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Matt Damon and Ben Affleck co-writing first screenplay since 'Good Will Hunting'
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Matt Damon and Ben Affleck co-writing first screenplay since ‘Good Will Hunting’

In the years since 'Good Will Hunting' the two of them had never again gotten together to write a screenplay - until now

In 1997, a pair of old friends from Boston and relatively little-known actors named Matt Damon and Ben Affleck starred together in a movie the two of them wrote, Good Will Hunting. The film was nominated for several Oscars, and won the two of them an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

Good Will Hunting launched Damon and Affleck to stardom that continued for the ensuing two decades – although it’s been more durable for Damon than for Affleck. However, in the years since, the two of them had never again gotten together to write a screenplay.

That’s about to change, according to a report by Deadline this week.

Damon and Affleck, along with Nicole Holofcener, are working on a screenplay called The Last Duel, with Ridley Scott set to direct, with the Boston duo starring as well.

Based on a novel by Eric Jager, the screenplay is set in the 14th century. The two actors will play the Norman knight Jean de Carrouges and the squire Jacques Le Gris.

Per a plot described by Deadline, “One goes to war and returns to accuse Le Gris of raping his wife Margerite de Carrouges. No one will believe the woman, and the soldier appeals to the king of France to undo a decision handed down by Count Pierre d’Anencon, which favored Le Gris. The decision handed down is that the two men fight a duel to the death. The one left alive would be declared the winner as a sign of God’s will. And if Jean de Carrouges loses, his wife will be burned at the stake for punishment for her false accusation.”

The script is at Disney, as a result of its acquisition of Fox, although for obvious reasons, it represents an awkward fit with the Disney sensibility.

The project appears to have buzz, although there was some grumbling on Film Twitter about the premise.

Wow. A story about how a woman being raped ruined two guys’ friendship and made them duel,” one tweeter said. “Sounds great. Real finger on the pulse there, guys.”

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