Actor Files: Matt Damon

Thanks in no small part to 'Team America', for a good ten years I have been unable to hear this man's name without repeating "Maaaaatt Daaaaamon" like a mongoloid. However, I feel it's time to offer my respects to what has been one of my favourite actors for some years now.

After a few memorable cameos (see: 'Courage Under Fire') Mr. Damon's first big break came when he wrote and starred in the brilliant, and one of my all-time favourites, 'Good Will Hunting' which garnered him and boyhood friend Ben Affleck an Academy Award for best original screenplay. From there, Hollywood mega stardom followed.

"Some people get into this business and they're so afraid to lose anything. They try to protect their position like clinging to a beachhead. These actors end up making really safe choices. I never wanted to go that route. If I go down, I'm going down swinging."

Damon next starred in Spielberg's 'Saving Private Ryan', the criminally underrated 'Rounders' and 'The Talented Mr. Ripley'. All great films and not your typical Hollywood-star fodder. Then came of course the 'Ocean's Eleven' and 'Bourne' series'. When I first saw 'The Bourne Identity' I was skeptical but ended up very pleasantly surprised. In fact I can't really put it better than Paul Rudd's character in the 40 year-old virgin: "I always thought of Matt Damon as a bit of a Streisand, but he's really rocking the shit in this one".

Along with the undoubted success of those films, he also offered stellar performances in films like 'Syriana', 'The Good Shepherd', 'The Informant', and 'True Grit' (which I absolutely loathed. His performance, however, was the one good thing about that film. Ten Oscar nominations? Ten?! F**k right off.) Then came a long overdue Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Francois Pienaar in 'Invictus', which is a pretty much flawless performance. However, my favourite role from the boy Damon is in Martin Scorcese's 'The Departed'. When that film came out, everyone was talking about Jack Nicholson, or Leonardo DiCaprio, or Alec Baldwin, or Mark Wahlberg (who was good, I admit) but I urge you to go back and watch that film again. Then try telling me that Matt Damon doesn't act rings around everyone else in that film. He is brilliant and that film would be nothing without him.

"I don't hold myself to some higher standard of behaviour. You don't have to do a lot to be seen as 'nice'. I guess some of these people must be such rampant pricks that people are amazed when you say hello. I don't know why people like me, and I don't know if I want to know. That might be the kiss of death. I'd rather people not know a lot about me and go see the films."

But, you see, that's why Matt Damon is such an oddity in this day and age. He has the rare honor of always being good in absolutely everything he's done. He's never done anything shite. Thus everyone simply expects a solid performance from him and when he delivers said performance, it is simply par for the course. I almost want him to do a "Gigli" or "The Happening" or "Elizabethtown" just so we can all be reminded of just how great the man is. One day it'll happen I'm sure. Until that day however, our Matty will have to settle on being one of the richest, most successful humans alive.

Bravo sir.

JB.

P.S - For any actors out there looking for a career model, both on the screen and off it, look no further.

Codex

Right, everyone (all three of you), I want you to go to somewhere peaceful, somewhere quiet and preferably away from other humans. I want you to turn all the lights off and close your eyes. Ingest whatever substance makes you happy - although of course I am not advocating the use of drugs - sit back, relax and play this video:

JB

Things I Love: Man on Wire

This absolutely fascinating documentary is the story of one nutty Frenchman named Phillipe Petit. Back in the early 1970's, Petit was a young circus performer/wire walker/complete crackpot who had a dream, and that dream was to tightrope between the World Trade Center.

How he got to finally do it is a story in itself and listening to the man tell it is one of the more exciting things one can do. I could honestly hear him speak for hours on end and not be bored for a second. Yet we don't just get to hear him speak. Thankfully Phillipe and his team recorded hours of footage of their exploits back in the day, including him tightroping across Notre Dame and over (yes, over) the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The big prize however was the tallest buildings on earth (still uncompleted at the time). So he assembled a crack team of people and they set to work. The rest is history and all I'll say is that, despite being comfortably rooted on terra firma and in the sanctity of my house, my stomach turned more times than I can remember.

However, what I love most about this film is how moving the whole thing is. Call me a sap, but listening to these people talk about their experiences on these adventures just reminds me of how romantic everything can be if you look at it the right way. Of course, it helps that they are all French (for the most part), but there are so many underlying themes to this story that it resonates on a deeper level than just some madman performing stunts. The end result is a quite beautiful experience.

"Life should be lived on the edge of life. You have to exercise rebellion: to refuse to tape yourself to rules, to not refuse your own success, to refuse to repeat yourself, to see every day, every year, every idea as a true challenge - and then you are going to live your life on a tightrope." (Phillipe Petit)

Peace,

JB

Viva Mexico!

So the past week has been spent south of the border. Had an absolutely fantastic time, met a large amount of beautiful people, and realised quite quickly that I haven't been on a holiday (other than traveling between England and California) for seven and a half years! My love for traveling has officially been reignited and I'm already scoping out the next trip.

My desire to learn Spanish has also been piqued once again. Surrounded by people who could speak the native tongue, while I sat there blurting out "Dos. Cervecas. POR. Fayvor.", was an embarrassment. By the end of the year I plan to have at least a basic knowledge. We'll see how that goes.

All in all an extremely fun time and above all a much needed time. The past year has been a weird one, and as I laid, star-fished out, in the ocean I suddenly realised how mad, bad and beautiful it's all been. Probably helped that I had drank my weight in Tequila the night before...one always gets reflective in such instances.

So now it's back to reality, which is still a bit of a fantasy really, and I feel like spanking some arse (metaphorically speaking) more than ever.

And here's one of the most beautiful songs ever for your enjoyment:

Bob Dylan - "A Simple Twist of Fate" (couldn't find an 'embedable' version)

Peace and Love,

Juanito.

P.S. - Hello Adam!

Dialogue of the Day

"Corruption? We have laws against it precisely so we can get away with it. Corruption keeps us safe and warm. Corruption is why you and me are prancing around in here instead of fighting over scraps of meat out in the streets. Corruption is why we win."

From "Syriana" (2005)

Thoughts...

So, I managed to make my way to the cinema twice this week. First to see "Horrible Bosses", for which I had high hopes. To say I was disappointed is a massive understatement. It's the latest in a series of shouty shouty, loud loud, 'wacky' comedies that seem to be the order of the day in mainstream Hollywood. Note to all studios: saying things extremely loud does not make them funny. Absurd plot, annoying main characters (especially Charlie Day, who is the most obnoxious human I've seen on screen since Little Nicky) and a complete waste of some pretty solid acting talent. What on earth Kevin Spacey was doing in this shite I do not know. Same for Colin Farrell, who was basically reduced to a cartoon character, and Jennifer Aniston's part consisted of one joke...yep, just the one, throughout the entire 2 hours...wherein, the "good girl next door" (Aniston) says things like "f**k my slutty mouth"...oh the hilarity!

What annoys me most is that it will be a box office smash, despite it's complete lack of originality, wit, subtlety or indeed comedy, and we the people will be subjected to yet more of the same. Very upsetting.

At the other end of the artistic spectrum was "The Tree of Life" starring Sean Penn, Brad Pitt and directed by the revered Terrance Malick. I went in not really knowing what to expect and within the first hour, I felt my brain slowly pouring out of my ear. Absolute insanity. Basically, not to give too much away, the films starts with Sean Penn remembering his childhood, then we go into the creation of the universe, the birth of morality (by use of a scene involving Dinosaurs...no, that's not a misprint) and back through the memories of Mr. Penn. This lasts for 2 hours and 40 minutes. Now, I consider myself a fairly cine-literate person, and I am struggling to find the words to describe this film. Yes, the visuals were rather lovely at times (if very 2001: A Space Oddyssey) and yes, there were moments of genuine emotion which got me going a bit, but overall I think my feeble mind was unable to comprehend what was going on before me. It gets a bit too deep, is what I'm saying. A narrative would have been nice too.

I think I'd have enjoyed it more if it didn't have the most pretentious voiceovers in history, people whispering profound things like "life is organic" and "um bongo, um bongo, they drink it in the congo". Leaves a bit of a bitter taste in my cynical mouth. However, it's nice to see someone at least trying to push the envelope and taking on life's grander subjects. Maybe I need to see it again to fully appreciate it, or maybe I'm just an idiot. Who knows?

In other news, Carmeggedon turned out to be a load of bollocks.

Listening to the news all week, you'd think LA would be at a complete standstill, people jumping from their stationary vehicles and leaping off bridges left, right and center. I spent all day driving on the old freeways yesterday...clear as a bell. Better than normal in fact. Oh, the media, what will you come up with next, you little phone-tapping, amoral rascals.

So, there you have it, another pointless ramble from a man with too much coffee in the system.

Peace,

JB.

Absurd Rap Lyrics #4507

"Seven execution style murders. I have no remorse 'cause I'm the fuckin' murderer"

From the song "High Powered" on Dr. Dre's 'The Chronic'.

Just brilliant.

Sabotage!!!

Have it:

Russell Brand: Love or Hate?

This is my pointless exercise for the day. The jury's out, what's the verdict? More importantly, who gives a sh*t?:

Reasons to Hate:

* Shagged Kate Moss (Mind you, who hasn't these days? I know I have...a lot.)

* Get Him To The Greek

* Married to Katy Perry

* Hop

* Not half as delightful as he thinks he is

* Rather obnoxious at times (see: Craig Ferguson appearance)

* Sachsgate (although I did laugh at the time, but I am not a good moral yardstick)

* The above picture

* Gets to Sleep with Katy Perry

* After posturing as a risque, counter-cultural icon for his early career, now just participates in Hollywood tripe (see: Hop, Arthur, GHTTG etc.)

* Has probably seen Katy Perry's Boobs

* Supports West Ham

* Gets more birds than me

Reasons to Love:

* Can be side-splittingly funny (as proven by his show at Hollywood Forever)

* Essex Boy

* Sarah Marshall

* Radio 2 show was genius

* Met him once and he was genuinely one of the nicest blokes I've met

Fine, I'll keep liking him for now. But you're on thin fackin' ice, my pedigree chum.

JB.

Up Down

What a week. First off the country I currently reside in celebrated it's imperial rule over the weekend. Yay. As I sat watching fireworks light up LA I couldn't help but picture the skies over Baghdad being similarly illuminated but for entirely different reasons. Mmmm.

Anywho...so after spending hours upon hours in pre-production for my second short film, securing locations, hiring crew members, casting actors etc., turns out I had to pull the plug on the entire thing at the very (and I do mean very) last minute, for reasons I'd rather not get into here. Not many feelings are as crushingly disappointing, however thankfully no money was spent so no harm done...to the wallet at least.

Still, the decidedly down-turn that experience offered was soon balanced out by the progress of my first feature film. I spent all week (at the behest of my producer) re-writing the script until I eventually think I have finally cracked it. The nature of writing for several hours a day though can send a man insane so in truth I've got nay fooking clue whether I've cracked it or not. It remains to be seen. Also, (warning extreme "LA speak" coming up) I had a meeting with another, pretty well established producer who literally taught me more useful information in an hour than I've received in probably the last five years. I think I realise exactly what is needed to get this bad boy off the ground now so onwards and upwards on that front.

I'm also, and the this is really sad how good this makes me feel, on a bit of a hot streak with ordering films off Netflix. One brilliant film after another. The streak can't last surely, but here is a list of films I've recently watched and were, for want of a better phrase, the tits:

* Glengarry Glen Ross - superb writing, even better acting. I didn't realise how good Jack Lemmon was. Also, Pacino calling Kevin Spacey a "Stupid fucking cunt" was rather genius.

* Being There - A brilliant piece of satire featuring the legend that is Peter Sellers. You can now also see where Forrest Gump came from.

* The Assassination of Jesse James... - Quality moody western film. How Casey Affleck didn't win an Oscar for this is beyond me.

* The Long Good Friday - Classic British Gangster flick. Great film, brilliantly directed and gives you the chance to see many now famous actors when they were young upstarts. Cue lots of "Oi! I know him" moments.

* Dog Day Afternoon - See this film immediately. Pacino is amazing. Hilarious stuff.

* Bruno - why didn't anyone tell me how funny this film was? "Bruno was Schwartz-listed" is one of the best lines ever.

I've just realised that no pictures accompany this post. So here is one of my girlfriend (Marion Cotillard) illustrating the size of my knob:

Peace and love,

John.