Ben Affleck and Matt Damon say their friendship makes it feel like they've 'worked together a bunch'

    [ad_1]

    They have not officially collaborated with each other on a major project since they won Oscars for the screenplay to their hit 1997 drama Good Will Hunting.

    And Ben Affleck and Matt Damon reflected on how much has changed since then as they promote their new period film The Last Duel on Wednesday during Good Morning America.

    ‘The process on The Last Duel was different because we’re different people and we’ve grown a lot and have been through a lot,’ said Ben.

    New people: They have not officially collaborated with each other on a major project since they won Oscars for the screenplay to their hit 1997 drama Good Will Hunting. And Ben Affleck and Matt Damon reflected on how much has changed since then as they promote their new period film The Last Duel on Wednesday during Good Morning America

    New people: They have not officially collaborated with each other on a major project since they won Oscars for the screenplay to their hit 1997 drama Good Will Hunting. And Ben Affleck and Matt Damon reflected on how much has changed since then as they promote their new period film The Last Duel on Wednesday during Good Morning America 

    New experience: He said the process on The Last Duel was'different because we're different people and we've grown a lot and have been through a lot'

    New experience: He said the process on The Last Duel was ‘different because we’re different people and we’ve grown a lot and have been through a lot’

    Since 1997 they have both gotten married and had children.

    Ben wed Jennifer Garner and had three kids – Violet, Seraphina and Samuel – but they divorced in 2018. He now dates his ex-fiancee Jennifer Lopez.

    Matt married Luciana Barroso in 2005. Together they have daughters Isabella, Stella and Gia Zavala. He also helps raise her daughter Alexia, 22.  

    acted as if their working relationship never really came to an end because of their enduring friendship during an appearance to talk about their new film The Last Duel with their co-screenwriter Nicole Holofcener

    Ben, 49, also said it felt as if the two had ‘worked together a bunch’ because they have kept up such a strong friendship in the decades since their most famous work together. 

    His love life makes headlines: Ben wed Jennifer Garner and had three kids - Violet, Seraphina and Samuel - but they divorced in 2018. He now dates his ex-fiancee Jennifer Lopez; seen on October 9 at The Last Duel premiere in NYC

    His love life makes headlines: Ben wed Jennifer Garner and had three kids – Violet, Seraphina and Samuel – but they divorced in 2018. He now dates his ex-fiancee Jennifer Lopez; seen on October 9 at The Last Duel premiere in NYC

    His love: Matt married Luciana Barroso in 2005. Together they have daughters Isabella, Stella and Gia Zavala. He also helps raise her daughter Alexia, 22

    His love: Matt married Luciana Barroso in 2005. Together they have daughters Isabella, Stella and Gia Zavala. He also helps raise her daughter Alexia, 22

    But the Argo director also felt as if the two never really stopped working together because they’ve remained such great friends. 

    ‘From the outside, it might look like, “Oh, they did this together then and now this is so much later.” But staying friends and — it feels like we’ve worked together a bunch, just because we consult one another and rely on one another and talk about stuff and look at one another’s movies.’

    Matt, 51, described their collaboration on the Ridley Scott historical drama as ‘more efficient.’ 

    ‘We also had a deadline this time and people were actually waiting for the script and we had a real writer working with us,’ he said, referring to Holofcener.

    She described the importance of having a ‘female write a female character’ and said she ‘surprised’ Ben and Matt with new ideas.

    Old friends: They credited their friendship with making it feel as if they'worked together a bunch' despite taking two decades off during a GMA appearance Wednesday with Nicole Holofcener (L)

    Old friends: They credited their friendship with making it feel as if they ‘worked together a bunch’ despite taking two decades off during a GMA appearance Wednesday with Nicole Holofcener (L)

    Both men wrote the male vantage points of the French knight Jean de Carrouges (played by Damon) and his squire Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver), while Holofcener wrote scenes from the viewpoint of de Carrouges wife Marguerite de Carrouges (Jodie Comer)

    The film is about the last legally sanctioned duel to take place in France after Marguerite accuses Le Gris of raping her.  

    Affleck plays the Count Pierre d’Alençon, who will initially weigh in on the matter, but Damon’s character takes his dispute to the king, fearing that d’Alençon would favor the squire.

    Carrouges challenges Le Gris to a trial by combat. If he wins, he will be declared innocent, but his loss will label him guilty.  

    Back again: Ben plays a major supporting role in The Last Duel with his longtime friend and occasional collaborator Matt Damon

    Battle to the death: Damon stars with Jodie Comer as a knight who requests a trial by combat against his squire (Adam Driver) after his wife accuses him of raping her

    Back together: Ben plays a major supporting role in The Last Duel with his longtime friend Matt . Damon stars with Jodie Comer as a knight who requests a trial by combat against his squire (Adam Driver) after his wife accuses him of raping her

    Elsewhere in the interview, Ben complained about the prep he had to go through to play a blond character, which required a skull cap to keep his hair from peeking through.

    When it came to his beard, his Italian makeup artists applied each hair to his face one at a time.

    ‘At first I thought, God, the artistry of this. Then by the third day I was like, “Guys, can we just slap it on here,”‘ he joked.

    He stayed mum when asked about walking the red carpet with his girlfriend Jennifer Lopez, though said the experience was ‘a lot of fun.’

    ‘I’m very proud of the movie. I’m very excited,’ he gushed. ‘It’s a really rewarding time for me. Professionally, it’s very exciting. It’s really nice to go to a premiere of a movie you like.’

    Working fast: Matt, 51, described their collaboration on the Ridley Scott historical drama as'more efficient'

    Working fast: Matt, 51, described their collaboration on the Ridley Scott historical drama as ‘more efficient’

    Having a laugh: Ben joked about how intensive his beard appliance was for The Last Duel: 'At first I thought, God, the artistry of this. Then by the third day I was like, "Guys, can we just slap it on here"'

    Having a laugh: Ben joked about how intensive his beard appliance was for The Last Duel: ‘At first I thought, God, the artistry of this. Then by the third day I was like, “Guys, can we just slap it on here”‘

    Back to normal: Matt added that he was looking forward to the pandemic lessening, as'our whole business revolves around people feeling safe enough to go to the movies.'

    Back to normal: Matt added that he was looking forward to the pandemic lessening, as ‘our whole business revolves around people feeling safe enough to go to the movies.’

    Matt added that he was looking forward to the pandemic lessening, as ‘our whole business revolves around people feeling safe enough to go to the movies.’

    At The Last Duel’s New York premiere, Matt previously told E! News that he and Ben hadn’t worked together more often because writing was ‘so time consuming’ that they assumed they wouldn’t have time for it again.

    The Bourne series star revealed the pair simply thought they’d ‘never find the time’ to write another script on the level of Good Will Hunting, which starred Robin Williams and earned nine Oscar nominations in total, including Best Picture and Best Director.

    However, Matt revealed that they realized: ‘If we just work during hours that we could easily carve out, we could get a lot done.’

    He added: ‘We wrote it faster than we thought we would.’

    The pair were delighted to be back together on set for their new film, and it made them wonder why they hadn’t worked on more movies together.

    Finding the time: At The Last Duel's New York premiere, Matt previously told E! News that he and Ben hadn't worked together more often because writing was'so time consuming' that they assumed they wouldn't have time for it again

    Finding the time: At The Last Duel’s New York premiere, Matt previously told E! News that he and Ben hadn’t worked together more often because writing was ‘so time consuming’ that they assumed they wouldn’t have time for it again

    Ben said: ‘We had such a great time doing this that it was like, why don’t we do this more? What have we been doing?’

    And he feels incredibly grateful to have Matt in his life after so long.

    ‘I grew up with this guy, I’ve known him forever. We’re from same world and place, and stayed close and I often think about people who come into this business and there’s some challenges that get thrown at you.

    ‘And having somebody to go through it with me and bounce stuff off of has been really helpful.

    He added: ‘You’re lucky if you get to do the job you love and luckier if it’s with people that you love.’ 

    The Last Duel will be released in theaters on Friday, October 15. 

    [ad_2]

    Previous articleHuge Jupiter-sized planet is discovered orbiting a dead star
    Next articleAngela Rayner mocks Matt Hancock's new job offer: 'Shouldn't be anywhere near!'

    LEAVE A REPLY

    Please enter your comment!
    Please enter your name here