Some people get into this business and they're so afraid to lose anything. They try to protect their position like clinging to a beachhead. These actors end up making really safe choices. I never wanted to go that route. If I go down, I'm going down swinging. I know that's the way Heath Ledger feels and Ben Affleck feels the same way, too. We want to take the big swings
Soundtrack |
MP3 |
Directed by Paul Greengrass, edgy camera work and hard cuts are the signature moves behind this film version of the Robert Ludlum novel. A conditioned operative; Jason Bourne(Matt Damon), toiling for the CIA comes home as do all chickens to claim his identity. A rogue adminstrator; David Strathairn, tries to eliminate him. Damon is strong by being still in the eye of the storm he creates. In the carnage that follows, twisted metal and abandoned morals litter the streets and roof tops of cities across the globe in this game of cat amd mouse. Scott Glenn is always compelling on screen as is Joan Allen in this murky world of counter terrorism, where anything is sanctioned. From the politics of the war room of the CIA to the gritty action on the streets in this post 911 spy versus spy. this film is pure escapism. Any serious geo-political issues that fuel modern intelligence work is mentioned only in passing, acting only as a framework for the fun.
Order DVD |
Order Blu-ray |
Movie Poster |
Author Robert Ludlum |
Early Years
Matt Damon was born in Boston Massachussetts. After his parent's divorce Damon and his family lived in a six-family communal house. Damon grew up two blocks away from Ben Affleck, a close friend since childhood and collaborator on several films,
Highschool Theatre
As a lonely adolescent, Damon has described feeling "such pain in wanting to belong somewhere and not belonging. Damon performed as an actor in several high school theater productions he has credited his drama teacher at Rindge and Latin, Gerry Speca, as an important artistic influence, even though Damon recalls that, "Mr. Speca always seemed to trust Ben (Affleck) with the biggest roles and longest speeches."
On Harvard
Damon attended Harvard University from 1988 to 1992 but did not graduate. While at Harvard, he studied English, but often skipped classes to do theatre and film. The film; Good Will Hunting came out of a class project, he did while at Harvard. Finally, seeing the writing on the wall, Damon dropped out of the university to pursue his acting career in Los Angeles because he mistakenly expected Geronimo: An American Legend to become a big success. "By the time I figured out I
had made the wrong decision, it was too late. I was living out here with a bunch of actors, and we were all scrambling to
make ends meet," Damon has said.
How he started acting
DAMON: Some of these things, I guess, choose you. I've wanted to do it for as long as I can remember. My mom says when I was a little boy I spent most of my time dressing up in costumes and acting out different characters. My big brother used to build me props and make me costumes, and he went on to be a sculpter and a painter. So I think a lot of these things can be determined at an early age.
Acting advice to young people
DAMON: The best advice I can give is don't do it. Because if the person is committed to it for the right reasons they're going to do it anyway and nothing I can say will dissuade them. But if my telling them not to do it convinces them not to do it, they shouldn't have done it in the first place. It's a hard, hard career path and you have to be fully committed to ride out the tough times.