Although he's shown up on time to participate in the Los Angeles press day for his new film The Bourne Identity, Damon's body clock is still in London, where he was just hours beforehand starring in the London production of Kenneth Lonergan's "This is Our Youth." Damon looks quickly at his watch, noting that in just 45-minutes, a "very happy but very scared" understudy is about to make his debut alongside long-time friend, Casey Affleck. "The poor guy, I know just what's going on in his mind right now," he says with a laugh.
Only in the "States" for two weeks before jetting back to London, Damon clears up the rumors about some angry producers back in London — "They knew before I took the job that I had this movie coming out and I had press obligations" — and his winter wedding — "No, I'm not getting married. I just have a girlfriend" — before talking about his latest big-screen adventure, The Bourne Identity.
It isn't long though before the Academy Award winner is bombarded by the press with another question dealing with Hollywood rumors — this time focusing on the filming of the espionage thriller itself.
Based on the best selling novels by Robert Ludlum, The Bourne Identity tells the story of an amnesiac rescued at sea (Damon) whose only connection to the life he once led is a passport with a name — Jason Bourne. Although as time passes certain abilities come back to him — self-defense tactics, speaking several languages fluently — outside of the fact the government would rather have him dead than alive, his background remains a mystery. On the run with nowhere to hide and no one to trust, Bourne finds himself on a race against time to not only save his life, but also remember the life he's trying to save.
Can I Get Another Revision?
With The Bourne Identity being filmed months before Warner Brothers' Ocean's Eleven, rumors were quick to circle around Hollywood that the film's theatrical postponement could only mean one thing — the film's production was a nightmare. Although Damon admits the film had its share of production issues, he insists that they all occurred before the movie was shot and had nothing to do with the fact it was released six months after Ocean's Eleven.
With The Bourne Identity being the first starring role Damon has taken since starring in the box-office disappointments The Legend of Bagger Vance and All the Pretty Horses, Damon admits that he feels the pressures of being a leading man. Even though The Bourne Identity earned an impressive $27.1 million during its first weekend in release, Damon knows that Hollywood will be watching his film closely, given the fact that Ben Affleck's The Sum of All Fears earned $4 million more during its opening weekend and stayed atop the box-office charts for two weeks (The Bourne Identity only peaked in second place).
However, Damon says he isn't too worried about how the film will perform at the box office and that he's definitely not competing with his long-time friend over whose film will make the most money.
Whether or not The Bourne Identity is the movie that proves Damon is worth his $10-million price tag, Damon is just happy to have had the chance to participate in a movie that he feels redefines the action genre. For unlike numerous other action films with their calculated action sequences viewers can set their watch to, Damon believes that like Die Hard and The Matrix before it, The Bourne Identity is that rare action movie that gives viewers something new to enjoy.