Matt Damon once famously went off against the Bourne films writer Tony Gilroy. Damon alleged Gilroy of walking away from The Bourne Ultimatum after submitting a bad first draft. When Gilroy was asked about Damon’s issue with him, Gilroy shared that he had no idea where Damon’s explosive rant came from. He regarded the Good Will Hunting actor as one of the greatest actors of the generation.
Despite these issues between Damon and Gilroy, the third film in the franchise received critical acclaim. The Bourne Ultimatum is considered one of the best films in the series. Gilroy took over the directing duties in the fourth film after Damon and director Paul Greengrass walked away from the offer.
Tony Gilroy Responded Maturely To Matt Damon’s Rant About Him
Matt Damon appeared in an interview with GQ and went off against Bourne writer Tony Gilroy for his rather unprofessional behavior during The Bourne Ultimatum. Universal Studios gave Gilroy a great deal for writing only one draft for the film. However, Damon shared that the studio was at fault for offering such a deal.
He shared that he did not blame Gilroy for taking money and providing a bad first draft. The Adjustment Bureau actor described Gilroy’s first draft as unreadable and a career-ender. He shared that Gilroy did not commit himself to the film and left with the money for the first draft. Damon shared with GQ:
It’s really the studio’s fault for putting themselves in that position. I don’t blame Tony for taking a boatload of money and handing in what he handed in. It’s just that it was unreadable. This is a career-ender. I mean, I could put this thing up on eBay and it would be game over for that dude. It’s terrible. It’s really embarrassing. He was having a go, basically, and he took his money and left.
Gilroy helmed the fourth film, The Bourne Legacy, with Jeremy Renner in the lead, who replaced Damon. During the promotion of the fourth film, Gilroy addressed Damon’s rant against him during the GQ interview. He rather responded with kindness to the actor’s rant, sharing with Empire that he didn’t know where it came from. He shared (via IndieWire):
I don’t understand that at all. I don’t know where it came from. I think Matt is one of the greatest actors of his generation.
According to the Huffington Post, Damon later contacted GQ to clear up his statement and even issued an apology. The Oppenheimer actor shared, “This is between me and him. So saying anything publicly is f*cking stupid and unprofessional and just kind of douchey of me.” Interestingly, the Andor creator did not return for the fifth film, Jason Bourne.
What Went Down In The Bourne Ultimatum Between Tony Gilroy and Matt Damon?
Interestingly, Tony Gilroy and Matt Damon never had a problem during The Bourne Ultimatum. However, Gilroy and director Paul Greengrass had a problem. In the second film The Bourne Supremacy, Gilroy wanted to add scenes where Damon’s character shows repentance for his actions. He wrote specific scenes to portray such a side of the character.
While Greengrass did an amazing job in visually presenting the film, he removed the repentance scenes. Gilroy shared about the film with The New Yorker, “It was sort of like a crime against the gods of storytelling.” When he was called in for the third film, he had only one condition: he would not have to speak with Greengrass.
After Gilroy submitted the first draft, Greengrass enlisted the help of writers George Nolfi and Scott Z. Burns. The Bourne Ultimatum and other Bourne films are now available for streaming on Starz.
