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We've been hearing this for the past couple of weeks and wanted to see how it developed, but Vulture now reports that Damon will step down from directing duties on the untitled project, but will still star in the movie. In the works for a while now, the film is based on an idea by writer Dave Eggers ("A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius," "Away We Go") but was penned by Damon and "The Office" star John Krasinski, who are both lined up to star alongside Frances McDormand. Plot details have been slim, but the story is said to be about a salesman who arrives in a small town, and finds his life turned upside down.
Sources now confirm to THR that Damon has dropped out as director due to what are being called "scheduling issues." It's unclear how this move, first reported by Vulture, will impact the project. The THR source says Damon is still on track to act in the movie but declines to provide specifics.
Update from The Playlist
Why bail out? Yesterday Vulture reported that Damon was stepping down because of "script issues," but why would the actor talk up a movie he was imminently going to make – that he co-wrote no less – and then suddenly decided the script wasn’t where it needed to be? Sources have been telling us Damon felt squeezed for prep time. Some of it has to do with the extended shooting schedule for Neill Blomkamp's “Elysium” that is eating up space on his calendar, and apparently, there are also some unknown personal issues cutting into his time as well.
Knowing that he couldn't commit to direct, Damon has been trying to find a director who could step in for him, and keep the project moving.
At Harvard University, Wheeler’s students included Matt Damon, who took his Introduction to Theater Arts class, as well as a directing class.
Mr. Wheeler taught theater at several area universities, including Harvard University; one of his students there was Matt Damon, who credited Mr. Wheeler with helping him improve as an actor. It was in Mr. Wheeler’s acting class that Damon and Ben Affleck performed some scenes from a script they were working on; it would eventually become “Good Will Hunting."
