Matt Damon Goes Off On Bourne Writer
I don't think I have ever seen Matt Damon so angry or ever throw anyone under a bus but he was both in an interview for GQ this month. As you know Matt has given up on Bourne movies and part of the reason was the third movie he did in the franchise. He thinks the writer producers hired did a crap job and did it just for the money after doing a great job on the second one.
"It's really the studio's fault for putting themselves in that position. I don't blame Tony for taking a boatload of money and handing in what he handed in. It's just that it was unreadable. This is a career ender. I mean, I could put this thing up on eBay and it would be game over for that dude. It's terrible. It's really embarrassing. He was having a go, basically, and he took his money and left."
First of all. Having a go? When did Matt turn British? Is he on some Goopster Madonna diet? I think his words are really harsh and what he said is the same thing as if he did put the script up on eBay. He might have ruined this guy's career.
Matt tried to apologize after the interview was revealed and he said, "If I didn't respect him (Gilroy) and appreciate his talent, then I really wouldn't have cared. My feelings were hurt. That's all. And that's exactly why I shouldn't have said anything. This is between me and him. So saying anything publicly is f**king stupid and unprofessional and just kind of douchey of me."
It hurt his feelings?
I've read that yesterday. Don't understand why he thinks a writer can't sell out from time to time and make a boat-load of money on a script, but an actor should on a cheezy blockbuster?
ReplyDeleteI like Matt Damon, but his had an edge to it that was very much unlike him. He's usually quite gracious.
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ReplyDeleteHonestly, I thought the third Bourne movie was as good as the first two. And I also think Damon, at this point, is too old to do any more Bourne movies anyway. It's time for a reboot.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think Damon is probably more annoyed that the producers decided to go for a younger face (and a less expensive salary and back-end points) than anything else. The Bourne movies made Damon a star far bigger than his pal, Ben Affleck, could ever imagine himself to be. And while Damon will remain a big player, Damon loses the almost-guaranteed paychecks the Bourne films will bring.
As for Gilroy's writing: Matt also agreed to do the movie. If he didn't decide to do the film, Tony Gilroy wouldn't have written the script -- and there would have been no movie. So if Matt thinks The Bourne Ultimatum was crap, it's as much his fault as it is that of Gilroy, Doug Limon and the rest of the crew behind the film.
It sounds like there was friction there already. Maybe Damon asked for a rewrite in some of the script, and Gilroy didn't do it? Or he thought the script was bad and Gilroy turned in it without attempting to make it better? I haven't watched any of the Bourne movies, so I have no idea if they're good.
ReplyDeleteThis is uncharacteristic of Damon. He tends to be pretty diplomatic toward everyone. I'm guessing that this was a wound waiting to be reopened, that there's bad blood behind the scenes that's spilling to the forefront.
Well, at least he did come back and dress himself down for it. However, it's out there now and it kills me that these stars don't realize that you can never take back that type of comment. No matter how self depreciating you are about it.
ReplyDeleteHe did win an Oscar for his screenplay so I guess he knows what he is talking about. He shouldn't have aired this in public and, with his clout, he certainly could have ruined someone's career.
ReplyDeleteI like Matt Damon and the Bourne movies are probably my favorite version of the spy thriller franchise. I'm going to chalk it up to something happened that we don't know. It could have been anything, and he responded to that then later regretted it. When he says his feelings were hurt, the others probably know what he's talking about, but we don't. Not a problem.
ReplyDeleteWell, MsCool, Tony Gilroy wrote the scripts for The Cutting Edge, Delores Claybourne, Proof of Life, Michael Clayton, and the script for the new Bourne film coming out in 2012 (along with the scripts for all three previous Bourne films). I doubt Damon can do any damage to Gilroy's rock-solid rep at this point. But it is ruining Damon's rep as a class act.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't use one instance of hurt feelings becoming known dictate whether Damon is a classy guy. We all have our bad moments. It's just with celebs, those moments become public. Comes with the territory. But it doesn't mean Damon is without tact 99.9% of the time.
ReplyDeleteI think there are some politics here that we aren't privy to. Obviously it is harder to come up with new ideas for a franchise where a lot has already been done. That being said, if a writer turns in an unacceptable script the producers have a right to request a rewrite (I seem to recall the Writers Guild had a maximum of two rewrites in the basic writers fee, apparantly many producers request many more) or assign another writer (who may salvage part of the unacceptable script, resulting in split screen credits). A star like Damon probably has script approval. So the problem of an unacceptable script would be the producers and/or the producers and Damon jointly. If he had script approval and decided to go ahead with a weak script (this often happens when star schedules have a limited availability)then it was his own fault. Frankly I think he was trying to present his exit from the franchise as an artistic rather than commercial decision.
ReplyDeleteby the way, "have a go at it" is not unusual to say. Matt's from Boston. Maybe it's an East Coast thing, but I say it, as do my friends. But we are the original colonies!
ReplyDeleteThat's funny because I thought the third one was better than the first two. That was the one with the scene of him jumping from house to house in Tunisia, right? That scene was awesome.
ReplyDeleteDoes he not remember the adjustment bureau? Now that was a career killer.
ReplyDeleteSevenmack: Really? You think Matt Damon is hoping for "guaranteed paychecks"? He's one of the THE biggest movie stars at this point and he can pretty much do whatever he wants. I really don't think Matt Damon is concerned about a guaranteed paycheck. Besides Pitt and Clooney, he's pretty much as big as it gets...
ReplyDeleteI'm with all the others, above, who are defending Damon. He's usually as diplomatic as it comes, and he seems like a genuinely nice, down-to-earth guy. He's got rock solid relationships with his family, his heart's in the right place with his unpublicized charity efforts, he's smart, and this is probably the one and only time he called someone out. At this point, I'll trust that it's justified and there's more going on here. He was probalby already tied to the movie and trusted it'd be well-written. The results may be good, but that could have been because the producers, director or even Damon chipped in and made it better. Maybe Damon improvised a ton to elevate the crap script, and that added stress and work, and he was pissed at his friend for being lazy and dropping the ball. Who knows, but I trust that there's sufficient reason behind this to justify the words, even if the public forum wasn't the best place, which he recognized. I still love him and this just makes him more human. Forgiven. Forgotton. No one's career is ruined, that writer is just fine - he's his own heavyweight. I don't think Damon would ever be a goliath against a David - please.
ReplyDeleteI don't know, I thought doing Ocean's 13 was selling out.
ReplyDeleteHe's worked with this guy for these three movies, I can see being hurt when someone you feel you have a relationship with (as co-workers) screws you over (in your perception).
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like office politics/drama. I can't be the only one who works at a company that has that.
Damon just needs to learn to think first before speaking in an interview setting. Does anyone remember how he broke up with Minnie Driver by way of Oprah, much to Minnie's surprise?
ReplyDeleteit's the Shia effect, you cash then check and THEN bitch about how bad the movie is.
ReplyDeleteAt least Jonah Hills had the balls to turn down the third Transformers becuase the script was dumb and he didn't care they were offering him millons to do it.
Doesn't every script go through some re-writes? I'm wondering how much the finished product (which I thought was nearly equal to the first two--the first being my favorite) changed from what Gilroy may have submitted originally.
ReplyDeleteDamon doesn't say the final product/ the movie was bad, just the submitted script. It does make you wonder....
Other postings of this story have pointed out that Damon knows a thing or two about scriptwriting (Oscar with Affleck for Good Will Hunting), so it's not like he's speaking solely as an actor who has no script experience other than reading them and learning the lines...
I say "having a go" or "have a go at it" and I'm Canadian.
ReplyDeletethe script of the third Bourne movie was been rewritten by the 2 script doctors and Tony Gilroy is the reason why Damon and Greengrass didn't made the fourth movie (it's not a secret for the movie nerds)
ReplyDeleteWhen I read this quote yesterday, I wondered about the "having a go" thing too - it sounds British to me. I'm from Texas, and we say "have a go at it" if you're talking about trying something (as in, "It's not hard to ride a bike. Why don't you have a go at it?"), but from what I understand, to "have a go" at someone in England is to shout or get angry at someone.
ReplyDeleteWell, Jolene, money always matters, even to people who have lots of it. Just because an actor is big now doesn't mean that they can't fall off; think folks such as Stallone, Willis, Gibson, who either have had one too many bomb movies or have literally burned their bridges with the public. Every actor thinks about the money, even when the checks come rolling in -- and Damon is no different than the rest.
ReplyDeleteAs for Damon being a class act? Well, he's had that perception, even amid those moments (the public dumping of Minnie Driver) in which he hasn't behaved well. I think people give some actors more credit for being stand-up, largely because people want to believe that at least one actor in town is actually a decent human being. (Being handsome and not getting into any public incidents a la Mel also helps.) But the top stars don't get where they are just by being nice; they are sharks who work the system, get the gigs, and maximize every opportunity they get. So chances are that Damon is as decent as he can be, but not necessarily as stand up as we all want to believe. And the Gilroy incident shows that to be the case.
The hurt feelings comment refers to Damon's feeling let down that the writer didn't go gangbusters, or fell short, on that third script when Damon threw everything into it and thought the writer would have too.
ReplyDelete(Just pointing it out. It's easier to understand what he meant in other places on the Internet where it has been posted.)
Off with his head! He bit the hand that feeds him!!1111!!! Oh wait--he's an actOR, so we'll give him the benefit of the doubt.
ReplyDeleteBlogger hayleym_24 said...
ReplyDelete"Off with his head! He bit the hand that feeds him!!1111!!! Oh wait--he's an actOR, so we'll give him the benefit of the doubt."
Just imagine the shitstorm had it been Heigl comaplining ;P
What about Stuck on You, Matt? :)
ReplyDeleteHe definitely threw Gilroy under the bus, but in reading what he said about it, I kind of understand why. He apologized and said it was unprofessional/douchey, but I wonder how any future Bourne movies with him will be if Gilroy is involved?
Also, I was just glancing at his IMDb page and this made me laugh...he's credited for his recent bit with Katy Perry on SNL as the "Handsome Drug Addict".
@Lelaina - you took the words out of my mouth! How can he have the nerve to imply that anyone's selling out after he did that horrible movie?
ReplyDeleteI used to like Matt Damon but now he sounds like another Hollywood star who started out normal and has turned into a complete diva.