I’ve seen about a million interviews with directors on YouTube, and one of the most common questions they are asked is, ” What is the movie that made you want to make movies?” If asked the same question, there wouldn’t be a movie that would stand out among the rest, but I could definitely feel comfortable answering Good Will Hunting. From a cinematic perspective, this movie isn’t groundbreaking, but the writing in this movie, and how the film itself came to be, is a story that will always inspire me to continue to be creative.
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck co-wrote this movie, and it was the first time the two of them ever wrote a script. The two had been lifelong friends having growing up in Boston together, and both had the dream of becoming an actor. However, being a young actor in the late 80’s and early 90’s was no easy task. Damon and Affleck were constantly competing for roles with other young actors like Ethan Hawke and Edward Norton, and despite starring in movies together like School Ties, neither of them were able to achieve the breakout role they needed to launch them into stardom.
Damon and Affleck were growing hopeless. They were continually losing roles to other incredibly talented actors. They lost out to Edward Norton for the 1996 thriller Primal Fear, but Damon says the true heartbreak came many years earlier when he had to sell tickets at a Boston theater, where crowds of people were seeing a movie neither or Affleck got: Dead Poets Society.
While Damon went on to go to Harvard, Affleck went out to Los Angeles to further pursue acting. Damon has said that at this point in his life, he had realized that no one was going to give him the role that would start his career, so he had to make it for himself, and he did. For a class his sophomore year, Damon wrote a short scene about a young genius who is wasting his potential. He asked his good friend, Affleck, to perform the scene with him. Although no one in the class seemed to care for the idea very much, Damon believed in it. He and Affleck then went on to write a full script together by improvising scenes and writing down the story as they went along.
They sent the script around Hollywood with the stipulation that they had to star in the movie. In fact, the script was actually offered to Ben Stiller to direct, but he passed because he wanted to choose his own actors. Eventually, the script fell into the hands of Gus Van Sant who wanted to make the project, and the rest is history. Affleck and Damon won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, and have had no issues getting starring roles since.
I will not include any scenes from this movie because I don’t want to ruin any of the many magical moments in this film. Like I always say, please, go watch it. Not only is Matt Damon incredible, but this movie also has Robin Williams who, needless to say, is amazing. Affleck and Damon did not write another script together for twenty four years, before they reunited for The Last Duel. I haven’t seen the movie, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the writing was good. It’s a shame that the pair did not continue to write together, as I’m sure they could have made many more gems.
The blog about the movie, “Good Will Hunting” really covered the movie well without spoling any of it. It was really interesting and enjoyable to read. The way you covered the directors and actors was great and gave a great background tot he movie itself. I also like how the information was displayed and conveyed because it made the blog much more readable and engaging.
I’ve heard rly great things about movie, but I’ve never checked it out myself (which I definitely should). I’ve also never heard of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s backstories, and I didn’t know about their struggles, particularly Damon’s! Their journey is honestly quite inspiring; while they certainly had some financial background, they ultimately had to fight hard to earn their respect at the industry-level. Matt Damon is one of my favorite actors of all time, so I’m glad to have read this blog about him.
Wow. I didn’t know they got their start due to not even acting, but in movie creation itself. I’m really excited for the new movie ‘Air’ which Affleck directs, so it seems he has experience in this front. That being said, I have heard great things about Good Will Hunting, and I definitely must get to watching it.
I’ve seen the movie already (actually had a HS unit on it), but I think you still did a really good job at portraying the movie as interesting, while simultaneously not giving anything away (something easier said than done). It certainly has a unique way of being a good movie, there isn’t any sort of crazy cinematography and its not exactly “action packed” in terms of like explosions and violence, but I do agree with you that it was still very interesting regardless.
I really enjoyed reading this post and Im happy to see you continued this blog into the new semester. I have never seen Good Will Hunting but I think you really conveyed the background of the story well. Like you said the movie may not be special in any sense, but what makes it special is the way that Damon and Affleck defied the industry that was against them at the time and wrote a movie that found success. Added the movie to my every-growing list. Nice job.