-WINNING PBS ENVIRONMENTAL SERIES
"Journey To Planet Earth" returns for its second season on Wednesday, March 26, 2003, 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. ET (check local listings) ...To explore the delicate balance between people and the world they inhabit. The PBS program is the only primetime television series that deals exclusively with the most critical environmental, political, economic and social issues of the 21st century. The concluding two episodes of the series will air on April 2 and 9, also from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. ET.
Academy Award winner Matt Damon is the on-air host and narrator of the series. He is also featured on the series PBS website, introducing a variety of special features for students, teachers, community groups, museum educators, and parents. The first episode, "On the Brink" (3/26), investigates a growing national security threat throughout the world: how environmental pressures can lead to terrorism and regional conflict. This episode was filmed in the politically unstable areas of Haiti, South Africa, Bangladesh, India, Peru and along the United States/Mexico border.
"During the filming session in Bangladesh," says director/writer Hal Weiner, "the film crew and I narrowly escaped a terrorist pipe-bomb attack that killed 10 and injured 30. That experience indelibly reminded us that extreme political strife and tension are realities in certain parts of the world. It showed us the powerful link between poverty and environmental degradation. When people lack the basic things in life, there will be outbreaks of violence." The second episode, "Seas of Grass" (4/2), examines the devastating environmental, political and economic effects of the degradation of the world's grasslands, which make up 30 percent of Earth's land surface. The program was filmed on the pampas in Argentina, the steppes of Mongolia, the savannas of Kenya, the plains of South Africa and the prairies of North America. The third episode, "Hot Zones" (4/9), rounds out the series by examining how recent trends in globalization and the altering of ecosystems have led to dramatic increases in the spread of infectious diseases. The program was shot in Kenya, Peru, Bangladesh, New York City and along Maryland's Chesapeake Bay, where changing climates, uncontrolled development and loss of natural habitat have led to an upsurge of infectious diseases. For more information about the "Journey To Planet Earth" series, visit the PBS website at www.pbs.org/journeytoplanetearth/ or contact Melanie Wood at (202) 364-0055 or mwood@screenscope.com.

The third in the hugely successful "Spy Kids" franchise is just one of the Dimension flicks Bob has in the pipeline. Being finalized now is the Terry Gilliam-helmed "Brothers Grimm" action fantasy - with Robin Williams, Heath Ledger and Matt Damon - for filming this summer.

Matt Damon - [right], greeting fans in Rockport last week - and the rest of the `Stuck On You' crew have decamped for Miami. So do we even have to tell you that WEEI morning men John Dennis and Gerry Callahan won't be far behind? Dennis, who had a major role in an early Farrelly Brothers' flick, `Kingpin,' and his sidekick scored parts in a scene by a pool with supermodels Heidi Klum and Tyra Banks. It's a dirty job, and all. . .

There's something about SoBe
Gross-out experts Bobby and Peter Farrelly -- auteurs of There's Something About Mary -- are hitting Miami again. Their new film, Stuck On You, stars Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear as co-joined twins who get cast on a TV show with Cher, who plays herself. In a twist that local film industry mavens will no doubt relish, the brothers Farrelly are said to have set the film in Hollywood, Calif., but decided to shoot in South Florida. The crew has taken over the former production offices of The Fast and the Furious 2 on South Beach's Lincoln Road. Hottie Eva Mendes, who also starred in FF2, is cast as Kinnear's love interest. Shooting is scheduled to begin next month.

• A lovely story from the Gloucester Daily Times:
  

  Damon's sleeping quarters were a well-kept secret
  By JOSH ODELL, Staff writer
  ROCKPORT -- Now that his distinguished relative is several hundred miles down the Atlantic coastline, Dwight MacCormack doesn't mind admitting why his Seacrest Manor Bed and Breakfast was in operation out of season last week. The inn, located on Marmion Way, played the part of Matt Damon's temporary home while he participated in the local filming of "Stuck on You," an upcoming comedy from brothers Peter and Bobby Farrelly co-staring Greg Kinnear.
  Though he admits that a hectic filming schedule kept their interaction limited, MacCormack said that he was happy to accommodate Damon for the week as a family favor.
  "There were no expenses involved, of course," MacCormack said, "but I did get a week's experience that is of far greater value to me personally."
  MacCormack and Damon are "first cousins by marriage," since MacCormack's aunt in Andover is also Damon's grandmother. In a recent conversation with Damon's father, MacCormack was told that the young actor would be coming to Rockport for the filming and offered to serve as his host for the week. According to MacCormack, the decision left him "about 48 hours" to leave his home in Maine -- located roughly 25 miles north of Portland -- and come to Rockport to prepare for Damon's arrival.
  Not that the last-minute plans came as a serious problem to an experienced host like MacCormack.
  "An innkeeper is always ready," he said. "If there was any disappointment because of the short notice, it was only because I would have wanted to show him more hospitality." But as it turned out, said MacCormack, there may not have been any time for added hospitality. Early in the mornings, for example, movie representatives were handing Damon cups of Dunkin' Donuts coffee and whisking him away before MacCormack could get any home-cooked breakfast on the table.
  "I've got a refrigerator full of groceries," MacCormack chuckled. "I didn't get to see him as much as I would have liked, but I understand that."
  On the bright side, said MacCormack, he and his cousin did get a chance toward the end of last week to sit down and talk about "family things" for an hour, steering clear of anything related to show-business.
  "He is very devoted to his family," MacCormack said. "And he's the same in private as he appears to be in public: surprisingly unspoiled by fame."
  And not only does Damon possess the family's trademark sarcastic sense of humor, added MacCormack, but he takes a modest approach to what he does, considering himself more an "actor" than a "star."
  "Matt is not by any means egocentric," MacCormack said. "I think his feet are very much on the ground. He's doing what he likes to do and he really enjoys doing it, and I think that's what's important."
  Damon is also in favor of a little privacy whenever he gets the chance, MacCormack said, which is why he turned down the offer to have some friends stay with him at the inn for the week.
  "He said he wanted to be alone," MacCormack said. "I imagine that's a lost commodity for him these days." To be accurate, however, there was one day last week when Damon had a roommate. After one late session of filming, the actor came back to the inn to find a loose neighborhood dog roaming around outside. Rather than leave it out in the cold, he decided to bring it inside for the night.
  "Not too many dogs in Rockport can say they stayed with a star," MacCormack said. "Matt is very compassionate about animals."
  Apart from the dog, said MacCormack, there were very few cases of individuals coming to the inn looking to catch a glimpse of Damon, which was appreciated.
  "We were not bothered at all by anyone, really," MacCormack said. "We had a half-dozen calls or so, but no problems. It was a well-kept secret, I felt."
  Damon left for Miami on Friday where he will spend the next two months finishing up filming for "Stuck on You." After that, he's scheduled to spend a few months in Prague working on yet another movie.
  But with any luck, said MacCormack, Damon will find time to make good on a statement he jotted down in the Seacrest Manor guest book -- a statement that came with a thank you note and a message stating that he "had a great week." "He says he'll be back soon," MacCormack said, "and I hope it's true."

• As suggested in the above article, the Brothers Grimm project appears to be confirmed, as detailed in this press release:
  

  Dimension Films to Partner on 'Brothers Grimm' With MGM
  Monday March 10, 3:59 pm ET
  NEW YORK, March 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Dimension Films will partner with MGM on the action fantasy film "Brothers Grimm," it was jointly announced today by Dimension Co-Chairman Bob Weinstein and MGM Vice Chairman and COO Chris McGurk. Dimension will oversee all aspects of production and release the film in North America; MGM will release the film internationally. The studios will share equally in worldwide profits. The film is being written by Ehren Kruger ("The Ring," "Scream 3"), will be directed by Terry Gilliam ("Twelve Monkeys), and is being produced by Mosaic Media Group's Charles Roven along with producer Daniel Bobker.
  The project has several A-list actors -- including Matt Damon, Heath Ledger and Robin Williams -- in discussions to star.
  The action-adventure tale revolves around legendary German fairytale scribes Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. Kruger's plot will focus on the brothers, now called Jake and Will, as they travel from village to village pretending to protect townsfolk from enchanted creatures and pulling off exorcisms -- hoaxes they've created themselves. The duo is put to the test when they encounter a real magical curse requiring genuine courage.
  "This is an extremely exciting project for Dimension with great franchise potential, and we are ready to go full steam ahead with production. Chris McGurk is an old friend and we are happy to be in business with him and MGM," said Bob Weinstein.
  "We immediately knew this project was a winner just by hearing it described. The talent already involved is a testament to the enthusiasm surrounding the script. We're very excited to be working with Dimension and the Brothers Weinstein on 'Brothers Grimm,'" said Chris McGurk.
  Dimension Co-Presidents Andrew Rona and Brad Weston, along with Jon Gordon, executive vice president of production for Miramax, will oversee production for the studio.
  Bob Osher, Miramax co-president of production, negotiated on behalf of Dimension. Jonathan Bader, EVP of business affairs, negotiated on behalf of MGM.

NEXT STOP, MIAMI
Filming for the Bobby and Peter Farrelly movie ''Stuck on You,'' starring Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear as Siamese twins, wrapped on Friday, and the cast and crew headed to Miami for the final stop on the filming tour. The film, slated to be released late this year, is credited with bringing a boatload of dough to the North Shore, specifically Rockport and Gloucester (and a somewhat smaller amount to Martha's Vineyard, where the movie is set). ''Stuck on You'' was the most recent studio film to be shot on the North Shore, the previous big films (read: non-independents) to camp out in that area were ''State & Main,'' ''Moonlight Mile,'' and ''The Perfect Storm,'' the biggest of the projects in the region. ''It's important that the movies that are set here get shot here,'' said Robin Dawson, head of the now-private Massachusetts Film Bureau. In addition to getting the movies shot here, locals do their best to show off some of the region's best flavors. During filming in Rockport, one trailer instantly became popular when Nichols chocolates were delivered to it. Chocolate and a chance to get out of the cold? Win-win, we figure.

This is Chrystal from Nahant, MA. I met Matt Damon yesterday before he left for the airport. There were a bunch of us outside and he came to sign autographs and whatnot, for all of us. He was so nice...and adorable. Anyhow, a travesty occured when I got my pictures back. The one of Matt and I didn't come out. It was double exposed over another picture. I'm trying to find people that were in Rockport yesterday, and got pictures. I really need a picture to remember that moment, even if I'm not in it. I would really appreciate it. Thanks a lot.

Getting un-`Stuck' on Rockport
by Gayle Fee and Laura Raposa, Sunday, March 9, 2003
Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear and the Farrelly Brothers are headed for Miami tomorrow after surviving a week of shooting the Siamese twin flick ``Stuck on You'' in 30-below wind chill, a blizzard and torrential rains on the North Shore.
But before we say bye-bye, here's a few little ditties from their week in Rockport:
Damon and Kinnear play conjoined twins. Which is a problem when one of them smokes and the other doesn't. We hear Matt's butt fetish was driving Greg, a nonsmoker, crazy since they were literally joined at the hip for most of the shoot.
The director's chairs for Damon and Kinnear had their names across the back, as is the Hollywood custom. But the chairs, like the stars, were conjoined - there was no arm separating them.
Damon took his mom, Nancy Carlsson-Paige, to dinner at The Greenery in Rockport the other night. Seeing as it's a small town, word quickly spread and a gaggle of teenage girls gathered outside the restaurant.
Although the restaurant staff offered to let Damon slip out a side door, Matt insisted on going out to show some love to his fans. The Cambridge homey spent nearly a half-hour posing for pics and signing autographs while Mom waited patiently and proudly beside him. Damon also threw a low-key dinner party for 27 cast and crew members at The Franklin on Main Street in Gloucester.
And that, as they say, is a wrap!

Looking the part: How to blend in at a movie site
By JOSH ODELL, Staff writer
ROCKPORT -- They say that show-business is shallow and tough, that all too often success depends on how you look. Apparently, the rules still apply if all you want to do is pop by and see what's happening on a movie set. If you look like a reporter, for example, you're out of luck. Casually dressed fan? Getting warmer.
Busy-looking crew worker? Now we're talking.
In the three main days that cameras rolled in Rockport for the upcoming Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear film "Stuck On You" -- a comedy from brothers Peter and Bobby Farrelly based on the adventures of two conjoined twins -- I took three shots and three different approaches at seeing how close I could get to the fun, making progress each time. I should probably add that I never lied to anyone associated with the movie these past few days, unless you consider sporting a Patriots baseball cap instead of a notepad a lie. Whenever I was asked to leave, I did, and whenever I was asked who I was, I answered truthfully. It's just that -- for a day, at least -- it took a while for the question to come up.

Monday: Rockport reporter
In a town Rockport's size, certain things are obvious news. A car accident on Route 127, a fluctuating water supply, movie stars at Old Harbor, a handful of traffic-impairing movie equipment trailers at Dock Square -- they all qualify.
But representatives of "Stuck On You" had a different take. "We're not doing any local press this week," a bundled-up crew member said Monday, moments after surveying my notepad and the camera in the hands of photo editor Mike Dean. "Not doing any local press," I repeated softly. "What exactly does that mean?"
"It means we're not talking to any local press," the man said. "I've already called you guys, I explained it to the lady at The Rockport News."
Lady? The Rockport News? I took the polite route, I didn't call his bluff. I just nodded as he explained that the studio had leased the area and that we weren't allowed to be there.
During the discussion, Matt Damon had emerged from the Old Harbor "Quikee Burger" set. He was a few feet to my right and was busy signing autographs for a group of visitors, kindly smiling despite the harsh cold.
One of the grinning lucky fans asked him if she owed him any money for the photo opportunity and signature. He just laughed and patted her on the back.
"Owe money? Nah," he said. "Just go see the movie."
After shuffling over a few steps to block our close view of Damon, the bundled man politely told us it was time to leave and walked us a short distance down Bearskin Neck. We parted casually, each of us shrugging and explaining that we were just trying to do our jobs.

Tuesday: High school class-skipper
The pen-and-pad look, I had decided, was not the way to go. If I wanted to see anything, I was better off going with the empty-handed jeans-and-baseball-cap look.
That's why, when I arrived at Tuesday's Bearskin Neck film set, I looked more like a high school senior playing hooky than a reporter. But it paid off early.
I approached the area with a Boston Herald photographer a few steps ahead of me. Shortly after he hung a right at the Greenery, he was asked to keep to the entrance of Bearskin Neck.
Ordinary-looking folks, like me, got to pick up another 30 yards or so and stand with crew workers near the James Russell Goldsmith shop. For a little while, at least. After a few takes of watching Damon and Kinnear jog in unison in their attached-at-the-hip costume -- ending each brief jaunt with Kinnear getting knocked into a lamppost -- the crowd apparently got a bit too cumbersome.
"Anyone not involved in the movie should back up behind the yellow line," a woman said, pointing to an area at the entrance of Bearskin Neck. Police had begun to unroll some yellow barrier tape. A handful of onlookers, myself included, shuffled to the appropriate side of it. Joking around with the security was fun for a while afterward -- not to mention chatting for a bit with one of the film's stunt doubles -- but the poor view and biting cold got tiring after a while. Like several other shivering viewers, I called it a day.

Thursday: Paydirt
Bingo.
Early Thursday, I had heard that all the local filming was likely to be over with by the late afternoon, leaving Friday's plans for an all-night shoot in the trash and leaving me with my last opportunity to see what was going on in downtown Rockport.
On my way down to the T-Wharf film set -- blanketed by a whistling snowstorm that forced last-minute script alterations -- I asked someone how far I was allowed to wander. "Until someone tells you to stop," I was told. It sounded fair.
Maybe it was too early in the set-up process for me to be noticed, or maybe it was the fact that too many people had their heads tilted down to avoid the weather, but soon I was standing toward the pier's end, watching boats being prepared for use in the scene's background.
No one said a word. I figured that some may have taken me for some kind of boat supervisor. They did, after all, have a guy whose sole responsibility was to handle sand-bags. A man in red approached, calling me Jim.
"Oh, sorry," he said, blocking the stinging wind and snow to get a better look. "Do you know where Jim from wardrobe is?"
A squinting crew member to my right answered for me. "He's in there," he said, nodding toward the building at the end of T-Wharf.
"He's in the yacht club," I confirm with a point. I get a "thanks."
For the next 20 minutes, I didn't get much more than a face-full of melting snow and a look at where the scene will be filmed -- at the bench-rimmed edge of T-Wharf. I was two minutes away from calling it quits, remembering that my car's meter time was wearing thin.
That's when a woman emerged from the building to announce, "They're coming out."
From the yacht club marched Damon and Kinnear. With carefully placed steps -- similar to those you'd see in a three-legged race -- they kept their shoulders level and their conjoined-twin winter-jacket costume looking as believable as possible.
They walk past me and nod. Well, Damon does, at least. I gesture toward their marks, which I had just watched a crew plot out.
As far as those around me are concerned, I am now boat-supervisor/mark-pointer-outer.
After getting a pep-talk from Peter Farrelly, it's time for Take One. Kinnear's character, Bob, says he's been inspired, that he wants to go to Hollywood to become an actor. The grocery-toting Walt, played by Damon, says he's not sure, but caves a bit to Bob's enthusiasm. We do three takes.
Along with a few others, I help to casually usher people out the camera's line of sight as it pulls backward down T-Wharf, holding a close-up of Damon's and Kinnear's snow-whipped faces.
I am boat-supervisor/mark-pointer-outer/camera-line-of-sight guy.
Following one take, I swear I hear a crew member next to me tell a neighboring woman, "Well, at least we don't have any (expletive) reporters here today."
I considered feeling guilty, but the expletive he muttered won't let me.
Instead, I tilt my hood's visor to deflect the snow from catching my eyes.
With my vision somewhat blocked, I pivot to the right to see what the filmmakers plan to do next.
I come inches away from bumping into Kinnear, the twins' left half, as he is ushered to a protective tent. On the way by, Damon -- bringing up the right -- says goodbye to some friends who have to come to see him, but are now too cold to stay.
That's when I broke character.
Looking to the yacht club's side of the wharf, I caught a glimpse of Rockport's co-harbormaster and ambulance director, Rosemary Lesch, sipping a cup of coffee. Happy to see a familiar face, I decided to stroll over and start up a small conversation.
"Wow, you're lucky," I said, tipping my forehead at her drink. "How'd you get that?"
No boat-supervisor/mark-pointer-outer/camera-line-of-sight guy would have such a question. I had lost the look -- the look of someone who was supposed to be there.
"Excuse me," said a polite man to my right, one with a snow-crusted moustache. "Are you with anybody here?"
"No. Actually, I just wandered down."
"Hmmm," he smiled. "I'm going to have to ask you to wander back."
I followed orders and retreated to the warmth of my car, having learned one of the most valuable lessons about working in Hollywood -- a lesson that Walt and Bob may soon learn in their upcoming journey to become superstars. Sometimes it's not who you are, it's who you look like. That's the business.

Perseverance pays off
When Rockport Middle School got out yesterday afternoon several students ventured downtown to try to catch a glimpse of the stars, in particular their heart-throb Matt Damon.
They went to Bearskin Neck to watch where the filming was taking place.
"We went to try to get his autograph and some guy yelled at us and asked us to step away," reported seventh-grader Kayleigh Keating. "There were a lot of people around so we went back and were standing on this little porch on this little house. When they stopped rolling and they were done for the day, Matt Damon was coming out of the house to go to the car and he walked over to us."
Kayleigh and her friends thought that was it, until the actor said "I just thought I'd say hi," she said.
But then he agreed to a couple of photographs and autographs.
Seventh-grader Stephanie Daigle asked him to sign her tan-colored purse. Molly Wentworth asked him to sign the right arm of her sweatshirt, and he also signed her sneaker. Chyanne Stowell asked him to sign a picture of him that she got off the Internet. He also signed autographs for Julia Seavey and Grace Tyndall-Lambe. (On Wednesday another classmate had Damon sign her arm).
"Then this guy Greg that was with him said they had to go," recounted Keating.
Little did she know that some older fans were more interested in his friend, who is actually costar Greg Kinnear.
Then Damon waved goodbye from the car and drove off. In a Beatles' fan tradition, the girls chased after the car screaming.
"My friend started balling her eyes out," said Keating. Anyone walking down the street afterward heard the shouts of all the young fans.
These girls became enamored with Damon when he appeared in the film "Born Identity."[sic] Now they all plan to go together to see the new film "Stuck On You."

Snow written into the script
By JOSH ODELL, Staff writer
ROCKPORT -- Despite a week of bitter cold, rain, wind and snow, movie crews for the upcoming Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear comedy "Stuck On You" have managed to complete their locally filmed scenes ahead of schedule.
And because of that, they'll be packing up their truck loads of equipment a little earlier than initially planned. Filmmakers have canceled tonight's all-night shoot in downtown Rockport, one that was supposed to occupy T-Wharf until roughly 3 a.m. tomorrow.
After chatting with the movie's location manager Adam McCarthy, Town Administrator Michael Racicot said that crews will be finishing their filming this morning.
"They've got one little shot left at the 'Quikee Burger' and one at Millbrook Meadow," Racicot said. "Then they're done."
Brothers Bobby and Peter Farrelly -- the film's writers and directors -- have also found a way to deal with yesterday's snow storm and the frigid temperatures faced earlier in the week. They're scrapping the "summer" theme. At least for part of the movie.
"(The snow) was obviously a distraction," said Racicot, "but they're going to work it into the film." So now in the scene where Bob -- the left side of the story's central set of conjoined twins, played by Kinnear -- announces to his brother Walt (Damon) that he wants to go to Hollywood to become an actor, he has a little added motivation: to escape the cold.
"I was standing there freezing at (T-Wharf) thinking, 'Yeah, I could deal with moving to Hollywood, too,'" laughed Racicot, who managed to watch some of yesterday's production work.
Racicot added that crew workers will begin moving their materials out today, though "it may take a couple of days before it's all out."
One scene that fell victim to the movie's changed plans was a Halloween "trick-or-treat" segment that was scheduled to be filmed in an area around 34 King St. yesterday.
"It's too bad," said April Silver, owner of the house. "It was all decorated with decorations and bales of hay and everything."
Plans also called for leaves to be scattered on nearby lawns and attached to nearby trees, but a new layer of snow put an end to those intentions.
The change comes as somewhat of a disappointment, explained Silver, because the house once belonged to her mother, June Smith, who passed away in December and enjoyed Matt Damon's work.
"She thought he looked like my son Ben," said Silver. Still, said Silver, working with McCarthy and being a part of the movie-making process -- even if only for a short time -- was enjoyable, and something that will be hard to forget.
"Everyone was wonderful, it was a great experience," she said. "And I'm still going to go see it."

Ice time: SOY skates over to Gloucester for a day
By JOSH ODELL, Staff writer
"SOY" and everyone associated with it took a detour out of Rockport yesterday and headed for the Dorothy Talbot Rink at Gloucester's O'Maley Middle School, which served as the setting for a hockey scene in the upcoming Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear comedy "Stuck On You" -- or as signs pointing the way to the rink called it, "SOY."
The visit to the rink -- the one trip outside of Rockport that movie crews will make during this week's shoot -- was pushed ahead a day by filmmakers due to yesterday's rainy weather. Outdoor scenes on T-Wharf, Bearskin Neck and King Street were initially scheduled for yesterday, but will be shot today instead.
Public access to yesterday's filming was limited. As one of the few who had access to the spectacle, rink manager J.D. MacEachern said the sights were definitely uncommon.
"Basically, Damon and Kinnear are Siamese twins -- they're conjoined at the side -- and they're playing goalie," said MacEachern.
Aside from the duo's position on the ice, MacEachern said, he was able to pick up a bit more of the "Stuck On You" plot, one that centers around Walt and Bob, a pair of smalltown conjoined twins played by Damon and Kinnear. "One of them runs a successful business in Martha's Vineyard," said MacEachern, referring to the island for which Rockport is the stand-in. "So the other one says, 'Well, we did what you wanted to do, now let's go to Hollywood.'"
And off they go to pursue an acting career, or careers. But not before kicking a little puck in youth hockey. With Kinnear's character representing the pair's left half and Damon taking the right -- stick-side and glove-side, respectively, if you're keeping score -- Walt and Bob supposedly become athletic standouts.
"The premise of a three-legged goalie is a bit unique," said MacEachern, who has seen his share of hockey, "but they've made it work. They could sell it. They certainly fill up the goal, that's for sure."
Pay attention, hockey scouts. According to the rules being used by this movie's version of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, Walt and Bob make up one player. One player who just happens to use two helmets, three skates and one enormous red "Quikee Burger" jersey. "Technically I guess they are one player," MacEachern chuckled. "But this is the movies. It's all make-believe." True. After all, Damon and Kinnear didn't even take many shots during yesterday's shoot. The kick-, glove- and stick-saves being pulled off were courtesy of a couple of helmeted doubles, MacEachern said.
"They were all right," said MacEachern. "They had five or six guys warming them up. They did a good job." Then again, the people warming them up weren't your average puck-slingers.
Former Boston Bruins Bob Sweeny, Lyndon Byers and Kenny Linseman were all laced up at the rink yesterday, making the super-goalie look as talented as possible with skillfully placed pucks.
Ex-Bruin Cam Neely was also on hand yesterday to serve as "technical adviser" for the hockey scene, according to McEachern. From what McEachern was told, Neely and brothers Peter and Bobby Farrelly -- the film's writers and directors -- are somehow "connected" (a common word on the "Stuck On You" set).
Yesterday's mix of stars and famous athletes was a fun experience, MacEachern said, but it wasn't the first time the Talbot Rink was a skating ground for celebrities. Over the years, the 1988 men's Olympic hockey team, the 1997-1998 women's Olympic hockey team and brothers Jeff, Steve and Jack Hanson -- stars of the 1977 film "Slap Shot" -- have played on the rink's ice. And don't forget the Bombers, the team of non-checking former hockey stars that periodically play in Gloucester.
"We've had a few notable quotables come this way," MacEachern said. "But as far as this set-up and the movie and all, we've never done anything like this."
But having Matt Damon on the premises is not nearly as big a deal to MacEachern as it is to the swarms of swooning young women just outside the building.
"Every female that I know would want to meet him, but I don't even know who he is," MacEachern said. "I'm not a star-gazer."
As it turns out, Damon spent much of his time off-camera spending time with groups of special needs kids, MacEachern said. Benefiting children with special needs has long been a trademark of the Farrelly brothers' work.
Benefiting the rink, MacEachern said, the filmmakers have made a fair financial contribution in exchange for the work that has been done over the past several days -- work that has included adding additional lights, dressing up the rink's boards and putting up curtains on the walls.
"They didn't want so much white. It actually looks really good, but it isn't staying up," MacEachern said. "They sent crews to do almost everything. The most we had to do was reschedule regular ice time."
Overall, MacEachern said, the movie has provided a fun distraction -- one that has given him a new respect for the way movies are made.
"They spend about four hours working just to get a minute of film," MacEachern said. "I've seen a lot of stinky movies, but at least now I can appreciate all the things they go through just to do what they do.
"Now, would I want to do this all the time? Of course not," added MacEachern. "But it has been interesting."

``Stuck On You,'' the Matt Damon-Greg Kinnear-Farrelly Brothers flick, is scheduled to wrap up in Rockport today. The shoot was plagued by bad weather, including 30-below wind-chill on Monday and a snowstorm yesterday! Still, the Farrellys managed to shoot a snow scene on T Wharf yesterday and will try again today to make the trick-or-treat scene that had to be postponed due to unHalloween-like weather. Then, it's off to Miami, where it's 80 degrees.

WE KNEW THE FARRELLY BROTHERS WERE A LITTLE OUT THERE At least it'll be warm in Miami - although the Farrelly brothers probably shouldn't count on having seasonal weather when they get there. Fraternal filmmakers Bobby and Peter Farrelly are trying to get their latest bit of absurdity on film, but the weather keeps getting in their way. It's not going to stop them from making ''Stuck on You,'' starring Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear as Siamese twins, however. Yesterday, the brothers just reworked and refilmed scenes for the story of conjoined brothers who move from Martha's Vineyard to La-La Land to find fame and fortune. In Rockport, which is doubling for Martha's Vineyard for much of the shooting, heavy winds whipped up the snow on the wharf and more than 5 inches of snow piled up in places that were supposed to be snow-free. So the filmmakers did what most movie types would never consider: They rewrote the script to fit the weather. At the close of filming yesterday, Bobby Farrelly yelled over to Robin Dawson, a Rockport native who heads the private Massachusetts Film Bureau, ''Hey, thanks for the snow.'' A weary Dawson, worried that he might not be kidding (it's the Farrellys after all), asked, ''Do you like it?'' Farrelly responded that it'll make the scenes about the twins wanting to move from New England to Hollywood all the more realistic. We bet. Today, the crew has promised to return to Rockport - there were discussions about wrapping yesterday and heading to Miami a few days early (wouldn't you?) - for more filming at the Quickie Burger, actually an old hot dog shack that the Farrellys put about $40,000 of work into to make it look like it's open. It will look like it's summer at the burger joint, with crews clearing away all of the snow. Now if they can just do that for the rest of the region.

One of the expert panelists on the show was Nancy Carlsson-Paige, co-founder of Leslie University's Conflict Resolution and Peaceable Schools program. In addition to lending her expertise to the show, she took some time over the holidays to tape a segment featuring her famous son, Matt Damon.
Damon, who appeared with two of his friends from high school, had some encouraging words to say to young people. "At the end of the day, you have a choice as a person. It comes down to fear, you want to put somebody in a place and be superior to them because you're afraid of them because they're different, when in fact it takes courage to walk in with an open mind, to appreciate difference and explore it," said the actor. "Just try to be as strong as you can, the best you can, and be conscious. No one here is going to do any finger wagging and say, 'just say no,' life isn't that simple."

From the Boston Herald's Inside Track column:
Matt and Greg were hip doing physical work for film
by Gayle Fee and Laura Raposa
Thursday, March 6, 2003
Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear put the icing on their local shoot late yesterday, filming - believe it or not - a Siamese-twin hockey scene at the Talbot Rink in Gloucester for the Farrelly Brothers' new flick, ``Stuck On You.''
``We've been very demanding on them. They've done so many things athletically,'' Bobby Farrelly told the Track. ``Matt's a great athlete but Greg's a bunch of years older than him. We were afraid we were going to hurt him, but they're taking it very good-naturedly.''
Well, that's quite a feat considering the Farrellys have forced the Tinseltown twosome to chop wood, jog, play tennis, chase baseballs and box with a Golden Gloves winner - all while playing brothers who are joined at the hip!
``We tried to make the fight look very real, not fake at all,'' Farrelly said. ``They were exhausted when we finished.''
And that's not the end of it. The Farrellys also plan to dress Matt and Greg in an octopus suit for a trick-or-treat scene.
``The story is the twins always tried to figure out ways to fit in, even though they were conjoined,'' Farrelly said. ``In that scene, they knock over a bunch of kids.''
The Farrellys are shooting a series of flashbacks that depict the twins' youth on Martha's Vineyard - before one of them decides he wants to be a star and the conjoined couple head for Hollywood.
Matt, Greg and the rest of the crew are scheduled to shoot in Rockport - which doubles for The Rock - until tomorrow night to get the rest of the Vineyard scenes. Then, they head off to Miami - which will play L.A. in the flick - for eight weeks of fun in the sun.

ROCKPORT UN-STUCK
Rockport is abuzz with the cast and crew of Bobby and Peter Farrelly 's latest zany adventure ''Stuck on You,'' starring Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear as Siamese twins who make it big in showbiz. While the North Shore has seen its share of stars, it's the off-season flurry of activity that's adding to the hoopla, with the store Sea Boston selling 50 fleece hats in one day and the Greenery restaurant seeing its tables filled. Although the cold weather is making the shooting a bit hard, all businesses that are open are getting a lot more walk-in traffic from the star spotters who are visiting town in the decidedly off-season.
Meanwhile, in Gloucester, which has hosted a number of Hollywood types in the last few years, the cast and crew have been letting their hair down (or is that warming up?) at the better North Shore eateries including The Franklin Cape Ann, where Kinnear and his wife, Helen, dined Monday and Tuesday nights. While the staff is keeping mum on the celebs and crew stopping by, our sources say the most amazing thing is how little stir the arriving moviemakers cause and that the locals hardly give them a second look. (We bet if Damon and Kinnear showed up in character they'd get a few double takes.)

Off camera, it's still winter
By JOSH ODELL, Staff writer
ROCKPORT -- With their tightly synchronized jogging style and sweater built for two, you might have actually believed for a second that Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear were fused from the shoulder to the hip as they bobbed their way down Bearskin Neck yesterday.
That is, at least, until they approach a streetlight. "Pole," says Kinnear, addressing his distracted co-star. "Pole ... Pole!"
Thud. Kinnear, the duo's left half, takes a lamppost to the chest.
Relax. It's in the script -- and it's just one of the many comical issues faced by Walt and Bob, the central and connected characters of "Stuck On You," the upcoming comedy from brothers Bobby and Peter Farrelly.
But forget making Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear look like conjoined twins. The toughest special effect attempted for "Stuck On You" could be turning a frigid Rockport into a believable summer backdrop.
For the second straight day of local filming, movie stars and crews members fought bitter temperatures yesterday in an attempt to turn a March Rockport into a summer "Martha's Vineyard" -- Walt and Bob's home town.
Not that Damon and Kinnear didn't find ways to fight the frostbite. Aside from spending the day jogging, they spent most spare moments in the warm confines of Bearskin Neck's James Russell Goldsmiths with streams of workers offering warm drinks and sandwiches.

Stuck on Matt Damon
By GREG COOK, Staff writer
The group of eight girls walked down to Bearskin Neck after their classes at Rockport Middle School yesterday, hoping -- like many people who braved the cold -- to meet movie star Matt Damon.
Damon plays one of the leads in "Stuck on You," a comedy filmed on Bearskin Neck in Rockport this week, and, the girls explained, he is cute and hot and really funny. "I like his hair," one girl added.
They didn't know much about the rest of the cast or the film, though one girl had heard Cher was going to be in the movie.
"Oh, and they're filming it in Miami next week," said 12-year-old Molly Fiumara.
Just saying "Miami" made the 20 degree temperatures seem colder.
"We've been talking to our friend Mike," said 13-year-old Emelyn Grande. "Mike is the nicest guy around."
Michael Dunn, a 27-year-old from Lynn, works for Eagle Vision, a location services and security company. He politely kept the girls away from the set.If one can't get near the set, how does one get to meet the stars?
Some of the girls peeked over a fence next to the Philip Shumaker Gallery, trying to see what was going on at the Quickee Burger set on Old Harbor. They didn't see much. They chatted up Dunn and offered him coffee, but he demurred, having already had five cups.
The girls planned to stay until they met Damon. They had a strategy.
"We're trying to be normal," 13-year-old Julia Seavey said. "We respect him as an actor," Grande said.
They liked Damon's performance in "Good Will Hunting" and said it would be like going to heaven to meet him in person.
"It will be like a dream come true because he's, like, a really good actor," Grande said.
"It's, like, a once in a lifetime chance," Seavey said. The girls imagined going around for the rest of their lives telling the story of how they met Damon.

Greenlight, Coke: real thing
March 06, 2003
Project Greenlight and the Coca-Cola Co. have signed a cross-promotional partnership that will see the two companies band together to promote their individual filmmaking initiatives and programs. As part of the deal, Coca-Cola will sponsor charity film screenings of the this year's winning Project Greenlight film, "The Battle of Shaker Heights," while Project Greenlight executive producers Matt Damon, Chris Moore and Ben Affleck are joining the judging panel for the Coca-Cola Refreshing Filmmaker's Award. The companies, which first started working together at the Sundance Film Festival in January, will continue to support each other through other promotional activities that have yet to be announced. "Given our common goals, it makes sense that Project Greenlight and the Coca-Cola Refreshing Filmmaker's Award Program combine efforts to support and promote independent filmmaking and bring undiscovered talent to the forefront of the entertainment industry," said Damon, executive producer of Project Greenlight and co-founder of LivePlanet. (Chris Gardner)

We hear there was an unexpected extra on the set of ``Stuck On You'' up in Rockport yesterday. As Cambridge cutie Matt Damon and his co-star Greg Kinnear were getting ready for their close-ups on White Wharf, a dead dolphin washed up into the inlet! Marine biologists removed the big fish, and it was taken to New England Aquarium for a post-mortem. Guess it was dying to be in the flick!

Stuck On You
Release date December
Premise In the Farrelly brothers' latest comedy, Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear costar as twins joined at the hip who head to Hollywood. Unfortunately, one half wants to be a star, while the other can't stand the spotlight.
Why it may work Sure, it's going to be rated a kid-friendly PG-13, but the Farrelly name will undoubtedly attract older fans. Plus, the fact that the Farrellys nearly convinced Jim Carrey and Woody Allen to costar is a good sign of a smart, older-skewing script.

Many thanks to Laura for scanning the People photo (see right), and to caseyaffleck.net and Sandi for their kind offers to forward the picture.
The caption on the photo reads:
Serve and folly: In LA Matt Damon (left) and Greg Kinnear gave new meaning to the term doubles match while shooting a scene for Stuck on you, a comedy in which they costar as Siamese twins joined at the hip.

Stuck filming in the cold
``Stuck on You'' stars Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear braved brutal bone-chilling winds in Rockport yesterday to film a wood-chopping scene at their seaside cottage.
Brrrrrr!
But since the boys play Siamese twins in the latest Farrelly Brothers comedy, at least they had the body heat thing going for them!
``They would go out for a while, shoot, then go back in,'' said our set spy.
And to think it's supposed to be summer on Martha's Vineyard!
Speaking of the Rock, the ``Stuck'' crew will be out on the island all week shooting scene-setting shots and they're Stuck for extras. So casting cheese Kevin Fennessy is holding a quickie call for all interested islanders today at the Harborview between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Filming for "Stuck On You" begins today and will finish with a night-shoot at T-Wharf on Friday -- one that will begin at about 5 p.m. and is expected to end about 3 a.m. Saturday.
"Stuck On You," which is being produced by Conundrum Entertainment, is written and directed by brothers Bobby and Peter Farrelly, who have teamed up to make films such as "Dumb & Dumber" (1994), "There's Something About Mary" (1998) and "Me, Myself & Irene" (2000).
In "Stuck On You," Damon and Kinnear will play Siamese twins that travel to Hollywood after graduating high school, allowing one of the brothers to pursue his dream of becoming an actor. Rockport will serve as the setting of the twins' hometown, known in the film as "Martha's Vineyard."

Friends stars Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox have beaten pals Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in a new poll of Hollywood's best buddies.
The Friends duo have been dubbed the Most Loyal Friends in a new In Touch magazine top 10 list, which, as well as Matt and Ben, features Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire and former husband and wife Bruce Willis and Demi Moore.
The top 10 is:
1. JENNIFER ANISTON + COURTENEY COX
2. MATT DAMON + BEN AFFLECK

The New York Post summary of the Vanity Fair shoot:
THE STARS ARE ALIGNED FOR HOLLYWOOD'S BIG PICTURE
March 3, 2003 -- Now, here's what we call a real Hollywood gathering. A baker's dozen of the most-recognizable leading men of the big screen - Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Harrison Ford, Brad Pitt, Ed Norton, Jude Law, Samuel L. Jackson, Don Cheadle, Hugh Grant, Dennis Quaid, Ewan McGregor and Matt Damon - took time out of their busy shooting schedules in December to pose for this Annie Leibovitz photo for the annual Tinseltown edition of Vanity Fair magazine.

Co-prod a new Dimension
Miramax sib's foray begins with pricey 'Grimm'
By DAVID ROONEY
In a change of course, Bob Weinstein's Dimension Films has decided to start co-funding films in partnership with major studios. The Miramax genre division will partner with MGM to co-finance, produce and handle domestic distribution on the $75 million action fantasy "Brothers Grimm," which figures as the company's biggest-budget production to date....

Gilliam takes on "Grimm"
By David Rooney
NEW YORK (Variety) - Director Terry Gilliam (news), famed for his disastrous attempt to film Don Quixote, will take the helm of an even more ambitious project, "Brothers Grimm."
The $75 million Dimension Films/MGM venture is a fictionalized story that casts German fairy tale authors Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm as traveling spellbusters, claiming to protect Mittel European townsfolk from enchanted creatures and staging fake exorcisms until they come face to face with a real magical curse.
Offers are out to Robin Williams, Heath Ledger and Matt Damon to star.
"The characters are great, and this is the first adventure of the brothers Grimm, so there's plenty of potential to make a franchise," said Dimension co-president Bob Weinstein. "We've been quite successful in the past, so anything like that, if it does pay off with hopefully the good movie that I think it will be, it pays off also down the road."
Weinstein is planning a fall 2004 wide release in the U.S.
Ehren Kruger, who scripted the hit U.S. remake of "The Ring," as well as a number of Dimension projects including "Scream 3," penned the original screenplay.
"Brothers Grimm" marks the first film on which Miramax unit Dimension is bringing in an outside partner. MGM will have international distribution rights, with Dimension releasing the film in North America and overseeing all aspects of production. The studios will have an equal split in world profits.
Monty Python alumnus Gilliam's attempt to film a fresh take on the Spanish legend of Don Quixote foundered when the project was hit by medical mishaps, flash flooding and noisy NATO (news - web sites) jetfighters. The sorry saga was depicted in the recent documentary "Lost in La Mancha." His other credits include "12 Monkeys," "Brazil" and "The Fisher King."

Magazine alert: Vanity Fair
It's not the cover, but Matt is also reportedly in the next (Hollywood) issue of Vanity Fair.
From Liz Smith's New York Post column:
Vanity Fair's men
Speaking of men, here comes Vanity Fair's big Hollywood issue. Usually we have trouble figuring out who's who on the cover, because most of those pictured are all shiny, new, about-to-be stars.
This time out, the cover is all male, and there are five instantly recognizable superstar faces - Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, Harrison Ford, Jack Nicholson and Brad Pitt. The foldout then shows us Edward Norton, Jude Law, Samuel L. Jackson, Don Cheadle, Hugh Grant, Dennis Quaid, Ewan McGregor and Matt Damon.

Town set to welcome Matt and Hollywood
By Steven Rosenberg , Globe Staff Correspondent, 3/2/2003
Keri Morris leans over the cash register from behind the counter at the Rockport House of Pizza and discloses her dream, at least for this week.
''I want to meet Matt Damon,'' the 25-year-old Rockport woman says.
If the stars and moon and lights and cameras align for a brief moment, she may just get her wish. Beginning tomorrow, Hollywood will arrive in this small Cape Ann town for five days of filming. The movie, ''Stuck on You,'' will be directed by Peter and Bobby Farrelly, and will star Damon, Greg Kinnear, Cher, and Eva Mendes. The plot focuses on Damon and Kinnear, who play conjoined twins who leave their hometown and try their luck in Hollywood.
Damon and Kinnear are scheduled to be in town for the next five days, which will also include a one-day shoot at the Talbot skating rink in Gloucester. The Rockport filming will consist of exterior scenes, and will take place on White Wharf, Bearskin Neck, T-Wharf, and some side streets.
You don't have to walk too far on these quiet streets to find someone involved in the film. Morris has agreed to allow the crew to shoot a scene on her porch. ''It will be a trick or treat scene,'' with two young boys gathering candy on the porch, said Morris. Morris does not expect to see Damon that day, but may get a chance to be an extra in the film. ''I used to play with Matt Damon on the beach when I was a child,'' she said. ''His mother had a house on Long Beach. Dad remembers it better than I do.''
Few know exactly when Damon and Kinnear will arrive this week, or where they will stay. However, businesses and town officials appear to be more interested in the bottom line. The town will receive $5,000 from the film's producers, Twentieth Century Fox, and the production company will also fund extra police and ambulance details. But beyond the stipend and the safety patrols, the film means needed dollars, said Jonathan Weaver, a Rockport selectman. ''There's going to be an economic boost that's normally not there in the offseason,'' said Weaver.
One of the bigger beneficiaries of the Hollywood film will be the town's inns, and bed-and-breakfasts. At least 100 rooms will be rented for the week, including all 36 at the Emerson Inn by the sea. ''It's having a phenomenal effect,'' said the inn's owner, Bruce Coates. ''During the winter we run about 10 percent occupancy. It basically will do roughly two months worth of winter business in one week.''
Peter Beacham, who owns Woodbine Antiques and serves on the board of directors of the Rockport Chamber of Commerce, predicted that many of the 49 galleries that normally are shuttered during weekdays in the winter would open this week. He said he expects some people will drive to the town just to try to get a glimpse of Damon. But besides the tourists, who drive the town's economy from April though December, Beacham said the production will give Rockport national exposure. ''Rockport is obviously going to be showcased in the movie and that brings people here,'' he said.
These days, there's a near silence in Dock Square at midday. Visitors have no problem parking, and one penny gives you 30 minutes parking time. Bearskin Neck, which hosts as many as 25,000 people a day in the summer, is nearly deserted.
But on Old Harbor Road, leading out to White Wharf, several men lift stones and carry them to a new wall they are building in front of an old clam shack. For the last three weeks, the men have renovated the shack for the movie, adding a new asphalt roof, paint to its exterior shingles, and now the stone wall. By tomorrow, awnings and a sign will transform the building into a ''Quickie-burger,'' restaurant, where Damon and Kinnear will film exterior scenes.
Gloucester's Ted Suchecki, who has worked as the foreman on the project, said the film has already given Rockport's economy a boost. ''When the production company comes to town, they buy gas; they rent cars, copiers, fax machines, office space, and shop space. They also set up accounts for food, clothing, hardware, lumber steel and paint,'' he said.

In other Cambridge homey news, Ben's bud Matt Damon is due in Rockport tomorrow to begin shooting local scenes for the Farrelly brothers' latest, ``Stuck on You.'' He and Greg Kinnear play joined-at-the-hip Siamese twins who go Hollywood. Please report all Matt/Greg sightings to the Track . . .

Tinseltown, meet granite town
By JOSH ODELL, Staff writer
ROCKPORT -- The innkeepers are in on the act. So are the police, several homeowners and the town's two harbormasters.
By the start of next week, filming for the upcoming Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear comedy "Stuck On You" should be well under way, thanks in large part to the help of several Rockporters.
For the past few weeks, residents, businesses and town officials have been lending hands to representatives from 20th Century Fox to help make next week's Monday-Friday film shoot fun and successful.
"Things have been highly charged," said Bruce Coates, owner of the Emerson Inn by the Sea, where movie crews have been setting up offices and installing several phone lines. "It's command central down in our conference center. There's a lot going on in preparing for the cast and crew to come."
He's not sure where the stars of the film are staying. Staff at the Emerson Inn by the Sea have been bracing themselves for a busy week.
"It'll be interesting to have a full house in March," Coates chuckled.
The staff at the inn has been clearing out storage areas so movie crews will have a place their equipment and wardrobe, said Coates. Moving crews had to be hired for some of the work.
"We're certainly happy to have (the movie crews) here," Coates said, "and we're doing everything we can to make their stay as easy as possible."
Other movie offices will be established at the Sandy Bay Motor Inn, according to Adam McCarthy, location manager for 20th Century Fox Studios.
A few local homeowners have also been working with filmmakers to organize shoots. On Monday, for example, filming is scheduled for outside the house of Carol Ballantyne on Thurston Place, as well as in Millbrook Meadow. A Wednesday shoot outside of a King Street residence is also on the agenda.
The town harbormasters will be offering assistance, according to Co-Harbormaster Rosemary Lesch. So far, the department has helped the studio find certain types of boats to be used in the background for waterside shots. "They have certain sizes and colors of boats that they are interested in, so we've been notifying boat owners about it," Lesch said. Bright-colored boats in particular have caught 20th Century Fox's attention.
On Wednesday and Friday of next week, Lesch and Co-Harbormaster Scott Story will help organize the placement of the chosen boats for certain scenes.
"It'll be fun, and we're really looking forward to it," Lesch said. "It should give us something different to do in the winter months."
Aside from being a fun distraction, the movie's presence has managed to help fix up parts of the town, said Lesch. In turning the vacant building at White Wharf into the movie's "Quickie Burger," film crews performed an estimated $15,000 to $30,000 in improvements, according to a recent meeting held between Adam McCarthy and Town Administrator Michael Racicot.
Considering what the building looked like only weeks ago, Lesch said, the studio's help is appreciated.
"It's been a huge help, because that was sort of an abandoned building before," Lesch said. "This will help us preserve it."
Adam McCarthy has held recent meetings with Police Chief Tom McCarthy to work out the details such as parking, security and equipment placement at many of the movie's filming locations.
"Our responsibilities are mainly for public safety, crowd control, that sort of thing," said Chief McCarthy. Under the studio's agreement to film in Rockport, police costs and other expenses will be paid by 20th Century Fox. The town will additionally net $5,000 for its trouble, representing $1,000 for each day of filming.
To help control crowding, many of the studio's large trucks will be staying at the Park and Ride lot off of Upper Main Street. Other vehicles, will need to be parked in places like T-Wharf and King Street at various times under police supervision.
Movie crews will be using small vans to shuttle cast and crew to shooting locations to help cut down on clutter. Still, Chief McCarthy does not expect many problems, given the studio's cooperation thus far and the fact that March is not typically a crowded tourist season.
"The beauty is the time of year that they're doing this," said Police Chief Tom McCarthy. "The impacts should be minimal."
"Stuck On You," which is being produced by Conundrum Entertainment, is written and directed by brothers Bobby and Peter Farrelly, who have teamed up to make films such as "Dumb & Dumber" (1994), "There's Something About Mary" (1998) and "Me, Myself & Irene" (2000).
In "Stuck On You," Damon and Kinnear will play Siamese twins that travel to Hollywood after graduating high school, allowing one of the brothers to pursue his dream of becoming an actor.

I have been filming a cameo for the Farrelly brothers new film with Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear called STUCK ON YOU. My character is Officer Fravoli. 2 great scenes with Damon and Kinnear. What is really twisted is that my character is the straight man to their odd ball shit. Ya gotta check it out when it hits later this year.