Matt Damon finally found a script he wanted to direct into a movie. And the script, was none other than "Promised Land," which he co-wrote with actor John Krasinski.
However luck was not on his side, Damon had to give up direction of the film at the last minute because of scheduling for "Elysium," a thriller in which he was set to star.
"I like to say that my biggest contribution to this film as producer was firing myself as director," Damon said.
The film was directed by Damon's longtime collaborator Gus Van Sant.
According to a report by NY Daily, Krasinski said he felt the film had already met a huge obstacle when Damon had to bow out as director.
"I thought the movie was dead," Krasinski said. "But when Matt bailed, Gus signed on. Focus Features stepped up when Gus stepped in and we got it all back within 12 hours."
Van Sant said he took up direction of the film because "Matt helped write it. I read it quickly and I liked it a lot, because it had his style and he was going to play the lead. It happened really fast."
This is not the first time Damon has co-written a script with an actor. He wrote "Good Will Hunting" with long-time friend Ben Affleck.
"Writing with John was a lot like working with Ben," Damon said. "The process was similar, with us acting things out as the characters as we wrote. It brought back a lot of memories."
Just as shooting of the film has begun, "Promised Land" has already been branded as a political-issues movie.
"Right after we filmed a big town-hall speech, Matt said, 'This just became the anti-fracking movie,' " Krasinski said. "He said, 'If people want to think that, we can't stop them.'
"But ultimately, the movie is about the question, When big money collides with real people, what happens?"
"The energy industry will have its surrogates come after the film, and label it 'the fracking movie.' I see it as a pro-democracy film," Damon said. "We wanted to end with a feeling of a community that's engaged with one of the biggest decisions of the day - if we explore where the community is coming from and we end with where it's going."
