Interview with Matt Damon for his new movie True Grit, out today! Read it right here:

Q: Had you ever wanted to work with the Coen Brothers for sometime?

A: Yeah, forever. I first met Joel in 1994 when I did a cable TV movie with his wife Fran down in West Texas. So I had met Joel in West Texas 16 years ago and it took them that long to offer me a job! (laughs). But I was dying to work with them and any actor you talk to would say the same thing. If you ask for a short list of directors, they would be right there.

Q: Why is that? What is it about them that makes them so vital?

A: Well their films - the body of work really speaks for itself. It’s not even a personal thing – you just have to look at their work and the quality of acting in their movies and it’s obviously something that they care very much about. And then you start to talk to other actors and they will tell you the same thing. I have a lot of friends who have worked with them – George (Clooney), Brad (Pitt), Billy Bob (Thornton). I was on the set of The Man Who Wasn’t There – I went to visit Billy a few times and you talk to crew members, guys like Roger (Deakins, director of photography, True Grit), Andy Harris, and all the guys say ‘you really should work with Joel and Ethan, you would love them..’ So it’s something everybody knows and everybody is always trying to get a job (with them).

Q: Did they live up to expectations?

A: Completely and for a whole host of reasons besides being genuinely nice people. Each phase of the process was a real pleasure. For a start it was a wonderful screenplay – it’s a great adaptation of the book. And then they sent us all storyboards where we could literally open this giant book and look at the shot design of the film. It was basically like looking at the movie in cartoon form before you go and make it. So you got all of this information before you even enter into the process of production, and then within production, they have an incredible flexibility in terms of being available to good ideas that happen in the moment. And so it’s just that kind of combination, which really means that they’ve got total mastery of the process of directing. And then obviously there’s the whole post-production part, which we actors aren’t a part of, but that’s a whole other phase that they are obviously just at the very highest level. They are pretty great directors. But it’s all set up that way - they knew how they were going to edit the scene pretty much when they were writing it.

Q: Was it fun building that character?

A: He’s a great character and it was a lot of fun. I worked with Tommy Lee Jones in 1994 when he directed The Good Old Boys, which Fran (Frances McDormand) and I did with him and that’s when I first met Joel and Ethan. And Joel and Ethan subsequently worked with Tommy to incredible effect in No Country For Old Men and Tommy gave a remarkable performance in that. And actually, I had Tommy as a frame of reference (for True Grit) because he’s from West Texas. And he’s also somebody who is really fun to listen to, he knows a lot about a lot, and there’s something of the English teacher in him - you can ask him an obscure question and he enjoys knowing what he knows (laughs). And so we kind of riffed on that. It’s not exact but it’s a similar way of presentation. My character in True Grit is supposed to be a windbag – it’s like he comes over as a man who knows everything but actually doesn’t know very much at all! Not that Tommy’s like that, but Tommy is a great storyteller. And that was where we started to build the guy.

Q: And the lovely irony is that this guy – a windbag as you call him – gets his tongue badly bitten. How did you play those scenes?

A: Actually that idea isn’t in the novel – it’s pure Joel and Ethan. But you take the idea of this guy who won’t shut up to the extreme, where he actually severs his tongue and still keeps talking. And I figured out how to do it a few months before. I took one of my daughter’s hair bands and wrapped it around my tongue to kind of give myself that handicap and then tried to speak normally and it just worked really well. I had dinner in New York with Joel and Fran (McDormand) here in New York a few months before we started shooting and said ‘let me show you..’ And I pulled the hair band out, wrapped it around my tongue and he liked it and so we stuck with that.


Q: Would you say it’s a very faithful adaptation of the book?

A: Yes, I would. I’d say it is a very faithful adaptation of the book, and obviously there are some corners you need to cut to tell a story in two hours but I think this is a pretty faithful rendering of the book.

Q: Did you watch the original True Grit movie? What was your attitude to that film?

A: I actually still haven’t seen the other film, because when I had talked to Ethan and Joel about this one, they said ‘we are just going to the original source material, we are not seeing it as a remake, we’re seeing it as an adaptation of the Charles Portis novel…’ So they gave me the novel. And I went out and I did buy a copy of the movie, but I still haven’t cracked it yet and that has more to do with four young kids at home (laughs) and I haven’t a lot of time.

Q: Did you take your children on to the set for True Grit?

A: I took Gia on set and she was totally cool. She wasn’t quite two years old at the time and for her it was all about the horses. I wasn’t working so much that day – they were doing the scene where Rooster says ‘fill your hands, you son of a bitch…’ So I wasn’t needed for a few hours as Barry (Pepper, who plays Lucky Ned Pepper) and Jeff were doing their thing. Barry’s horse was called Topper and Gia was initially a little afraid – so she went from being scared to interested to fascinated and then suddenly, she was sitting on Topper’s back. And literally, for months afterwards every horse she saw was Topper. It was really cool.

Q: And now she wants one of her own…

A: (Laughs) Yes and I have to explain that living in New York it doesn’t quite work. It’s like ‘sorry, honey, we can’t quite fit Topper into the apartment…’


Q: Are you a fan of the western genre?

A: Yeah, very much so and in fact, it’s hard to find material that feels like it’s not just a retread of something. But this is a western that deserved to be made. I think Clint (Eastwood) did it to great effect 15 years ago but I read everything and I hadn’t come across a script that was this good, with directors of this calibre and a role like this. It was a very easy decision for me.

Q: Are you still hoping to make the Liberace biopic with Michael Douglas?

A: We are hoping to go this summer (2011) – that’s the plan. There are fewer movies being made than there were even three years ago because of the economic situation. I’m encountering something that I didn’t encounter four or five years ago which is I can’t get a lot of movies made just on my name. And I’ve talked to a lot of directors who say ‘we tried to get this or that off the ground, but it didn’t happen..’ But with Liberace we’re planning on doing it, Michael is planning on it – everything is going great with him, which is fantastic – it’s just that the money is not in the bank yet. But we’ll get it.

Q: Were there any surprises?

A: Well, there were scenes that were shot when I wasn’t there so they were really a lot of fun to see. I had seen the story boards that Joel and Ethan do to plan out the movie so I knew what was coming. I have to say, I was really moved at the end when Jeff is riding with Hailee on the horse – when he gets to that cabin and the last thing he says in the movie is, ‘I have grown old..’ when he collapses on the ground and he shoots his gun into the air. I love that line ‘time just gets away from us..’

Interview with Jeff Bridges for his new movie True Grit, out today! Read it right here:

Q: Hi Jeff, how are you?
A: Great thanks, I couldn’t be better.

Q: What made you want to do this film, True Grit?
A: It was the Coen brothers really (Joel and Ethan). They’re great writers, for one thing. The dialogue they write feels very real and appropriate for the story they are telling. I worked with them on The Big Lebowski (in 1998) and people often think there was a lot of improvisation on that movie, but all of those lines were scripted. They’re incredible.

Q: You play Marshal Reuben J ‘Rooster’ Cogburn who seems quite tough and hard. How easy or difficult was it to empathise with him?
A: Well, I’m not hard (laughs). I think being hard means being gruff, mean and that you don’t like too many people. That’s not me. I like people and I’m more light and airy. I’m not hard in any way. He’s a wonderful character and he’s fascinating. He’s kind of full of himself and stand offish when you first meet him. But it turns out, he loves talking about himself, he’s probably starved for company and he likes a drink.

Q: John Wayne won an Oscar for this part in the 1969 film. How much of a challenge was it to make this role your own?
A: The first bit of direction the Coen brothers gave me, because I was curious as to why they wanted to do a remake of this classic western, was ‘We’re not making a remake of the western. We’re referring to the book that Charles Portis wrote.’ I read the book and then I knew what they were talking about. It’s a wonderful book and it’s not something unlike the Coen brothers might make. I could instantly see them doing it. I didn’t refer to the John Wayne movie.

Q: Is that because you didn’t want him influencing your own version of Rooster?
A: Well, John Wayne is such an important figure in cinema, but I really took the Coen brothers’ direction to heart. I never thought ‘How did John Wayne do this?’ I didn’t mess with that at all. I just did it as if there had never been any other movie basically.

Q: What was the best thing for you personally about making True Grit?
A: One of the best things about doing this movie was that I invited my daughter Jessie to be my assistant on this movie so she was with me every step of the way. She plays guitar, sings and writes and we even put on a few concerts while I was doing this film. We did one concert in Sante Fe which was terrific.

Q: You also shot Crazy Heart in Sante Fe, right?
A: I did. Actually, I stayed in the very same house again while making True Grit. It was like coming home again for me.

Q: This film is based more on the book than the original film. How would you best describe the differences?
A: Well, the story is roughly the same. The approach to it, just the look of it, is trying to be as authentic as possible. This one feels like it’s representing that time a little more accurately though.

Q: Is a lot of the script directly from the book?
A: Yes, it is. I think in the original film, they used dialogue from the book too and no wonder because the dialogue from the book is just wonderful.

Q: You’ve worked with some incredible directors in your career. What makes the Coen brothers so special for you?
A: Each director is so unique, but I love working with the Coen brothers. They create an atmosphere on set which is very relaxed and pleasant. They surround themselves with people they have worked with many times before so there was a real family atmosphere on this set.

Q: Since working with the Coen brothers on The Big Lebowski, have you noticed a change in their style of directing?
A: Not really, no. Joel cut his ponytail, that’s about it (laughs).

Q: Matt Damon said ‘yes’ to this film before he even saw a script. Did you feel the same way?
A: Well, when I first heard about True Grit, I was in the middle of making Tron. It’s always disconcerting and kind of pisses me off when I get offered a movie while I’m making a movie, especially when it’s a movie that really sounds interesting. I knew as soon as I heard about it that I was going to like it. I’d been dying to work with the Coen brothers again for so long. Whenever they invite you to come play, you know it’s going to be so cool.

Q: I understand there was plenty of horse riding in this film, which you’d be quite comfortable with, I’d imagine.
A: Very. I have a ranch up in Montana and I love to ride up there. But riding the horse and doing the battle scenes was tough because I’m used to riding horses, but not with the reins in my teeth, holding two guns with a patch over one eye! I did the battle scene once on a mechanical horse and then Joel said to me ‘All right. Let’s do this for real.’

Q: How has your life changed since winning the Oscar for Best Actor?
A: It really hasn’t changed too much at all. I went straight back to work the day after I won on True Grit, so that was just as well.

Q: Where do you keep your Oscar?
A: My wife has collected all of my awards and she has put them on a shelf in between the kitchen and the dining room.

Q: Speaking of your wife, your marriage is remarkable for its longevity. You’ve been married for 33 years now.
A: You know, it was pretty much love at first sight. My prized possession is something I have in my pocket. I was making a movie up in Montana about 36 years ago. All during this scene I keep looking at this girl who is absolutely gorgeous. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. I finally get my courage up to ask her out for a date. She said no, but added ‘It’s a small town, maybe I’ll see you around.’ Well, that turned out to be true. We met and fell in love and that’s my wife. Now the end of that story, 15 years after that when we’d been married, I was at my desk opening mail and stuff and I get a letter from the make-up man in that show. It said ‘I was going through my things and I found a photo of you asking a local girl out. I thought you might want this photograph.’ I have two photographs – a close-up of her and a shot of the exact moment she said no when I first asked her out on a date. Whenever I doubt, is she the woman I should be with, I think about this moment and several other moments in our relationship and I think, there is no doubt. That’s my leading lady.

Q: Have you always been a fan of westerns?
A: Oh yeah. I remember my father (Lloyd Bridges) making westerns when I was a kid. I used to love it when he’d come home and he’d still have his costume on. I would put his hat on and his boots then call my friends and say ‘You have to come over. You should see what my Dad has here!’ I love westerns and always have.


Q: In your opinion, what makes a good western?
A: I like westerns that transport you back into those times, that feel very authentic. I’m not too big of a fan of ones that over-romanticise the genre. It was a fascinating time in our history.

Q: Do you have a favourite western you like to watch over and over again?
A: My father made a classic - High Noon. I also love She Wore A Yellow Ribbon and Red River, all those John Ford, Howard Hawks movies.

Q: When did you first read the book, True Grit?
A: I read it as soon as I found out about this film and its always exciting when you’re making a film based on a book because the book fills in all the gaps and answers any questions you might have.

Q: Can you talk about what it was like working with Matt Damon and Josh Brolin?
A: I hadn’t worked with either of them before, but I admired both of those guys. Matt and I had quite a few scenes together, but Josh and I didn’t, so I can only really talk of Matt. It was really great working with him and we hung out together when we weren’t working and really got to know each other. Matt has wonderful comic timing and he had great commitment to this role.

Q: For a film which deals with some serious issues, it also sounds like audiences will get a laugh out of this movie too.
A: Definitely. I think it’s good comedy, which comes out of the seriousness of the situation.

Q: With parents who were both actors, did you feel like you were born to be an actor or did you ever want to do anything else?
A: Growing up, I thought maybe I’d be a musician or get into art, painting and sculpting. I’ve been able to keep those alive. That’s one of the best things about acting for me, is that you get to use all of your extra curricular stuff. It all applies.

Q: What’s the most valuable piece of advice you’ve ever received and who gave it to you?
A: My father taught me all the basics of acting so that has always stuck with me. My mother was an actress - in fact she was probably the best actor of the group - but she kind of gave it up to be a professional mother. She was a wonderful mum. She gave me the best advice though. Every time I’d go off and work she’d always say ‘Now remember. Have fun!’ Then she’d also say, ‘And don’t take it too seriously.’ My wife now tells me the same thing and it’s a great reminder because you can forget sometimes.

Q: Do you think you’ll like to retire one day?
A: I think about it every once in a while. I think it would be good to retire every couple of years and then go back to work. That would suit me fine. Like my Mum tried to instill in me, I’ll keep doing this as long as I’m having fun and I’m certainly still doing that.

By Donna Walker-Mitchell