While playing in a poker tournament in Vegas recently, actor Matt Damon took time out to provide updates on two of his gestating film projects – the Steven Soderbergh-helmed Liberace biopic and the fourth ‘Bourne’ picture.
The biopic on famed entertainer Liberace, which is set to star Michael Douglas as the lead and Damon as his lover, was originally slated to shoot this summer but was later pushed back to early 2011 after Soderbergh got his hands on Scott Z. Burns’ “Contagion” script — suddenly prioritizing that project for an early fall 3D shoot with names like Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Gwyneth Paltrow Jude Law and Marion Cotillard attached to star.
Damon now reveals that the Liberace biopic won’t get in front cameras at least until the summer of 2011 with Damon’s wife, Luciana, expecting a third child later this year after the scheduled “Contagion” shoot. It’s slightly worrisome but the actor does reassure us that the project is going ahead, persistent delays aside.
“Yeah, it’s going to happen. We’re going to do it next summer,” he told the Las Vegas Sun. “Stephen Soderberg [sic] is directing it. Michael Douglas is going to play Lee. It’s a terrific script. Richard LaGravenese has written a really great script and, you know, hopefully it will be a really great movie. I don’t see why it wouldn’t be.” Shooting on the pic was also noted to predominantly take place in L.A. with some scenes to be shot in Vegas, Liberace’s principal performance arena.
Regarding the fourth ‘Bourne’ picture, meanwhile, Damon reiterated past sentiments noting that his involvement was primarily dependent on that of director Paul Greengrass. “Absolutely yes [I’ll return to the franchise],” Damon emphatically told the Las Vegas Weekly. “I love the character. I love the stories. But only if Paul Greengrass says he will direct again. So far, though, he’s decided not to. I’d definitely say yes if he went for it. I know he would have a great story, and it would protect the legacy of what we created.”
That’s where things get complicated with Greengrass having exited the franchise only for revelations of a reboot pitch by him and Damon coming out during press for “Green Zone.” On top of that, Universal have since hired Tony Gilroy to write a treatment for a fourth film due for a 2012 release that’s nor prequel or sequel but simply described instead as “a continuation of the franchise.” Will the acclaimed duo return then? We highly doubt it as the studio is already seemingly planning for life without them, though stranger things have happened. [Matt Damon column]