Matt Damon’s breakout role in Hollywood was the 1997 movie, Good Will Hunting, a small-budget movie about a gifted man who starts to pull his life together after meeting a psychologist named Williams. Damon starred alongside the Justice League star, Ben Affleck and Minne Driver, who all made their names in the film industry because of this movie.
Good Will Hunting ended up doing exceptionally well, grossing a total of $225 million worldwide on a budget of only $10 million. It was also nominated for eight Oscars and won two, in direct competition with Titanic. Would this much success have been possible for this movie if Damon and Affleck did not convince an Oscar-winning director to back out from the project?
Mel Gibson Was Originally Supposed to Direct Good Will Hunting
Mel Gibson was fresh off his success from his 1995 movie, Braveheart, a historical epic that won five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. After this, he wanted to be part of a different kind of project and Good Will Hunting seemed to fit his criteria. But it would seem that Matt Damon and Ben Affleck did not want him to be part of the project. Co-producer Chis Moore revealed the key reason for this.
“Mel Gibson developed it for a few months,” Moore added, “Matt at one point said directly to Gibson, ‘Look, man. We’re getting too old. If this keeps going by, Ben and I can’t play these parts. Is there any chance you’d just let it go?’ And to Mel’s credit, he said, ‘I totally understand what you’re saying.’ That was a real stand-up thing to do.”
Though Gibson was interested in taking up this project, producer Harvey Weinstein urged Damon and Affleck to convince him otherwise due to the amount of time that was taking in development.
Who Ended Up Directing Good Will Hunting?
Good Will Hunting was ultimately directed by Gus Van Sant, well known for his work in movies like My Own Private Idaho and To Die For. Mel Gibson met with the director around the same time as Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. There is also already a kind of connection with the director as he worked this Casey Affleck, Ben Affleck’s brother, on a project later on.
Though Harvey Weinstein was not convinced that Van Sant was the right person for the task, the director’s attention to detail and delicate touch was exactly what the movie needed. The movie went on to also receive a nomination for Best Director.
Source: CheatSheet
