by Matt Thompson
When "The Bourne Ultimatum" hit theaters in 2007, it was a logical assumption that it would be the last film in the Bourne series. Then Matt Damon signed on for a fourth film last October.
We reported over the summer that Damon was stumped when it came to creating an attractive plot to the fourth installment in the series. He reached out to the audience with an open invitation to anyone who had a brilliant idea for the story.
Two months later, the problem seems to be solved. In a recent interview with Total Film, Damon revealed that he and director Paul Greengrass are working feverishly on putting together a script for "Bourne 4." Read more...
Wow. This looks awesome. I replied to one of our reader's comments earlier today, someone who expressed hesitation about Matt Damon potentially being cast in the Coen brothers' planned adaptation of "True Grit," a Western. I responded with the opinion that Damon is a fantastic talent, that he possesses the rare ability to fully inhabit the characters he portrays. I used to be iffy about the "Bourne" movies, but have since come around in a big way. So you can imagine how exciting "Green Zone" is, since it reunites Damon with "Bourne" director Paul Greengrass.
You're on board now, right? Looks like pretty compelling stuff. Action-packed, topical, Damon in action hero mode, Greengrass in blockbuster mode. March 12, 2010 is suddenly a long way away.
I almost can't take this news. The brothers Coen -- Joel and Ethan -- are among the best filmmakers out there. This isn't opinion; it is a fact, supported by such stellar efforts as "The Big Lebowski," "A Serious Man" and the Oscar-winning adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel, "No Country For Old Men." So when the news broke last month that they'd be directing a new take on Chris Portis' novel "True Grit," I was beside myself.
MTV's Josh Horowitz caught up with the duo later in September, in one of their only solo interviews of the Toronto International Film Festival. There they confirmed that Jeff Bridges, previously revealed to be playing Rooster Cogburn, would indeed be wearing his character's eyepatch, like John Wayne before him. "That'd be like doing Richard II without the limp," Joel said. He also revealed the source of the adaptation: "We’re not looking at the movie. It’s a great book. It’s a very funny book." Read more...
Philip K. Dick has blessed the world with alien conspiracies, machines and humans that can predict the future, and one iconic android bounty hunter. The latest movie based on his work, "The Adjustment Bureau," starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt, might give us the first big screen Dickian love story – a tender romance hidden within a sci-fi candy shell.
"It's like a modern love story, but it's got an ominous sci-fi backdrop to it," Blunt told MTV News during a break in shooting on location in New York City. "It's going to be exciting and disconcerting and strange, which is what I like about [Dick's] work. It's very cool and clever. It's got a really tight script." Read more...
George Clooney has quite the busy year ahead of him. He stars in Up in the Air" and "Men Who Stare At Goats," two TIFF darlings which both hit theaters in a matter of weeks. Then there's the upcoming Wes Anderson stop-motion adaptation of Roald Dahl's "Fantastic Mr. Fox" -- another Toronto fave -- which the actor lends his voice to. Clooney also produced the just-released, Steven Soderbergh-directed "The Informant!," starring Matt Damon.
The star's 2010 is also shaping up, with a lead and a producer's credit for the action/thriller adaptation of Martin Booth's novel "A Very Private Gentleman." We can add one more to the list now. News emerged over the weekend Clooney is getting back together with his old "Ocean's co-star Damon, and they're bringing Emmy-winning "West Wing" writer Aaron Sorkin along for the ride. Read more...
FROM MTV.COM: It's October of 1992, and Mark Whitacre (Matt Damon), a hotshot executive at Archer Daniels Midland, the giant agricultural conglomerate, is going about his job. He has a full plate at the moment — some mysterious virus is screwing up the company's corn-syrup operation. Did you know there's corn syrup in everything — orange juice, maple syrup? It's true.
So Mark has a lot on his mind. Or at least that part of his mind that's not buzzing with a whole other swarm of odd fixations. Like ... sushi. "I wonder who went first on that one?" Mark wonders. "The guy without the grill?" There's also the threat of poison-winged butterflies. And ... polar bears! Do you realize that polar bears would be impossible to spot in their snowy Arctic habitat if it weren't for their black noses? It's true. Do you think a polar bear ever peered at his reflection in the water surrounding his ice floe and thought, "Without that nose, I'd be invisible"? Maybe. On the other hand, as Mark concludes, "That's a lot of thinking for a bear."
Continue reading 'The Informant!': Liars, Inc., By Kurt Loder
"It would be sexual harassment in any other business." That's what Matt Damon had to say about Michael Douglas's "chapstick" comment, a reference to the Liberace biopic the two will star in. Douglas will play the famous singer/showman and Damon, his gay lover. The duo will be under the direction of Steven Soderbergh, whose Damon-starring quirky comedy "The Informant!" hits theaters today.
In the video below you can hear Damon talking about his work with Soderbergh at last week's Toronto International Film Festival, where MTV's Josh Horowitz got to sit with him. Beware listeners: there are some sizable "Informant" spoilers in the latter half of the video, so hit stop at around 1:00/1:10 if you want to remain pure.
You'd think that "The Informant!" star Matt Damon and filmmaker Clint Eastwood would right now be preparing to promote their first collaboration, Oscar-bait "Invictus," which is due for a mid-December release. And they probably are, but that doesn't mean other business is being ignored. As Variety reports today, the director and star are all set to get the band back together for another project, titled "Hereafter."
There's not much to go on in terms of plot points just yet. The article states that Warner Bros. isn't saying much, other than describing the project as a supernatural thriller in the vein of "The Sixth Sense." I wasn't a big fan of M. Night Shyamalan's breakout, but Eastwood is a more nuanced filmmaker; here's hoping he doesn't pin this new movie's success to a single, mind-bending twist. The script comes from "Frost/Nixon" writer Peter Morgan, who will also produce alongside Steven Spielberg, Frank Marshall and Tim Moore. Read more...
We don’t like intellectuals. You, the person reading this right now, and me, the dude writing, might have a fondness for them. But we, the lot of us living in North America, don’t have a whole lot of time for intellectuals. This is by no means a modern development. More of an essential American personality quirk going back a few hundred years. We like smart people, no doubt. Admirers and detractors alike in this country have always celebrated brilliant satirists and social commentators, from Mark Twain all the way up to Jon Stewart.
They make us laugh though, so they’re disqualified. Comedy often helps us forgive, and sometimes negate, intellectualism. Without it, though, we view dispassionate reason in matters of politics and ethics as weaknesses or haughtiness. This is especially true of liberal-minded entertainers. An actor and filmmaker doesn’t understand the common man’s values, the naysayers contend, so their intellectual approach to moral or political issues is invalid. Not with Ronald Reagan, though! But Reagan was no intellectual. There’s the catch. And that's why Matt Damon interests me. Read more...
I saw "The Informant!" last night. It was quite good. Matt Damon has really distinguished himself as an actor who inhabits the roles that he plays; his pudgy corporate whistle-blower Mark Whitacre is only the latest in a long line.
When MTV's Josh Horowitz spoke with Damon last week at the Toronto International Film Festival, he asked the actor about how he prepared for his meaty role. As in how he gained all that weight; no fat suits for this guy. Said Damon, "it was really, really... really fun" to put on that weight. I'll bet. Hear the actor run through his "Informant!" diet in the Rough Cut clip below.
Read more...
