Matt Damon recently sat down for an interview with The Hollywood Reporter ahead of the release of his new film Suburbicon. Here are some highlights from that interview:
When George Clooney asked you to star in Suburbicon, the deal from your end was you had to shoot in L.A. Why?
"I had four movies lined up in a row, starting with The Martian. I went from The Martian right into The Great Wall, which went right into Jason Bourne, which went right into Downsizing. It was two solid years of work. And I had sworn up and down to my family that I wouldn’t take [anything else]. When George called me, I was like “I’d rather be waterboarded than turn you down, but I have to be with my family.” Then I remember we were in London, working on Jason Bourne, and I was sitting at the dinner table with my wife when this text came in that said, “How about if I move it to L.A.?” It was George who suggested it. I turned the phone to my wife and she goes, “OK, you’re doing it.”"
You got her to sign off?
"Yes. George was sending a text to her through me, basically."
I only recently found out the movie was based on real-life events in Levittown, Pennsylvania. Did you know what took place?
"I didn’t know about that before George told me, and then he started to show me the footage. That was something he did so effectively in Good Night, and Good Luck: He would take real footage and set it against the story that he was telling. As he started to show me these clips, I was floored. It’s that incredible thing where people are like: “Well, we’re not racist, we just don’t want them to live here.”"
[The subject matter of Suburbicon has] become darker in the wake of Charlottesville.
"We made the movie last year and it’s incredible to see what’s happened in Charlottesville. It’s horrible. A lot of people, myself included, are really waking up to the extent of the existing racism, and it’s so much worse than I naively thought. I just feel naïve at this point. It was shocking to see those kids — they looked 20 and 30 years old — in button-down shirts, with Tiki torches, walking down the street. I thought, “Those people are a lot younger than me. Who raised them?” Again, I naively thought that, behind our generation, [another one] was coming with more awareness and inclusiveness, and that everything was getting better with each generation. And to see these young, aggrieved, white boys walking with their torches and screaming “Jews will not replace us!” It was just shocking. Then the night that the President [made his] “many sides” comment was absolutely abhorrent. Sadly, I feel the movie was made at the right time."
Do you remember when you first met George [Clooney]?
"I met him in ’99 and then worked with him in 2001 on the Ocean’s Eleven shoot."
Has he changed in that time?
"Sure, he’s changed. He’s evolved, but he’s the same in a lot of critical ways. In all the important ways, he’s the same; he’s got a huge heart, he’s incredibly loyal, and he’s really, really smart. He’s changed his career, in a way. When I met him, he was just coming off ER; he was known as this massive TV star. People didn’t understand how talented he was; they just thought he was this really handsome, matinee-idol TV star. And then he partnered with Steven Soderbergh, and everyone was sort of scratching their heads like, “Why would Steven Soderbergh partner with George Clooney?” as if he was slumming with George. But the reality was, Steven had worked with George and realized how talented he was, and that the two of them could get this really great stuff done. Now the perception of George is as big a movie star as you can get, an A-list director, an Oscar-winning producer. He’s somebody whose opinion I really value. If I’m working on a script, I’m sending it to him for notes; if I’m doing a movie I’m showing him a cut and asking for suggestions. In baseball, they would call it a five-tool athlete — just somebody who can do everything. He’s an easy guy to hate, I guess!"
Read the full interview at The Hollywood Reporter.
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