Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s Good Will Hunting has been regarded as the beginning of their careers in Hollywood. While both had starred in other works over the years, none were as significant as this. The film became a classic for many reasons, starring Robin Williams, alongside Damon and Affleck also playing an important role in the story. While their performances were impeccable, other contributions helped them win an Oscar for the film.
Damon and Affleck were the ones who actually wrote the film, having crafted the script together and then pitched it to the studio. While that is impressive on its own, many would be surprised to know that the original movie was very different.
The Original Story of Good Will Hunting Was Very Different
First drafts of a film rarely ever get turned into the final product. A script has to go through a lot of changes to be turned into a hit movie, and Good Will Hunting was no different in this regard. While the final product was naturally a masterpiece, it is truly impressive just how different the movie could have been. So much so, that might not have even been able to win its Oscar.
During an in-depth oral history of the film by Boston Magazine, Ben Affleck talked about how truly different the movie almost was. It would seem that the movie had some very different elements to begin with. The Batman actor revealed that originally, there was also supposed to be a thriller theme to the movie.
We came up with this idea of the brilliant kid and his townie friends, where he was special and the government wanted to get their mitts on him. And it had a very ‘Beverly Hills Cop,’ ‘Midnight Run’ sensibility, where the kids from Boston were giving the NSA the slip all the time. We would improvise and drink like six or twelve beers or whatever and record it with a tape recorder.
Affleck revealed that the film was almost going to be similar to Eddie Murphy’s Beverly Hills Cop and Robert De Niro’s Midnight Run. It is safe to say that themes like these films would have completely juxtaposed the heartfelt storyline of the movie.
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck Were Asked To Choose
It was later revealed by producer, Chris Moore, that the studio that Damon and Affleck were trying to sell their script to ended up giving them an ultimatum. Since the two storylines in Good Will Hunting were polar opposites, they ended up clashing with each other, which made the movie seem oddly made.
Rob Reiner at Castle Rock said, “Look, you have two movies in this script, and the movies are fighting each other. There’s the thriller aspect of the kids from Southie thwarting the big government agency, and then there’s this really awesome character story about this math genius and his relationship with this shrink.
And we don’t think those two can live together.” And to their credit, Castle Rock said, “You guys wrote a great script and you’re the stars of the movie, so we’re putting it to you. You’ve got to pick one.”
While many would have dropped the script and moved on, it would seem that the studio saw the potential the movie had. With this, they decided to ask them to pick a storyline and stick with it. Thankfully, the actors decided to scrap the NSA story.
In the end, fans got one of the best stories about human connection, and the film managed to win Affleck and Damon the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
Good Will Hunting is available for streaming on Prime Video.
