Calendar:
18 July 2009 - Matt to attend the Mandela Day concert in New York
14 August 2009 - Ponyo to be released
2-12 September 2009 - The Informant! world premiere at the Venice Film Festival (TBC)
10-19 September 2009 - The Informant! North American premiere at the Toronto Film Festival
14 September - 11 December 2009 - The Adjustment Bureau to film in New York
18 September 2009 - The Informant! to be released (major markets TBC)
4 October 2009 - Matt guest stars on Entourage
9 October 2009 - The Informant! to be released (wide release TBC)
11 December 2009 - Invictus to be released
February 2010 - Untitled Liberace Project may start filming
TBA 2010 - A release date for Green Zone

To note: Matt does not have an official website, Myspace, Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn page.

It was announced on Tuesday that Water Partners International and H20 Africa have merged to form a new organisation: Water.org, which is a non-profit focused on bringing access to safe water and sanitation to the developing world. Details are available at the Water.org site, but the merger is essentially in name only as the two organisations merged (but kept separate names) many months ago. Photos from Matt's recent visits to Ethiopia (in April) and India (last week) are below from water.org's Twitter page and site. From the press release:



Matt Damon, a long-time advocate for safe water issues, explains the importance of launching Water.org. "Every 15 seconds, a child in the developing world dies from water-related disease. After visiting project sites in Africa and Asia with Gary, I’ve seen the problem and the impact of safe water." Damon said, "As a clear leader in the sector at delivering innovative and sustainable solutions for those in need, WaterPartners was the natural choice with whom to work to truly affect lasting change."

The Informant will have its North American premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. This would appear to indicate that the film will have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival a week earlier (as has been reported in Italian newspapers this week). Details of the new films announced for the Toronto Festival are here.

Emily Blunt has been cast as the lead actress opposite Matt in The Adjustment Bureau, due to start shooting in mid-September. Details from the Hollywood Reporter and Variety.

Emily Blunt has landed the female lead in "Adjustment Bureau," joining Matt Damon in the George Nolfi-directed science fiction thriller adapted from the Philip K. Dick short story.

Damon plays a smooth-talking congressman whose political future is thrown in doubt by a series of uncontrollable events and the arrival in his life of a mysterious ballerina, played by Blunt.

Nolfi wrote the script. Production begins in mid-September in Gotham.

Entourage cast members talked about Matt's cameo in a video available with this article (my transcribed quotes are below):

Adrian Grenier: "Matt Damon recently was a lot of fun, he's a really good guy actually. I was very shocked to see how humble he is," he said.

Jeremy Piven: "I don’t have a favourite one [guest star]. But like the idea that… we just did a scene with Matt Damon and LeBron James and it was one of the most surreal moments in the world. Two people you would never imagine to be in the same room together."

Matt's professional biography (written by his PR people at PMK/HBH) has been updated this week and it appears to indicate that Green Zone is indeed a 2010 release. The bio is available under the 'Presenter' section of this site and had been missing before being updated on Monday.

Matt Damon is one of Hollywood’s most sought-after talents. Most recently he completed filming The Informant for director Steven Soderbergh and Invictus for director Clint Eastwood. Both films are due for release this fall.

Following the release of these films audiences will see Damon reteam with director Paul Greengrass on The Green Zone.

In a podcast interview with Adam Carolla this week, Jules Asner (former TV presenter and wife of Steven Soderbergh) discussed The Informant! and the upcoming Liberace project. A link is at this site, with my transcribed comments below.

On The Informant!

"It's really good, it's one of my favorite movies he [Soderbergh]'s ever done".

On the Liberace project

Jules: It sounds like a lot of fun and Matt Damon has agreed to play the Scott Thorson guy and Michael Douglas is going to play Liberace.

Jules: That’s what I love about Matt Damon too, because you forget he’s Jason Bourne, he is Jason Bourne, but he will do this other stuff and really put himself out there. He put on I think 30 to 40 pounds and then had to take it all off quickly to do Green Zone. He had to get in super shape."

On Friday Matt, Kyle and Water Partners colleagues visited a new clean water project in Hyderabad, India. Details at Hindu.com, with the photo by Abhijit Dev Kumar.



More popularly known as Jason Bourne, for his action-packed Hollywood movies of the Bourne Series, Matt Damon, appeared to enjoy his relative anonymity in the Annanagar slum of Secunderabad Cantonment on Friday.

Though unaware of his iconic status in Hollywood, Annanagar residents extended him a typical Hyderabadi welcome with flower garlands and a liberal dash of vermillion on his forehead. So secret was his visit that not many newspersons were around to report the ‘felicitation’ of Damon, who helped the 1,050 odd residents of the locality get drinking water connections.

Damon and his friend Gary White from the WaterPartners International, which spent nearly Rs. 1 crore to facilitate laying water pipelines and helping the Annanagar residents get water connections, were felicitated by the residents. The city-based NGO, Society for Integrated Development in Urban and Rural Areas (SIDUR) was instrumental in getting the works done. The Hollywood star’s brother Kyle Damon too was present.

The delegation consisting of Damon, his brother, WPI’s representative Gary White went round the area for over an hour, enquiring about drinking water supply in the area. With new pipelines laid in the area, the delegation also inspected an open drain and interacted with the residents about the problems that they faced everyday. Their happiness was indeed visible as every resident stood beside their newly installed water taps and asked their ‘foreigner’ guests to break a coconut as a gesture of auspicious beginning. One after the other, residents came up to their guests offering sweets.

Their enthusiasm was such that they even garlanded a group of foreign journalists who were accompanying Matt Damon.

Further details of Matt's appearance on the 4 October season finale of Entourage were revealed at TV Guide, and copied at Us magazine.

Matt Damon recently shot a scene for Entourage's season finale that the HBO hit show's star, Adrien Grenier, called "stalkerish," TV Guide reports.
In his cameo, the star does whatever it takes to get donations for his real-life charity.

"The joke is that Matt is very passionate about his charity -- almost in a stalkerish kind of way," Grenier, who plays movie star Vince, said. "Vince becomes intimated by his intensity. He ends up bullying Vince into giving much more than he should."

"It wasn’t hard to get him," executive producer Doug Ellin said. "Matt came on the phone with me and wanted to do something that focused on his charity, One By One, which helps kids all over the world."

NBA player Lebron James also appears in the finale alongside Damon.

"Lebron and Matt have a scene together, and they just kill it!" Ellin said.

Kevin Connolly, who plays Eric, said their scene was a hit.

"They were just amazing," Connolly said. "Doug wrote a scene where we're all at the airport together. Matt was all smiles. He was definitely there to have fun."

Matt, his brother Kyle and partners from H20 Africa and Water Partners International have visited hygiene and sanitation projects in Trichy, a village in Tamil Nadu. Details are at the Times of India.

Matt Damon is no stranger to India, but he was in for a major surprise during his visit to the temple town of Tiruchi. The Hollywood actor, who shot for the opening scenes of ‘Bourne Supremacy’ in Goa, was stumped to know that people in Tamil Nadu villages borrowed money to construct toilets in their houses.

Damon, who arrived here from Delhi on Wednesday afternoon without much fanfare, travelled on dusty roads to Kollapatti and Kothampatti villages in Thurayur to study projects on hygiene and sanitation being implemented by a non-governmental organization. But by the time mediapersons came to know of his presence, the actor-philanthropist had flown back to Delhi on Thursday afternoon.

Matt, who was accompanied by his brother Kyle, went around the villages looking at toilets built by residents with loans extended by the NGO.

A detailed report on the visit (with no information about attendees) is available at the site of Water Partners (water.org), written by Mike McCamon, Chief Community Officer, Water Partners. Another media report is at NVO News.

Matt is currently in Chennai, India, on behalf of the H20 Foundation and OneXOne. Matt was interviewed at the Times of India and is visiting the country to research water projects (more details and a photo at the site). Another article is at Galatta.com. Matt previously filmed the opening of The Bourne Supremacy in Goa, India.

Matt Damon is goodwill hunting in India. Yes, the Hollywood actor and Oscar winner was in the city for a day and a half – Tuesday and Wednesday – before he caught a flight to Chennai. The 38-year-old actor has come to India for a water project in Chennai.

Damon has been actively involved in a lot of charity work – he’s the founder of the H2O Africa Foundation, which raises awareness about the lack of clean water in Africa. Damon plans to start something similar in India, and that’s why he’s headed to Chennai. "I’m here for a water project in Chennai. I’ll be there for a couple of days. This is my first trip for it. If need be, I’ll come back,” he said, when DT caught up with him, and added, “I’m very happy to be in India finally."

The interesting thing was that the actor was registered in his hotel as Matthew Damon. There was nothing starry about him, though, and he managed to garner quite a lot of goodwill in his day and a half in the city at the Radisson Hotel, Mahipalpur. In fact, when called sexy, he actually became a little embarrassed. Damon is in India with his foundation’s production partners Marc Joubert, Larry Tanz and Keith Quinn. Talk to Marc about Damon being the titled the sexiest man of 2007, and he says, “Oh come on, he’s such a putz (American slang for jerk). He and sexy? Nah. Look at him, he's’s ageing, man! Why'd women look at him? No, well, I'm just kidding. Right now, he's a man on a mission."

Damon will be in Chennai till Friday, and will return to Delhi just to take a flight back home.

A preview of Mandela Day activities is at Tonight.co.za.

A fun take on the trailer for The Informant! is at The Guardian.

A late report from the poker tournament:

On being recognized from Rounders
Matt: "It depends on what city I’m in. If I’m here in Las Vegas, it’s mostly 'Rounders.' If someone says, 'I loved you in' and it’s a guy between the ages of 18 and 40, I can guarantee you he’ll say ‘Rounders.'"

Photos of Matt, Lucy and Gia leaving a Los Angeles hotel to attend a 4th of July party at Ben Affleck's house are at Just Jared, PopSugar, and Globo (below). A photo of Matt and family leaving LA is here, and photos of the family stressed by the paparazzi attention when arriving in Miami are here.

More photos from the poker tournament are at Part Time Poker, Vegas News, X17, Daily Fiasco and Vegas Deluxe.

In this video from the red carpet Matt talks about his email battle with Don Cheadle and a potential sequel to Rounders. He also says Lucy was with him in Las Vegas.

Matt says Hugh Jackman should be the Sexiest Man Alive again this year at People.

Photos of Matt, Lucy and friends leaving Mastro's restaurant in LA before the Vegas trip are at X17.

Matt and Ben participated in the Ante up for Africa charity poker tournament in Las Vegas on Thursday. Surprisingly, Matt was reportedly the last celebrity left in the main game. Photos are at Just Jared, here, Faded Youth Blog, I need my fix and Socialite Life. Video footage and interviews are at X17, here and here. At the last link Matt is asked about The Informant and says: "Yeah, it’s coming out in October, which is a long way, a long way away. It’s a pretty funny movie so hopefully people like it."



Players would drop like flies. By 7:00 p.m. local time, there would be only two tables left. All the celebrities that were in the field, including Nelly, Jason Alexander, and Brad Garrett had been eliminated on the way to the final two tables. After Matt Damon was the last big name to be eliminated, the crowd seemed to disappear as well.

Details of Matt's cameo on Entourage were revealed in two articles at TV Guide - here and here. Possible spoilers (includes corrected quote from an earlier media report).

Entourage has never lacked A-list cameos, and when it returns to HBO on July 12, the show won't disappoint in that department. “50 Cent came and did a bit for us. We’ve got Tom Brady and Matt Damon the next week. The cameos have been just incredibly sick,” revealed Jeremy Piven at the Lakers NBA Victory Celebration on June 18. “Kobe [Bryant] was supposed to do a cameo but he was busy winning this whole championship. I want him back!”

Entourage returns July 12 with a slew of hot celebrity cameos, including Zac Efron, Tom Brady, Jay Leno and a top-secret A-lister (Could this be Matt Damon, whom Jeremy Piven says has shot a cameo?) in the season finale who pressures the boys to contribute to his charity. Show creator Doug Ellin, who tried unsuccessfully to woo L.A. Lakers’ Kobe Bryant for the cameo, was inspired to spoof Hollywood do-gooders after he was honored by Chrysalis (an organization that helps L.A.’s homeless land jobs) at its annual Butterfly Ball.

Entourage co-star Emmanuelle Chriqui discussed Matt's cameo (with LeBron James) at the New York Daily News:

Since launching, "Entourage" has been known for blockbuster celebrities showing up for cameos, and this season will be no different. Chriqui said this week Matt Damon and LeBron James both stopped by to film parts.

"It was awesome. Everyone was so excited to have them there," she said. "There was a buzz all day long."

In an online article discussing Public Enemies at the Daily Beast, Miramax chief Harvey Weinstein called The Good Shepherd the most underrated movie of the last 10 years.

Because some of the notions in Public Enemies reflect on what I thought was the most underrated movie of the past 10 years, The Good Shepherd. When you watch Crudup’s Hoover, it’s impossible not to think of Matt Damon in The Good Shepherd and those themes. To me, Public Enemies, The Good Shepherd, The Godfather, and Scarface—both of them: the early one and Oliver Stone’s Scarface—are not only biographies of criminals, but in a way a biography of America—a more overt biography—where Citizen Kane is a biography of the American rogue.

The local Decatur paper reacts to the Informant trailer being released.

A trailer for The Informant! has been released and is available at Apple.com Trailers or other locations, including First Showing.net. The Apple site and the official website include the image below (best seen as a full-screen picture). The minimised image is from here. The trailer indicates a release date of September, but the release date remains officially 9 October.

Matt has been filming Entourage in Los Angeles for the past two days. Small photos of Matt on set with the cast are at Ramey, and one blogger's encounter with Matt on set is here.

A report on Matt and Lucy's dinner on Sunday night at Madeo is at People.

Meanwhile, also at Madeo, Matt Damon and wife Luciana were eating with Jeremy Piven and a group of 10 friends. "Lucy was sitting next to another woman, chatting it up," the onlooker tells us. The whole group toasted, raising their wine glasses at one point. Meanwhile, Damon ate pasta and Piven opted for a veal dish.

An update on ONE.org's campaign to support clean water legislation is at the Huffington Post.

Photos of Matt and Lucy at Madeo Restaurant in LA on Sunday night are at Just Jared. Video is also available here.

Jeremy Piven has revealed that Matt will be a guest on the next season of Entourage here.

Jeremy - who plays Ari Gold - said: "I just wrapped the night before last and I think this is the best season, I know you hear people say that all the time, but I think that Doug Ellin, our writer, is writing with a chip on his shoulder, I think he's really hungry right now."

"We had 50 Cent, Tom Brady, Matt Damon, we almost had Kobe but he had to win that little trophy that the kids win for doing exceptional things, it's been amazing."

Ponyo screened at the Los Angeles Film Fest on Sunday, but Matt did not attend. An early review from Drew (Moriarty) at HitFix is here, and Frank Marshall discussed how the voice actors became involved at the LA Times.

One way to increase attention was to line up a strong voice cast, which includes Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Cate Blanchett, Liam Neeson, Betty White, Lily Tomlin and Cloris Leachman. Miley Cyrus' kid sister, Noah, supplies the voice of Ponyo.

"We wanted well-known people," says Marshall. "A lot of them are friends and lot of them have kids. For example, Matt Damon didn't know about Miyazaki. When I sent him a few of the films, he said, 'I'm in.' They wanted to be a part of it."

The Boston Globe reported on the photos from the Invictus set which appeared in April but were 're-discovered' by various bloggers and claimed as exclusives.

According to Seth Rotherham, who... posted this picture on his popular South African blog, Damon is well liked around Cape Town. "Friends of mine involved in the movie say Matt is a complete gentleman and has won over everyone," Rotherham told us.