Damon returns to the character of Jason Bourne for the follow-up film, "The Bourne Supremacy." With a different director (Paul Greengrass) behind the camera, "The Bourne Supremacy" is expected to match its predecessor's success, reuniting many members of the original cast for this 2004 sequel.
Stars such as Matt Damon's buddies George Clooney, Ben Affleck, and Kevin Smith turned out for the movie's World Premiere held on July 15, 2004 at the Cinerama Dome and Arclight Cinemas in Hollywood. In fact, so many stars were on hand it was tough to get an interview with Damon that wasn't interrupted by someone famous wishing him good luck with "The Bourne Supremacy." After meeting Magic Johnson's wife and talking about basketball for a few minutes, Matt Damon answered a few of my questions about his latest film:
INTERVIEW WITH MATT DAMON:
How did you get in shape for this role?
Boxing was the best way. It worked out the best for me the first time because it changed the way I walked slightly, and that was kind of one of the goals in trying to make the guy believable. So when I found out I was going to do the second one, I started boxing again.
With the bar set so high from the first film, how do you top it with the second?
Just the same way you make any movie, really. Just start with a script that’s good and with a great director and characters that you like, and try and give it your best shot. We all felt the pressure because none of us wanted to make a movie that was a letdown after people really kind of found the first one on their own and enjoyed it. There was more pressure on this than normal.
Does it live up to the first film?
I think it does. I’ve seen the movie and I’m really proud of it. We did everything we could to make this a great movie and I’m really proud of what we did.
Was it a big change working with Paul Greengrass as the director rather than your "Bourne Identity" director, Doug Liman?
Well, I work with different directors on every movie. I mean, obviously they have slightly different styles but they have very similar tastes. Those two creatively are very similar actually.
One of your co-stars called you a cerebral action star...
(Laughing) I guess I’ve got them fooled. The character is very smart and he thinks his way out of situations, which I think makes it fun for the audience. You all get to be in the same situation and he comes up with the way out.
So how does the hoopla associated with this premiere compare to what you just experienced filming "Ocean's 12" in Italy?
This is a little crazier, I think, but Italy was a little wild. I mean, traveling the world with George Clooney and Brad Pitt definitely is an experience.
You’re still doing it, right?
Yeah, well we’re here now…
Continue to Interviews with Gabriel Mann and Brian Cox
