The hit 2007 movie that almost killed Matt Damon’s career: “It was unreadable”
Most acclaimed writers in Hollywood can pride themselves on having good instincts. No matter how many times it might be a challenge staring at the blank sheet of paper in front of them, legends like Aaron Sorkin have made a career out of some of the snappiest dialogue that has ever been translated from page to screen.
That doesn’t mean that a few of them get lazy now and again, but Matt Damon wouldn’t let one of his colleagues off the hook.
Before Damon had even questioned being an actor, he was already deep into writing screenplays. For his breakout role in Good Will Hunting, Damon had originally workshopped the idea for the film in school with Ben Affleck before having the resources to translate it to the big screen. Once they got the charismatic Robin Williams on board, the movie fell into place, going on to earn an Oscar for ‘Best Screenplay’. With the film’s success came Damon’s celebrity status, going on to star in classics The Talented Mr Ripley and Saving Private Ryan.
When he got the call to play Jason Bourne in the adaptation of the famous book franchise, Damon didn’t originally have high hopes for the franchise, telling GQ, “When I signed up for the first one, I signed up for just one. It was like, if the first one works, you have to do two more. I don’t think anyone thought it would work, so they were like, ‘one’s fine’”.
After the initial success of the movie did better than anyone expected, Damon was back in the role, kicking ass as the titular agent trying to piece together the forgotten fragments of his life. Though he may have had fond memories of working through the first handful of shoots, he had some questions when writer Tony Gilroy came in with the initial draft for The Bourne Ultimatum.
Part of what made Damon’s reaction so striking was how unusual it is for major Hollywood stars to publicly criticise writers and collaborators in such blunt terms.
By the time The Bourne Ultimatum was in production, the franchise had become one of Universal’s crown jewels, helping redefine the modern action thriller through its grounded tone, frantic realism and morally conflicted protagonist. Damon clearly felt protective over the series and feared that a weak script could undo the credibility the films had carefully built with audiences and critics alike.
At the same time, the controversy also highlighted the intensely collaborative and often chaotic nature of blockbuster filmmaking. Scripts for massive studio productions are frequently rewritten throughout development and production, especially on franchise films operating under enormous commercial pressure.
The final success of The Bourne Ultimatum ultimately showed how much movies can evolve between draft and finished product, while Damon’s later apology revealed an awareness that creative frustrations do not always need to become public battles.
Given that the first few films had performed so well, Universal Studios had enough faith in Gilroy to give him a considerable fee before the script was finished, leading to him turning in one of his initial drafts as the final product. Although the studio may have been impressed, Damon was horrified when he first saw the finished story.
When talking about it at the time, Damon thought that the movie would have fallen flat on its face, explaining to GQ, “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”.
Though Damon might not have wanted any part in the original version of the script, the different retweaks made it a satisfying conclusion to the franchise for fans, as Bourne finally can put his fighting days to rest. After the dust settled, Damon eventually apologised to Gilroy, redacting his comments, saying, “If I didn’t respect him 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 fucking stupid and unprofessional and just kind of douchey of me”.
All artists might be able to get by relying on their instincts, but when the actor in question has been around the block a couple of times, it’s no longer acceptable to phone it in.
