Matt Damon News Column

Bono appeared on an Irish talk show and discussed neighbour Matt - different quotes at the Sun and Extra:

Speaking about the new resident, Bono said: “Most of us have been trying to dodge Matt Damon since Contagion. He’s like Johnny-no-mates.

“I’ve known him a long time. He’s an incredible human being. His family are close by. I’ll tell you one thing that annoys me about him, all of the locals here have voted him ‘sexiest man in Dalkey’ which I find offensive.

“He’s showing confidence in the country, he could have left, he sees the madness that’s going on in his own land, and he loves it here.”

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‘I’ve known him for a long time, he travelled to Africa with One, he co-founded Water.org… he’s an incredible human being.’

Filming for The Last Duel has been shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic. From media reports it appears filming was going to move from France to Ireland a week early, but it has now been postponed. From a Variety report (which has the wrong filming location):

Disney has announced that production and pre-production on “The Last Duel,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings,” “Home Alone,” “Nightmare Alley,” “Peter Pan & Wendy” and “Shrunk” have shut down “for a short time.”

A statement from the studio said, “While there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 on our productions, after considering the current environment and the best interests of our cast and crew, we have made the decision to pause production on some of our live-action films for a short time. We will continue to assess the situation and restart as soon as feasible.”

“The Little Mermaid” was set to start shooting in London next week. Ridley Scott’s “The Last Duel” had been shooting in Ireland since February but in light of the coronavirus pandemic as well as travel restrictions in Europe, execs felt it was the best move for the safety of all involved to delay the shoot indefinitely.

It is unknown when “The Last Duel” shoot was going to end and if it will impact the Dec. 25 release date at this time.

The Last Duel started filming last week in France, and Ben Affleck has recently joined the set. There are lots of paparazzi photos of actors on the set at the usual sites.

Matt is 'attached' to a new film project, to be directed by James Mangold, based on Don Winslow's bestselling book 'The Force'. Details at Deadline, including the following description:

Damon is attached to play Denny Malone, a NYPD detective who runs an elite crime fighting squad, but bends the law so often that he loses the line between good and evil and becomes ensnared in a pending corruption scandal. To stop the city’s long-simmering racial tensions from exploding, he must reconcile the idealistic guardian he still views himself to be, with the corrupt cop he’s become.

The DVD for Ford v Ferrari will be released on February 11 (digital on 28 January). Details are at Collider:

FORD V FERRARI Digital Bonus Features:

“The 24 Hour Le Mans: Recreating the Course” Featurette – Discover how the climactic race of the film was achieved, from recreating the track to capturing and editing all the action.

Pre-Vis: Daytona & Le Mans Races – These animated pre-visualization sequences worked as a roadmap for filmmakers throughout production.

“Bringing The Rivalry to Life” * – Go behind the scenes of the film with this 8-part, 60-minute documentary.

Matt and Christian: The Conversation (iTunes Extras exclusive) – Sit down with Christian Bale and Matt Damon for an intimate reflection on the making of the film.

Matt's publicist Jennifer Allen was interviewed at the Hollywood Reporter, including:

Jennifer, your first client was Matt Damon. How did you sign him?

JENNIFER ALLEN I work with Tommy Lee Jones who directed a TV movie for TNT called The Good Old Boys and Matt played Tommy's nephew. Tommy introduced me to him at a screening at the Directors Guild. Matt and I just had a nice, brief conversation, and I thought, well this is, you know, a young, interesting actor. He had done School Ties and [Geronimo: An American Legend] at that point. I became friendly with [Matt’s longtime agent] Patrick Whitesell and after two years of asking, ‘When is the right time, when is the right time?’ Matt got cast in the Francis Ford Coppola movie based on the John Grisham novel, The Rainmaker, so I flew to San Francisco to meet Matt on the set. That was 1996. My son was three months old and I was still on maternity leave.

The Last Duel will be filming next year around Reims Cathedral, Sarlat and Bergerac in France. More casting news for blacksmiths, bakers and basket makers is here for a scene with 800 extras.