Tuesday, February 2

• Next Bourne Could Be a Prequel

  So far, the development of Bourne 4 is not going very well. With Paul Greengrass deciding not to return for the sequel in December, Matt Damon countered that Greengrass would return if the story was right. Problem is, the right story has yet to present itself. Bourne told Empire that the lack of a story for Bourne 4 could mean that next Bourne might be a prequel instead of a sequel.

  There'll probably be a prequel of some kind with another actor and another director before we do another one, just because I think we're probably another five years away from doing it — we've got to get a script…

  Sadly, there still hasn't been much progress on the Bourne 4 story. Damon says they are anxious for a good idea.

  If you have any ideas, call Universal. They'd love for you to get in touch!

  
  

  Posted 02/02/2010 by Ryan

  Related: Matt Damon | Paul Greengrass | Bourne 4

Friday, January 29

• Jay Mohr Joins Clint Eastwood's Hereafter

  Comedian Jay Mohr has joined the cast of Clint Eastwood's next project, the supernatural drama Hereafter, according to Variety. Mohr, 39, was a recurring cast member on Saturday Night Live in the mid '90s and has also starred in the TV series Ghost Whisperer and Gary Unmarried.

  The script for Hereafter was written by Peter Morgan, who also wrote the screenplays for Frost/Nixon and The Queen. The story is a meditation on death that follows the parallel stories of three people: Matt Damon, a factory worker with the ability to see the deceased; Belgian actress Cécile de France, a journalist who's had a brush with death; and a London schoolboy, yet to be cast.

  Mohr will play Billy, the brother of Damon's character. Production is already underway, with shooting schedules in Paris, London, Hawaii, and San Francisco. DreamWorks has slated the movie for a December 2010 release, placing Hereafter at the heart of Oscar season.

  The Oscars have be good to Eastwood as of late, with five of his last six movies earning at least one Oscar nomination. We'll find out if Invictus will continue that trend when the Oscar nominations are announced Tuesday morning. Eastwood won his second Best Director Oscar in 2004 for Million Dollar Baby, which also won Best Picture.

  
  

  Posted 01/29/2010 by Rich Z

  Related: Clint Eastwood | Jay Mohr | Matt Damon | Peter Morgan | Bryce Dallas Howard | Cécile de France | Hereafter | Invictus

Thursday, January 14

• Green Zone Featurette Plays Up the Action and the Intrigue

  The trailer for the upcoming Matt Damon action flick Green Zone sure made it look a whole lot like Jason Bourne in Iraq. Commenting on some action sequences in a new featurette, director Paul Greengrass (who also directed The Bourne Ultimatum) confirms that this was exactly what he was aiming for:

  The mission of this film was to ... create a film that is every bit as compelling, every bit filled with action, every bit a privileged inside view to a secret world as the Bourne films. ... It's like somebody pulling on a thread. He pulls on it and pulls on it and pulls on it until he realizes what's going on underneath. And like any great thriller, that drives him on towards his date with destiny.

  It's not entirely a Jason Bourne movie, though, and the setting is hardly incidental. As we see here, the thread Damon's character appears to be pulling on is the double-dealing and bad intelligence that surrounded the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. This throws an extra dimension of contemporary political intrigue into the mix.

  
  
  

  Green Zone - Trailer

  Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, and Amy Ryan star

  Posted 01/14/2010 by Bill

  Related: Matt Damon | Paul Greengrass | Green Zone

Wednesday, January 6

• Steven Soderbergh Shoots Improv Movie in Secret

  

  Last summer, Steven Soderbergh announced that he may be retiring from filmmaking in a few years. We can only hope that this was said out of disappointment for losing control of Moneyball and so shouldn't be taken seriously.

  The next few years will tell whether Soderbergh was speaking in earnest, but in the meantime he's continuing his trend as one of the most versatile and prolific directors working today. He's already laid the foundation for the current indie movement with Sex, Lies, and Videotape. He's done major Hollywood projects like Ocean's Eleven and Erin Brockovich while simultaneously creating experimental works like Schizopolis and Bubble, which he released simultaneously in theaters and on DVD. And of course, he suffered through the six-hour biopic Che, which he cited as a brutally stressful shoot.

  Now, The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that the 46-year-old director shot a movie in secret while in Australia. Soderbergh spent last month with Cate Blanchett's Sydney Theater Company directing Tot Mom, his documentary-style play about the media storm surrounding a Florida girl's disappearance.

  At some point, it seems Soderbergh shot a movie on-the-fly with the play's cast members. Company actor Rhys Muldoon described it as a ''pretty much improvised film." Of course, Soderbergh isn't allowed to reveal any details, which gives the project a nice, manufactured air of mystery.

  In the meantime, Soderbergh already has several projects lined up for 2010, including the Spalding Grey documentary And Everything Is Going Fine, the Gina Carano vehicle Knockout, and the biopic Liberace, starring Matt Damon alongside Michael Douglas in the title role.

  
  

  Posted 01/06/2010 by Rich Z

  Related: Matt Damon | Michael Douglas | Rhys Muldoon | Cate Blanchett | Steven Soderbergh | Liberace

Friday, December 11

• Bryce Dallas Howard Joins Clint Eastwood's Hereafter

  Clint Eastwood's Invictus is out today, but the 79-year-old director is already at work on his next project. Bryce Dallas Howard is the newest addition to his Hereafter cast, according to Variety. Eastwood has already signed Invictus star Matt Damon and Belgian actress Cécile de France.

  The script for Hereafter was written by Peter Morgan, who also wrote the screenplays for Frost/Nixon and The Queen. A meditation on death, the movie follows the parallel stories of three people. Damon will portray a factory worker with the ability to see the deceased, while France will play journalist who has a brush with death. The third character, a London schoolboy, has yet to be cast. It's unclear exactly what Howard's role will be.

  Production is already underway, with shooting schedules in Paris, London, Hawaii, and San Francisco. DreamWorks has slated the movie for a December 2010, which means both Invictus and Hereafter will be at the heart of Oscar season. The Oscars have be good to Eastwood as of late, with five of his last six movies earning at least one Oscar nomination. He won his second Best Director Oscar in 2004 for Million Dollar Baby, which also won Best Picture.

  
  

  Posted 12/11/2009 by Rich Z

  Related: Clint Eastwood | Matt Damon | Peter Morgan | Bryce Dallas Howard | Hereafter | Invictus

Thursday, December 10

• Matt Damon Almost Starred in The Dark Knight

  Actors Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon recently spoke with MTV about their new movie opening this week, Invictus, but apparently that wasn't the only topic of conversation. MTV has been trickling out snippets of the interview, revealing that Christopher Nolan's Batman franchise was the subject on more than one occasion.

  In a short video released Tuesday, Freeman said that he is sure that Nolan is already working on Batman 3. Freeman went on to say that, if he had his way, Catwoman would be one of the villains in the movie.

  Now, MTV has released a new video featuring Damon discussing a missed opportunity to appear in The Dark Knight as District Attorney Harvey Dent/Two-Face, a role that ultimately went to Aaron Eckhart.

  I couldn't [appear in The Dark Knight]. It was a scheduling thing. But, I never spoke to Chris Nolan. I'm a big Chris Nolan fan, I never spoke to him.

  Look, Aaron is a great actor, so the movie didn't suffer for it. Every once in a while you get [an acting opportunity] and you can't do it.

  In Invictus, Damon portrays Francois Pienaar, the South African Rugby team captain opposite Freeman as South African President Nelson Mandela. Acclaimed filmmaker Clint Eastwood directed Invictus from a script by Anthony Peckham.

  
  
  Next Showing: Invictus opens December 11
  

  Invictus - Clip

  Interview: Matt Damon on his character
  

  The Dark Knight - Clip

  "You can't ask me to wait for that"

  Posted 12/10/2009 by BrentJS

  Related: Aaron Eckhart | Clint Eastwood | Matt Damon | Morgan Freeman | The Dark Knight | Batman 3 | Invictus

Monday, December 7

• Morgan Freeman Was "Destined" to Play Mandela in Invictus

  In Invictus, Academy Award-winning actor Morgan Freeman's latest teaming with multiple Academy Award-winning director Clint Eastwood, Freeman portrays anti-apartheid activist and former South African President Nelson Mandela. It is a role that Freeman said he always knew that he would play some day.

  ...it wasn’t necessarily this project, but I felt destined to do something about Mandela. I don’t know whether you know that in 1992, when he published his autobiography, he was asked who he would want to play him, if the book ever became a movie. And he named me. So, I was sort of the chosen one, as it were. Therefore, I expected that eventually I would play him, but we always thought it would be in a movie version of Long Walk to Freedom. It didn’t turn out that way, however.

  Based on the John Carlin book Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation, Invictus tells the story of Mandela's efforts to draw the fractured nation together following the fall of apartheid by using the 1995 Rugby World Cub as a rallying point. To prepare for the role, Freeman said that he had read a great deal about the Nobel Peace Prize winner, but that to him "acting is believing."

  That’s the way I learned it, and how I still think of it. So, in order to be true to any character, you have to believe that you are that character, and that you have his belief system working for you. That way, when you’re reciting your lines, you’ll be saying them from a place of conviction.

  The adapted screenplay was written by Anthony Peckham, who also wrote the script for the upcoming Guy Ritchie-directed Sherlock Holmes. Matt Damon also stars, as Francois Pienaar, the South African Rugby team captain.

  
  
  Next Showing: Invictus opens December 11
  

  Invictus - Trailer

  Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon star - Releasing Dec. 11, 2009

  Posted 12/07/2009 by BrentJS

  Related: Clint Eastwood | Matt Damon | Morgan Freeman | Anthony Peckham | Invictus

Saturday, December 5

• No More Bourne for Matt Damon Without Paul Greengrass

  Only a few days ago, it was announced that Paul Greengrass, director of the second and third movies in the Bourne series, would not be returning to direct a fourth. It was unknown at that time how this would affect plans for another movie, but it now appears that Greengrass' permanent departure could mean the end of the Bourne franchise altogether.

  In a recent interview with MTV, series star Matt Damon said, "I woldn't do it with anyone else." However, Damon was optimistic that Greengrass would return if they could find the right story.

  I think it's gonna happen some day. We just got to get a script and we don't have one. So, embarking on something, you know, and aiming at a release date without any story would just be too risky. And, we don't wanna risk ... you know, we really love it! We love the character and we love the three films ... there's no reason to mess with it unless we have really a good one to follow it up with it.

  
  
  

  Jill's Uncut Interview with Matt Damon

  The star of Bourne Ultimatum gets candid with ReelzChannel.

  Posted 12/05/2009 by BrentJS

  Related: Matt Damon | Paul Greengrass | The Bourne Identity | The Bourne Supremacy | The Bourne Ultimatum

Wednesday, December 2

• Bourne 4 Loses Its Director

  Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Ultimatum director Paul Greengrass has decided to part ways and quit Bourne 4, according to The Playlist.

  The fourth installment has a script already in place by Ultimatum writer George Nolfi. However, in August, Universal hired a different writer, Josh Zetumer, to pen a "parallel" script. Greengrass was apparently not consulted on the move, which precipitated his departure.

  What this means for Matt Damon's involvement in Bourne 4 is unknown, though his upcoming The Green Zone, a reunion with Greengrass, shows Damon's loyalty to the director. It's unlikely that Damon will stay on board if Greengrass is not convinced to return. Even if Damon stays on board, he admitted in September that Bourne 4 wouldn't start production for "maybe two years" and that the script would have to be right because he "won't do one just to do it."

  So far, it doesn't sound like a Bourne 4 is likely to happen anytime soon, or at all.

  
  

  Posted 12/02/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Matt Damon | Paul Greengrass | George Nolfi | The Bourne Supremacy | The Bourne Ultimatum | Bourne 4

Friday, November 27

• Matt Damon Almost Played Kirk's Dad in Star Trek

  Is there another actor with the luck streak Chris Hemsworth is currently enjoying? After playing the role of Captain Kirk's father in J.J. Abrams's Star Trek, Hemsworth grabbed the title role in Thor.

  However, Abrams told MTV that Hemsworth almost lost the role to Matt Damon.

  I went to Damon for the role of Kirk's father, and he declined in the most gracious and understandable and logical of reasons. Maybe it would have been distracting to have someone as massively famous as Matt Damonst in that role.... The decision was made very early on to have actors who were not necessarily the most famous but the most right for the role. We lucked out with Chris Hemsworth, and he did a great job.

  Without Star Trek, it's doubtful Hemsworth would have landed the Thor gig. Here's hoping he gave thanks yesterday that that Damon had "reasons" to turn down the role.

  
  

  Posted 11/27/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Matt Damon | J.J. Abrams | Chris Hemsworth | Star Trek | Thor

Tuesday, November 10

• Cecile de France Joins Matt Damon in Clint Eastwood's Hereafter

  Belgian actress Cécile de France has agreed to star in Clint Eastwood's Hereafter, according to Variety.

  The movie, a meditation on death involving the parallel stories of three people, takes place in Paris, London, Hawaii, and San Francisco. France portrays a journalist who has a brush with death, starring opposite Matt Damon, who is also in Eastwood's Invictus.

  Two months ago, Movie Line claimed to have obtained a copy of the script for Hereafter and described the plot in extensive detail. The site also referred to Damon's character as a "handsome, shy, soft-spoken" factory worker who can see the dead.

  Production on Hereafter began last month, and Warner Bros. has slated the movie for a December 2010 release. Invictus is due this December, placing both upcoming Eastwood projects at the heart of Oscar season. No doubt a decision driven by Eastwood's recent Oscar success — five of his last six directorial efforts have received at least one Academy Award nomination. Strangely enough, the most financially successful of the six, Gran Torino, was the only shutout.

  
  

  Posted 11/10/2009 by Rich Z

  Related: Clint Eastwood | Matt Damon | Invictus | Hereafter

Sunday, November 1

• Another Piece of the Action in New Trailer for Green Zone

  The first domestic trailer for Green Zone showed off a lot of Bourne-like action and intrigue as Matt Damon pursued the hidden mysteries of the Iraq war. Without giving away too much more of the plot, the international trailer puts a bit more emphasis on the intrigue and divided loyalties of the players involved. There are clearly a lot of secrets here that people a willing to kill to protect. Lots more action footage here as well, including some pretty impressive shots of a helicopter going down after being hit by a missile.

  
  

  Posted 11/01/2009 by Bill

  Related: Matt Damon | Green Zone

Thursday, October 29

• Trailer for Clint Eastwood's Invictus Now on the Web

  Clint Eastwood is less than a year away from his 80th birthday, and he's still going strong. Oscar season is not far away, and Eastwood's next release, Invictus, is already gaining buzz as a potential contender.

  The trailer below is now on the web, and it looks and sounds like the trailer for every other drama released by a major studio. That said, the story looks promising: How Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) used the 1995 Rugby World Cup as a platform to address a South Africa still divided after the recent end to apartheid. He enlists the aid of Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon), the captain of the South African rugby team, in an effort to unite the country.

  What's refreshing is that neither Freeman nor Damon feels familiar. Although Freeman's voice is easily recognizable, it's different enough from the omnipresent voice-over narration tone we've all heard non-stop since March of the Penguins. And Damon sounds like he's worked quite diligently on a South African accent.

  Invictus is based on the John Carlin book Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation. The adapted screenplay was written by Anthony Peckham, who also drafted the script for the upcoming Sherlock Holmes.

  
  

  Posted 10/29/2009 by Rich Z

  Related: Clint Eastwood | Matt Damon | Morgan Freeman | Anthony Peckham | Invictus

Tuesday, October 27

• Is Matt Damon Bourne Again in Green Zone?

  The first trailer has surfaced for Green Zone, an action-adventure adaptation of Imperial Life in the Emerald City. No, nothing to do with The Wizard of Oz. This Emerald City is an award-winning non-fiction account of America's misadventures in Iraq's American-controlled international zone. A darkly comic, often absurdist tale reminiscent of Catch 22, it would seem to lend itself to an interpretation heavy on the irony, perhaps along the lines of The Men Who Stare at Goats.

  Not so much, from the look of this trailer for Green Zone, which seems headed off more in the direction of The Bourne Identity and its progeny. With Bourne Supremacy and Ultimatum director Paul Greengrass at the helm and Matt Damon headlining, I suppose this should come as no big surprise. What we know about the plot so far is that Damon plays a U.S. agent sifting though lies and deception in search of weapons of mass destruction. (I guess we all know how that turns out.) But this first glimpse promises plenty of Bourne-style action and intrigue along the way.

  
  

  Posted 10/27/2009 by Bill

  Related: Matt Damon | Paul Greengrass | Green Zone

• Matt Damon and Josh Brolin Joining True Grit

  Variety reports that Josh Brolin and Matt Damon are looking to re-team with Joel and Ethan Coen for their upcoming "adaptation" of True Grit.

  OK, so Damon has never worked with the Coens before, but he did have a small scene in Finding Forrester, which starred Sean Connery who was in The Rock with Nicolas Cage, so it's practically a return. Brolin is certainly returning, having worked with the Coens on their award-winning No Country For Old Men.

  Damon is in talks to play a lawman who teams up with U.S. Marshall Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges stepping in for the late John Wayne) and a 14-year-old girl that head into Native American territory to find the murderer of the girl's father. Brolin is negotiating to play the killer.

  The Coens are directing and producing True Grit from their script, which will follow the original Charles Portis novel that inspired the 1969 movie that garnered Wayne an Oscar. True Grit will start production next March and open in late 2010.

  The Coens' latest, A Serious Man, received strong reviews and is in theaters now.

  
  

  Posted 10/27/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Ethan Coen | Joel Coen | Matt Damon | Josh Brolin | True Grit

Friday, September 18

• Matt Damon to Star in Eastwood's Hereafter and Soderbergh's Liberace Pic

  Yesterday afternoon, Variety reported that Matt Damon has agreed to star in Hereafter, Clint Eastwood's next production, with a script by Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon, The Queen). Just hours later, Empire reported that Damon had also signed on to star in Steven Soderbergh's upcoming biopic of Liberace.

  Although Warner Bros. is keeping the plot of Hereafter under wraps — describing it only as akin to The Sixth Sense — Movie Line, which claims to have a version of the script, has described the plot in extensive detail. Based on that description, the movie seems less a supernatural thriller and more a tragic meditation on death. Damon's character is described as a "handsome, shy, soft-spoken" factory worker who can ... yes, indeed ... see dead people. Production on Hereafter is expected to begin this fall.

  Meanwhile, Soderbergh confirmed that Damon is onboard for his next project, saying at the Deauville Film Festival that Damon has "accepted the challenge." Damon would most likely play the male lover of Liberace, the flamboyant musician whose stage and TV career spanned from the 1940s to his death in the late 1980s. The movie will apparently focus on a 1982 lawsuit, in which Damon's character revealed Liberace's homosexuality, shocking many around the world.

  The untitled project already has Michael Douglas on board in the main role, and Soderbergh talked about his enthusiasm for Douglas' fit for the role.

  We've already done some costume and wardrobe tests on Michael, and they're very, very, very good.... I swear to you, Michael amazed me. He crushed it.

  Damon has starred in other projects by both directors. He can be seen in Soderbergh's The Informant!, now in theaters, and he is also featured in Eastwood's Invictus, which is due out in December. The latter movie stars Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela and Damon as Francois Pienaar, captain of South Africa's 1995 Rugby World Cup team. It tells the story of Mandela's attempts to use the rugby event to heal his country's reputation after years of apartheid and internal struggle.

  
  

  Posted 09/18/2009 by Rich Z

  Related: Clint Eastwood | Matt Damon | Michael Douglas | Morgan Freeman | Peter Morgan | Steven Soderbergh | Liberace | Hereafter | The Informant!

Thursday, September 17

• The Informant! Reviews

  Matt Damon gained 30 pounds to play the role of infamous corporate whistleblower Mark Whitacre, a top executive at agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland who helped the FBI expose price fixing at that company in the 1990s. If that doesn't sound like the setup for a successful comedy — even in the hands of director Steven Soderbergh — you could be right.

  "...a groovy-looking, chuckle-baiting, fact-based movie from protean director Steven Soderbergh..."

  — Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

  "Who said true-life crime stories have to make serious movies? Bright, breezy, and downright goofy, this superbly captures the workings of Whitacre’s highly imaginative mind and the outlandish nature of the crime."

  — Mark Salisbury, Premiere

  "Amusingly eccentric rather than outright funny..."

  — Todd McCarthy, Variety

  "A comedy about corporate fraud, malfeasance, and a mental disorder that never quite succeeds as a comedy."

  — Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter

  "Unlike the director's [Soderbergh] usual organic efforts — in which great style never results in overstylized — The Informant! feels overamped from start to shrugging finish."

  — Robert Wilonsky, Village Voice

  
  
  

  The Informant - Trailer

  Matt Damon stars - Releasing Sept. 18, 2009

  Posted 09/17/2009 by reelz

  Related: Matt Damon | Steven Soderbergh | The Informant!

Friday, August 21

• Fourth Bourne Movie Finds a New Writer

  

  According to The Hollywood Reporter, Universal has hired Josh Zetumer to write the script for the fourth Bourne movie. Zetumer is also working on a script for a new version of Frank Herbert's novel Dune.

  Originally, Bourne Ultimatum scribe George Nolfi was on board to pen the fourth movie in the franchise. But he also signed to write and direct The Adjustment Bureau, an adaptation of a Philip K. Dick short story that will feature Bourne star Matt Damon. With that movie about to enter production, Nolfi abandoned the Bourne franchise, at least for the moment. Universal hopes that he will return.

  
  

  Posted 08/21/2009 by Rich Z

  Related: Matt Damon | George Nolfi | Dune | The Bourne Ultimatum

Wednesday, June 24

• Trailer for Miyazaki's Ponyo Online

  Disney has released the first trailer for Ponyo, the newest movie from the acclaimed Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki, whose Spirited Away won the 2002 Oscar for Best Animated Film.

  The movie tells the story of a goldfish princess who wants to become human and befriends a five-year-old boy. According to Nausicaa.net, the plot only superficially resembles the Hans Christian Anderson fairytale The Little Mermaid. The site Ghibli World, a collection site devoted to Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli, noted that elements of the story reference Die Walküre, a 19th-century Wagner opera. You might remember the opera's "Ride of the Valkyries" from the famous helicopter sequence in Apocalypse Now.

  The English-language version of Ponyo is scheduled for a limited American release on August 14. It will feature the voices of Liam Neeson, Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Lily Tomlin, and Cloris Leachman, among others. Enjoy the trailer:

  
  

  Posted 06/24/2009 by Rich Z

  Related: Cloris Leachman | Hayao Miyazaki | Liam Neeson | Lily Tomlin | Matt Damon | Tina Fey | Cate Blanchett | Ponyo

Wednesday, June 17

• Frank Marshall Updates Bourne 4 and Jurassic Park 4

  Producer Frank Marshall (Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Bourne Identity) spoke to ComingSoon.net about some of his upcoming projects, including a fourth Bourne movie, which Matt Damon and The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum director Paul Greengrass agreed to return for last year. Marshall says the project is moving forward, but the story is still being developed.

  We'd like to shoot next year. It's trying to get everybody's schedules in the right place and getting the script right. We've done pretty well with these scripts that are pretty loosely put together, but I'd like the script to be really solid this time before we go forward. We're spending a lot of time on this story.

  What about another Jurassic Park?

  We just have to see if they can come up with a story. We don't have a story.

  Marshall is also developing a remake of the 1980's classic The Neverending Story.

  We love the book and we've always thought there was an opportunity (because) there were a lot of elements in the book that weren't in the movie. It's another one where we're still working on the rights and it's a huge thing to get it. Once we get it, we'll bring on a writer, but that's kind of off in the distance. But it's a great story.

  Marshall is currently producing The Last Airbender, M. Night Shyamalan's live-action adaptation of the animated series. The movie opens July 2, 2010.

  
  

  Posted 06/17/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Frank Marshall | M. Night Shyamalan | Matt Damon | Jurassic Park | The Neverending Story | The Bourne Identity | The Bourne Ultimatum | Raiders of the Lost Ark | The Bourne Supremacy

Friday, June 5

• Clint Eastwood's Invictus Slated for December Release

  Variety reports that Warner Bros. has announced a December 11 release date for Clint Eastwood's Invictus.

  The movie, formerly titled The Human Factor, stars Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon as Francois Pienaar, captain of South Africa's 1995 Rugby World Cup team. It's based on John Carlin's book Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation and tells the story of Mandela's attempts to use the rugby event to heal his country's reputation after years of apartheid and internal struggle. The title comes from the William Ernest Henley poem of same name, which Mandela often quoted.

  Invictus's mid-December release places it at the heart of Oscar season, which means it will undoubtedly get some nominations. Five of the past six Eastwood features were nominated for at least one award, including Million Dollar Baby, which earned Eastwood his second Best Picture and Best Director awards. Surprisingly, the one that wasn't nominated was his most commercially successful, last year's Gran Torino.

  The December 11 release date also puts Invictus aside Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones, so it's already looking to be a very promising Oscar season.

  
  

  Posted 06/05/2009 by Rich Z

  Related: Clint Eastwood | Matt Damon | Morgan Freeman | Peter Jackson | Million Dollar Baby | Gran Torino | The Lovely Bones

Tuesday, January 20

• Matt Damon: Bourne Ultimatummy?!?

  Everyone's talking about New Moon star Taylor Lautner's impressive weight gain in anticipation of the heavy lifting he'll have to do in the soon-to-start-shooting Twilight sequel New Moon. But we still think the most remarkable transformation we've seen in a long while is the one Matt Damon pulled off for The Informant, which is due out later this year. Reportedly, Vincent D'Onofrio holds the all-time record for gaining weight for a movie role, packing on 70 lbs. for his part in Full Metal Jacket.

  Contemplating the full blubber jacket Damon put on for The Informant in this US Magazine spread on shape-shifting thespians, we can't help but think of him as the new champ, regardless of actual numbers. Even his hair looks significantly chubbier than it usually does, a feat not even D'Onofrio could pull off. (He opted for the skinhead look instead.)

  
  

  Posted 01/20/2009 by reelz

  Related: Matt Damon | The Informant! | The Twilight Saga: New Moon

Wednesday, August 20

• Stars Come Out for Presidential Conventions

  A few weeks ago, John McCain famously called Barack Obama "the biggest celebrity in the world" and likened him to Paris Hilton. Which, if we're doing our celebrity math right, makes John McCain Nicole Richie, right? Soon, the two political glamourpusses will be headlining their respective party conventions, and everyone wants to know who else will be attending.

  Well, you know how stars are -- they go where the stars are. According to the NY Daily News, the Democrats are getting George Clooney, Madonna, Matt Damon, Kanye West, Scarlett Johansson and a bunch of other Hollywood A-listers. And the Republicans are getting "Redneck Woman" singer Gretchen Wilson. And maybe Kid Rock. Meanwhile, eternal rebel Sean Penn is blowing off both Establishment Parties (and parties) to chant a few protest slogans and maybe knock back a few cold ones with Ralph Nader. Yeah, that should be fun.

  
  

  Posted 08/20/2008 by reelz

  Related: George Clooney | Matt Damon | Scarlett Johansson | Sean Penn | Nicole Richie | Paris Hilton | Madonna

Monday, February 25

• Bourne returning for a fourth go-round; Damon on board

  It seems that nothing in the world can stop amnesiac superspy Jason Bourne -- not even the death of his creator, author Robert Ludlum, who passed away in 2001 after penning the three novels upon which the blockbuster trilogy is based.

  Variety reports that star Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass have signed on for a fourth chapter of the Bourne franchise, much to the surprise of those of us who assumed that the series would end with 2007's The Bourne Ultimatum. No word on when the flick starts shooting or what it will be called. Our suggestion: The Bourne Addendum.

  Source: Variety

  
  

  Posted 02/25/2008 by reelz

  Related: Matt Damon | Paul Greengrass | The Bourne Ultimatum | The Bourne Supremacy

Monday, October 22

• Bourne Non-News Gets "Dugg" by Forgetful Fans

  Perusing the top-rated headlines on Digg.com this morning, I came across a story that was receiving a lot of hits, or Diggs or Karma or whatever they are calling it - something about news of Matt Damon returning for a fourth Bourne movie.

  The story came from website slashfilm.com, whose source was reported to be Agence France Presse in Tokyo. Yahoo! News also reported on this non-story.

  Reading through the story provided further proof of the notoriously short attention span of American movie fans.

  The quote from Damon reads: "If Paul Greengrass, maybe years down the road, was interested in doing another one, then I would do it, too," Damon said.

  Reading this, the quote seemed quite familiar, so I returned to the transcript from Damon's Four Seasons Press Conference in July, attended by ReelzChannel.com, where Damon said "I love the character, and if Paul Greengrass calls me in ten years and says, "Now we can do it, because it's been ten years and I have a way to bring him back. Then there's a world in which I can go, 'Yeah, absolutely.' We could get the band back together if there was a great idea behind it..."

  Were Bourne fans not paying attention to Damon's interviews promoting the third movie this summer or does the fact that he repeated the same spiel three months later make it "news worthy?"

  By the way, Christopher Lloyd says Back to the Future 4 "could happen," Harold Ramis believes Ghostbusters 3 is a possibility and I hear that Brazillian Job movie might just come together.

  
  

  Posted 10/22/2007 by reelz

  Related: Matt Damon | The Bourne Ultimatum

Wednesday, August 1

• Movie news: Damon, Gervais, and Black

  Looks like the golden boy from Boston has another project in the works. Matt Damon, whose third installment of the Bourne series, The Bourne Ultimatum, opens on Friday is finally getting his passion project with director Steven Soderbergh off the ground.

  According to MTV.com, the two men have been trying to get their movie, The Informant, under way for years and filming is finally scheduled to start next spring. In it, Damon will play Mark Whitacre, the real-life whistleblower from Archer Daniels Midland who was defrauding the company while also ratting them out to the FBI. Not exactly what one would call a company man.

  British funnyman Ricky Gervais (Night at the Museum, Extras) has signed to star in Early Retirement, a comedy about a workaholic who retires to spend more time with his family, says Variety. No directors are attached yet.

  Jack Black has another high-concept comedy in the works, says Variety. Universal plans on making The Lost Adventures of Stone Perlmutter Jr., a mockumentary about an Indiana-Jones like adventurer who has a disasterous journey in seach of such artifacts as Yetis and the lost tomb of Jesus. Black will, of course, star.

  
  

  Posted 08/01/2007 by reelz

  Related: Jack Black | Matt Damon | Ricky Gervais | The Lost Adventures of Stone Perlmutter Jr. | The Informant!

Monday, July 23

• What's next for Matt Damon?

  On the heels of Bourne Ultimatum's August 3rd release, the question is what's next for Matt Damon. With a strike looming over Hollywood once again, the actor may have difficultly fitting everything he wants to do into his schedule before the strike date.

  ReelzChannel.com spoke to Damon at a press conference for Bourne Ultimatum this weekend. The actor openly discussed his pre-strike hopes:

  "I'm hoping to do the Green Zone movie (Paul Greengrass' Imperial Life in the Emerald City)... I'm doing The Informant with Steven Soderbergh, which we've been trying to do for years, starting April 15th. We have a strike coming, and Steven knows I want to do Paul's movie, so he moved it all the way up so he'd basically go April 15th to June 30th, and the strike starts the next day. If Paul can get me in before April 15th...then I can do it."

  Damon has also been linked to Darren Aronofsky's boxing picture, tentatively titled The Fighter along with Departed co-star Mark Wahlberg. "The full script isn't in yet," Damon says. "It's another thing that's out there."

  
  

  Posted 07/23/2007 by reelz

  Related: Matt Damon | Paul Greengrass | The Bourne Ultimatum

Sunday, July 22

• Damon on Star Trek

  At the junket for The Bourne Ultimatum this weekend, Matt Damon dropped some news about the J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie that is in the works.

  When IGN asked him whether or not he was going to play Kirk, Damon disavowed the casting as Internet rumor. "It's the early years. I think he's hiring probably like a 20-year-old actor," Damon said of Abrams.

  If you've watched the video, you can decide for yourself  whether or not he's telling the truth. In the meantime, we'll let you know as soon as we hear anything!

  
  

  Posted 07/22/2007 by reelz

  Related: Matt Damon | Star Trek