Is it just me who sees the parallel drawn between this movie and "Good Will Hunting", when Matt appears in the end of the movie?
Pretty much the same plot... Gifted young man acquires the assistance of an elder who isn't as gifted, but still contains something that the youngster needs to succeed.
Was the director being a bit self-ironic by using Matt or am I just over-analysing?
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Damon is a good friend of Van Sant (and has appeared in many of his films) and Van Sant probably asked him to appear as a favor
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Damon is a good friend of Van Sant (and has appeared in many of his films) and Van Sant probably asked him to appear as a favor
Damon is a good friend of Van Sant (and has appeared in many of his films) and Van Sant probably asked him to appear as a favor
matt damon is well known for cameos. further reading http://www.ifc.com/news/2009/01/the-curious-cameography-of-mat.php
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i acctaully thought the same thing haha with matt damon in that scene good will hunting came to mind.
shareI caught this movie on TV one night and really enjoyed it, especially the Forrester character´s tips on writing (as has been mentioned several places on this forum).
I was surprised to see Matt Damon too, but when I saw that Gus van Sant was the director it made sense, seeing how they did "Good Will Hunting" together.
I agree about the some of the parallels between this movie and Good Will Hunting, but I´m not sure if that was why Damon took the role. I´d rather think it´s cos of Van Sant.
What's more surprising? Seeing Matt Damon in this or seeing him in Eurotrip?
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LOL, both! I preferred his cameo in Finding Forrester though. Everytime I see it, I see him as Will Hunting. Cool part of the film.
"I am the ultimate badass, you do not wanna `*beep*` wit me!"- Hudson in Aliens.
Reviving a dead post - But also probably a little bit of a nod to Matt and Ben when they were accused of not writing Good Will Hunting.
shareI think that Matt Dammon's cameo on this movie almost ruined it. Merely his presence is just distracting from the plot, and it's not good for the suspension of disbelief. Even if it's for two minutes or so.
shareI think the Lawyer at the end should've introduced himself as Will Hunting. That would've been cool.
"Time to die! Like a man!" Venom Spider-Man Web of Shadows
Forrester wasn't as gifted? I strongly disagree there. Yes, not in basketball, but he was a master writer.
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Dziga Vertov:
I am the machine that reveals the world to you, as only I alone am able to see it
I see the parallel the OP brings up, but I don't agree with the characterization of Forrester as "an elder who isn't as gifted". There is nothing in the film to indicate Jamal is William's superior in writing talent, only that Forrester recognizes him as a brilliant writer who may develop into his equal. Or have I missed something in the film?
share(Edited 10/24/2014: apology to MadNotAngry and anyone else, that when I first wrote it I didn't realise I'd included spoilers)
I don't think you've missed anything but there are indications that Jamal's writing, at 16, is incredibly good and may well be equal to Forrester's.
Crawford finds Jamal's first assignments too good and wonders if he's plagiarising (which means the work is at least at a level good enough to be publishable).
When Forrester reads Jamal's essay to the writing symposium, everyone is blown away, and certainly long-time rival Crawford assumes it is Forrester's writing, so the quality in Jamal's work is clearly close if not equal to Forrester's. There would have to be elements of style and so on that suggest Forrester's published work (which includes magazine articles as well as the famous novel), but one would expect a student to be influenced in style by his teacher at least initially until he finds his own unique 'voice', but it seems to me it is also the ideas that mesmerise the audience, not just the quality of the wordsmithing.
But [am I allowed to start a sentence with a conjunction? see Fowler's English Useage for detailed reasons on why this isn't, and never was, prohibited in English] I did spend most of the film thinking, "this guy is supposed to be at least as good as Forrester, and maybe better, once he gets his technique sorted."
When Forrester reads Jamal's essay to the writing symposium, everyone is blown away, and certainly long-time rival Crawford assumes it is Forrester's writing