Matt Damon and Gus Van Sant on The NY Times
Matt Damon attended the “TimesTalk Presents An Evening With Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon & Gus Van Sant” tonight, below are pictures and the video interview.
The Actors: Matt Damon on Fame and the ‘Bourne’ Franchise
Promise Land star Matt Damon reveals why he turned down the most recent installment of the Bourne franchise and what it was like when going through a period without work. “It was sobering. It didn’t really feel like a rough ride at the time. I did have a couple of movies that didn’t work and some of them had big enough budgets that people cared and so basically my phone just stopped ringing” said the Academy Award-winning actor.
Matt Damon and Cameron Crowe on ‘We Bought a Zoo’, the power of music and Tom Cruise
Great new interview where Matt talks about We Bought a Zoo, music, crying while watching movies and Tom Cruise, by The Washington Post:
I’m a little worried about “We Bought a Zoo.”
With all the hype about mega-marketed holiday films such as “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” and “Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol,” I fear moviegoers may forget all about Cameron Crowe and Matt Damon’s dramedy, or perhaps just dismiss it outright because the title is, admittedly, a little goofy.
They shouldn’t. For starters, Damon delivers one of the most authentic and likable star turns of his career as Benjamin Mee, the widower and father of two who, uh, well, buys a zoo. (In addition to being goofy, the title is also kind of a spoiler.)
I recently chatted with Damon and Crowe about the film for this Sunday Style piece, which, because of space limitations, couldn’t possibly capture the many topics covered during a 40-minute conversation. In addition to discussing New Yorker critic David Denby’s initial dismissal of “We Bought a Zoo,” we also talked about the impact that using music on the set (a signature Crowe move) had on Damon’s performance, as well as the acting abilities of their current multiplex competitor, Tom Cruise.
Here are more extracts from that interview, in which Damon uses big words like “amygdala” and says of Cruise, “He is a much better actor than I think people understand.”
Damon, on Crowe’s use of music during takes: There’s something that happens with music, and I’d never thought of using it this way, but it’s so brilliant because it’s so emotional. It’s like it leapfrogs your neocortex and goes straight to your amygdala and suddenly you’re feeling these things. It’s not rational; it’s going right really to your heart. As a performer, it’s just pulling stuff out of you.
That Jonsi music we have in the movie. . . . The song where I’m looking at the iPhoto stuff and looking at my wife [in the movie] — the song that’s in the movie is the song Cameron played that day, and it’s completely responsible for that whole sequence. It took me places that there is no amount of directing or cajoling or persuading he could have done to get me to that place. He didn’t say anything; he put the song on and we were gone. So that was something I’ve never seen before that’s an unbelievably valuable tool for me going forward, and eventually as a director.
Crowe, on why he changed his mind and decided to play music during certain takes of “We Bought a Zoo”: It happened on the first day when we were doing the scene in the hallway of the school. It was a close-up on Matt, and he kind of turned into the shot. I had two instincts: One is, wow, Matt has really connected to this character and this is the movie happening before me. And the second: I hear Tom Petty, “Don’t Come Around Here No More.”
So I put it on, on instinct, and something started to surge on Matt’s face and in the people around us, and it felt like music has always been for me, kind of an emotional partner. And suddenly we had kind of another character in the room, which was the music. As soon as the take was over, Matt and some other people came over and said, “Wow, I really felt that.” I think in that instant I pivoted and decided to keep doing it. And one of the reasons was because Matt just soaks up music. He’s a music fan, and the music was always a reminder of what movie we were in. And sometimes that’s so much more profound than anything you could say.
Damon, on whether he’ll use music when he makes his directorial debut next year: Definitely, definitely. I’m already thinking about that, when to use it and what songs. Because it really does work.
It was weird to come across a tactic — like, I thought I knew everything. Tactically speaking, without geeking out on theory, a lot of people make good movies, and I know a lot of them and we talk. And so, it was surprising to have this happen on the first day of filming. I was so excited. I had dinner with Ben Affleck that night, actually, and it’s all we talked about, was this Tom Petty thing that had happened. I just couldn’t believe it. I was like, man, you have no idea what this felt like. It was all about a feeling and being lifted by this music, and so yeah, it’s definitely something that I want to do. Because it works.
Damon, on what gets to him in Crowe’s movie “Jerry Maguire”:
There are a few parts, actually. I was watching it with my wife. It’s Tom [Cruise], is what gets to me. Tom’s performance is what gets to me, ultimately. He anchored that movie. He’s such a better actor than I think people understand, and that performance is still great 15 years later. It is worth going back and looking at again. It is one of the great leading-man performances.
When a movie gets to you, there are a bunch of things that start to work on you. The relationship between Cuba [Gooding Jr.]’s character and his wife, that starts to get to me. By the end of it I’m just so teed up for the final scene with Tom and Renee [Zellweger] in front of the women’s group. My wife looks over, and tears are running down [my face] and I’m wiping them away.
But it got to her, too. . . . I’m not ashamed to say that.
Crowe and Damon, on the possibility of Crowe making a movie that brings together Damon, Cruise and “Say Anything . . .” star John Cusack:
Damon: I love that idea.
Crowe: Oh, man. Tom Cruise came to visit the set when we were making “We Bought a Zoo,” and I kind of stood back at a certain point and watched the two of them talking, and I had the same idea. It’s like, damn. . . .
Damon: I had met [Tom Cruise] briefly a couple of times, but we really got to talk and, uh, spend a little time together. And then I talked to him on the phone after he saw some scenes. He dropped by the editing room and saw some stuff and called me. And that was amazing.
Matt Damon on GQ January 2012
Matt Damon is featured on the January 2012 cover of GQ magazine.
Wicked Smaht
Is there friggin’ anything Matt Damon can’t do? As the action hero/leading man/activist/Oscar-winning screenwriter/sitcom revelation/Internet meme finally makes the transition to Serious Director, we’re about to find outI’m ducking Matt Damon. We’re supposed to meet at the Central Park Zoo ticket booth precisely at noon, but I’m not there. I’m thirty feet away, standing behind a huge oak tree, keeping watch.
Cameron Crowe, the director, has urged me to try to get a glimpse of the 41-year-old actor when he doesn’t know I’m there. “Matt’s fans relate to him as an older brother or a member of the family. And that’s how he relates to them,” Crowe says, recalling how during the shoot of their new movie, We Bought a Zoo, he liked to do reconnaissance on Damon as he signed autographs and interacted with his public.
The Boston native, who now calls New York home, can be reticent in interviews, reluctant to reveal too much or get too personal. I want to observe him in his natural habitat, and I imagine that my stealth will be rewarded with the kind of unguarded moment that can only be viewed in the wild. As minutes pass, however, and I don’t spot him anywhere, a thought looms: This is Jason Bourne I’m hunting—the master of evasion. What if Matt Damon is ducking me?
Stepping into the open, I sort of wave my notebook like a journalistic homing beacon, and suddenly there he is, all smiles. “Hi, I’m Matt,” he says, extending a hand. He’s in jeans, a gray waffle-y long-sleeve T-shirt, and what look to be brand-new black Puma sneakers. He has a knit cap pulled down to his eyebrows, which makes it easy to notice that his hat and his eyes are exactly the same blue. He’s taller than I thought he’d be and exactly a quarter inch taller than the man standing next to him: a gray-haired, bespectacled guy in pleated chinos and a baseball cap.
“This,” Damon proclaims, “is my dad.”
When Damon the younger pulls out a credit card to gain us entry to what we will all agree must be the smallest zoo on earth, Damon the elder (his name is Kent) observes wryly, “This is the first time the son buys the father a ticket to the zoo. When has that happened before?” Whereupon the son grins big and says, “There’s, like, a disturbance in the Force!”
“Come on,” Kent says. “Let’s go see the polar bears.”
As we set off, I’m immediately struck by the constant cross-generational ball-busting between father and son. For example, the story of when 12-year-old Matt announced his intent to play point guard for the Boston Celtics.
Kent: I said, “Matt, I have to tell you a little bit about the real world.”
Matt: My favorite player was Tiny Archibald, and he goes, “You know they call him Tiny because he’s six foot one.” He told me that he was the tallest Damon to ever evolve at five foot ten.
Kent: Five ten and a half, by the way.
Matt: Used to be, man.
Kent: Not that we’re sensitive about it.
Read the rest of the article at GQ.com
Damon determined to beat friend Clooney with more Soberbergh’s movies
More Matt Damon & Steve Sodebergh movies? I approve! And it’s a competition with George Clooney? Meaning more movies from both? I approve twice!
Washington, Oct 17 (ANI): Matt Damon has revealed that he is determined to outdo his friend George Clooney and appear in more of director Steven Soberbergh’s movies than him.
Till now both the stars have been seen in the same number of Soberbergh’s movies, with each of them having one in the pipeline, but now Damon has shown his will to outdo his friend in the collaboration stakes.
“We’re tied at six. But I’m going to win – that’s all I’m saying. We each have another one lined up with Steve and then I’m hoping that I can sneak in as an extra in the one he directs after that. I told Steven that it really matters to me. I want the title. I really want it,” Contactmusic quoted him as saying.
The 41-year-old actor who can next be seen in ‘Contagion’, a thriller about a fatal pandemic that sweeps the world admitted that the subject matter made everybody involved in the movie more hygiene conscious.
“Steve actually sent the script over with a note that read, ‘Read this and then wash your hands.’
“We were saying when we were making the movie, ‘We should get some stocks in Purell [a hand sanitiser]‘. We did have that conversation,” he added.
Via: Truth Dive
Damon: Only Pitt can outfox Clooney
Matt Damon has revealed George Clooney may be “a pro” at pranks, but Brad Pitt once got the better of him.
The trio worked together on Ocean’s Eleven, Ocean’s Twelve and Ocean’s Thirteen, and Matt admitted the silver-haired heartthrob was hard to catch out.
“I’ve never gotten George, no. The thing is, George is a pro. He’s very tough to get. He’s got them all down. He’s very, very funny,” he told Shortlist magazine.
But the Contagion actor added: “The best one I saw on George was on Ocean’s Twelve when Brad had a fake memo translated and given to the Italian crew. It was this whole thing saying, ‘Please do not look Mr Clooney in the eye, only refer to him as Mr Ocean or Danny (the name of George’s character).’
“It was so the opposite of George that he was mortified and when he found out, he was not happy about it.
“So that was the one time I saw someone get him.”
Via: APUK
Matt Damon On Ben Affleck’s Tough ‘Gigli’ Years, Working Together Again
Back in 1997, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck catapulted to stardom, winning an Oscar for writing “Good Will Hunting,” the coming-of-age story in which they also starred. They were the young toasts of Hollywood, and in the years that followed, each went on to make some impressive films: “Saving Private Ryan,” “Rounders” and “The Talented Mr. Ripley” for Damon, and “Armageddon,” “Shakespeare In Love” and “Boiler Room” for Affleck.
Damon continued to make hit films, starting up the Bourne series, amongst others, but it became a bit more dicey for Affleck. He suffered through a number of public relationships, and began featuring in movies that didn’t quite hit it big with the public or critics; “Gigli” and “Daredevil,” amongst others, now stain his IMDB page.
Life wasn’t easy, and as his best friend and writing partner, Damon had a hard time watching it.
“That was really hard for me to watch as his friend, because I didn’t think it was fair to him,” Damon told Shortlist.com, before shifting over to Affleck’s more recently revived career. “It’s more of a relief to me, to be honest. As his writing partner, I know how great he is. I always knew that better than anybody, so now I just feel vindicated. So I’m not at all surprised, but I’m glad to see him doing so well and it’s turned back the way it should be. Everything is right with the Force again.”
Indeed, Affleck has returned to making hit movies, not only as an actor, but now as a director, too. He got behind the camera for his first feature in 2007, directing the solidly received “Gone Baby Gone,” and then scored a major hit with his 2010 crime pic, “The Town.”
In fact, the two old partners are planning a reunion.
“Yeah, we really want to work together again,” he said. “We have a couple of things we’re developing and we have a deal together over at Warner Bros, but he’s making a great movie right now called ‘Argo.’ It’s really, really good.”
Affleck is directing and starring in that film, the true story of the bizarre way the CIA worked to rescue hostages in Iran in the late 70s. Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, Kyle Chandler and Alan Arkin also star in the film. Damon, who just featured in Steven Soderbergh’s “Contagion,” will next star in Cameron Crowe’s “We Bought A Zoo,” and was just announced as a co-star in HBO’s biopic of Liberace.
ExtraTV Contagion Interview
“Contagion’s” Matt Damon, 40, is the proud father of four daughters, and when asked by “Extra’s” Jerry Penacoli if he would consider trying again for a boy, Damon replied he was “done,” adding, “We’re closing the shop. That’s a wrap. Our life is full. I want to know our kids’ names.”
The actor commented on his pal Brad Pitt and the Brangelina brood, saying, “I honestly don’t know how they do it. They seem to do it so effortlessly. I’m sure they’re cloning themselves.”
Addressing the latest political rumor of documentarian Michael Moore calling on Damon to run for President, he laughed, “See how desperate he [Moore] is getting?! Seriously, I don’t have any aspirations to go into politics.”
Damon stars alongside Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet and Jude Law in Steven Soderberg’s thriller, “Contagion.” Damon says the action film, about a deadly outbreak, probably influenced the cast members to “wash our hands more.”
“Contagion” spreads into theaters September 9.
Contagion Interview
A wild bald Matt Damon appears. Another interview with Matt Damon about the film Contagion. Parts 1 and 2 below.
Matt Damon talks Adjustment Bureau DVD/BD; Losing The Fighter
Emily hinted that you believe in love at first sight because of how you met your wife. Is this true?
It is. It’s funny, I’m sure that it was, but I wonder – now that we have four kids and have built this life together – if I’m retroactively imbuing that moment with all of the subsequent experiences. I feel like it was love at first sight, but maybe that’s just my revisionist history.
Do you remember what she was wearing?
I remember her smile. That’s what I remember more than anything.
Do you believe in destiny? Do you believe you have your own life in your hands?
It’s one of those questions that you can’t answer and I think that’s why people have been asking it for millennia. We’re trying to propose it in a fun way in this movie. I feel like I’m in control of everything until I look back at my life and go, “Wait a minute, what odd series of events took place.” There is that Garth Brooks song where he sings “Thank God for unanswered prayers” – every job that I auditioned for that I was desperate to get that I didn’t might have taken me down a different path. It’s that thing where I feel stuff could be predestined, but I sure like to think that my choices were better.
What made you choose this film?
George (Nolfi, Director) is my friend and when he first showed it to me we had worked on one movie together, Ocean’s Twelve. Subsequently while he was doing more and more drafts of The Adjustment Bureau, we did the third Bourne movie and that was a movie that we were writing as we went. It was a lot of pressure and going through that experience with him and spending hundreds of hours in hotel rooms trying to figure out what we were going to shoot the next day, I knew he could handle the pressure of directing. There was so much more pressure in the Bourne situation that I knew this would be kind of a cakewalk.
What about the story?
I thought the story was interesting. I hadn’t really done a love story and I really loved the idea of a modern-day love story, the obstacle to which was this Philip K. Dick creation of this Adjustment Bureau. It seemed tonally to be really unique and not like anything I’d ever seen and ambitious in that way, but also ultimately a really entertaining and a fun movie. Plus, I believe in George.
Do you think that actors are like politicians, that they hide behind an image to sell tickets?
To a certain degree. I really wonder how much you can micromanage an image anymore. I think with technology being what it is, there’s very little mystery left with public people. Celebrities get followed around 24 hours a day and get their pictures taken 24 hours a day. You can open up a magazine and see where they spent their entire week and when they went to Starbucks. There’s very little intrigue.
Read the rest of this entry »
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