Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are two best friends who eventually made it big in Hollywood. Their journeys, however, started from a single film for which they both wrote the script and starred in, effectively earning their way to fame.
Writing and starring in the 1997 film titled Good Will Hunting, Damon and Affleck found their big career breakthrough. As the film turns 26 years old, several fans are now doubting whether Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s script was an original or ‘borrowed’ from someone!
Good Will Hunting Turns 26 Years Old!
Depicting the story of a mathematical genius who finds solace in his friends and with the help of a psychologist, the movie was a psychological drama written by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. With Damon portraying the role of the mathematical genius while Affleck portrayed his friend, Chuckie Sullivan, the film received rave reviews from around the world.
As the movie turned 26 years old, people took to X (formerly Twitter) to talk about this gem of a movie. There were some people, however, who doubted that the script was an original story written by Affleck and Damon. Claiming that the script was too good to have been written by two people in their 20s, several fans took to X to discuss whether the movie was an original idea or not!
this movie is a little too perfect to have been written by two men in their early 20s i don’t like that https://t.co/05kMXh2437
— jay (@kendallhosseini) December 5, 2023
it remains well on the side of Unreasonable
— infinite just some guy (@Hoovermensch) December 6, 2023
Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg I understand, but Affleck and Damon. It really baffles me like wtf
— tintin • austinfull (@aa0015f) December 6, 2023
Kevin Smith and William Goldman (Yes, him) did uncredited writing
— Eli Vronsky (@EliVronsky) December 6, 2023
(it was heavily modified under gus van sant)
— Mal (@malinicorrea) December 6, 2023
Apparently they had the initial then had a lot of help from script doctors.
— 🇵🇸 Splash (@SplashMa) December 5, 2023
Although it cannot be confirmed or denied, there are reports that director Gus Van Sant did extend his hand heavily in helping the two gentlemen trying to make it big in Hollywood. As people allege the script is fake, Matt Damon revealed some memories of him and Ben Affleck back when they were writing the script!
Matt Damon And Ben Affleck Have Memories of Writing The Script
Back when Damon came up with the idea of the script, Ben Affleck was helping The Martian actor with his skills. Talking about how Affleck stated things about good and bad ideas, Damon revealed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that one of Affleck’s statements had a big impact on him.
“He said one of the most profound things that anybody’s ever said to me. When we started writing Good Will Hunting, he said: ‘Hey, judge me for how good my good ideas are, not how bad my bad ideas are’”.
He further continued,
“That, to me, is the most important thing when you embark on a collaborative process with somebody. You’ve got to get the window open to throw every idea in there and not be afraid to have shi**y ideas, because we all have shi**y ideas.”
With Good Will Hunting getting rave reviews with a rating of 8.3/10 on IMDB and a whopping 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, the movie was very well received in 1997. Becoming a masterpiece, the film essentially kickstarted Damon and Affleck’s careers. Good Will Hunting is available to stream on Max in the U.S.
