It’s weird the way Ben Affleck and Matt Damon have wound up. At first it seemed like Ben would be the bigger star, but he exploded in a flaming ball of overexposure while Damon has worked quietly in lower profile films and developed a reputation as one of Hollywood’s great actors. Now Ben’s career is in a tailspin but it looks like Matt is here to stay.
The strangest thing to me is that neither of them has really pursued a career in writing or directing. After all they first became famous when they won an Oscar for writing Good Will Hunting, not acting in it. But then, there’s not much glory to be had in screenplays. They both seem to like the limelight.
It’s also strange that they haven’t really worked together much in movies since Dogma. You’d think if teaming up with your best buddy wins you an Oscar, it might be something you’d want to do more than once. Well now, ten years later, Matt and Ben are finally getting back together again.
Entertainment newswire WENN reports that Matt Damon told them, “Ben and I found a project to co-direct that we might be able to get off the ground.” Directing is one thing they haven’t done together. Ben has a little bit of directorial experience. In 1993 he directed an indie called I Killed My Lesbian Wife, Hung Her on a Meat Hook, and Now I Have a Three-Picture Deal at Disney and he’s currently working on a mystery called Gone, Baby Gone. But Damon is a total directing newbie.
Matt talks about directing together as if it's just part of growing up. “We're just kind of on the hunt for something good. Directing feels like a natural extension, having written and then acted for all these years. It just feels like I gotta try it,” he tells WENN.
I hope they do it. There’s something right about Affleck and Damon working together again. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck to co-direct and star in Star Trek? It’s only a matter of time now before that rumor starts up. Actually, I probably just started it.
