Rosie O'Donnell
Tuesday, July 21st
Rosie: Our next guest has had quite a year, he won an Academy Award for writing Good Will Hunting, I loved that movie. and nominated for a Best actor in that same movie. This July he can be seen opposite tom Hanks and Ed Burns in Saving Private Ryan. Please welcome back to the show, cutie-patootie Matt Damon! (cheers) Well hi Matt!
Hi.
How are you?
Good.
Good to see you.
Good to be seen.
Congratulations on your Academy Award! Okay, shut up ladies! (cheers)
We're doing an interview here.
(Matt says something to Edward Burns) I was so happy for you.
What's the matter?
Oh nothing.
What?
Eddie makes fun of me.
He'll get a little egged after the show.
Why? Because the girls scream? It's not his fault. It's not like he came out and said, "Ladies scream" then you could give him crap. But it's not really his fault.
But congratulations!
Thanks.
I was so proud of you. It was an overwhelming moment.
Yeah, it was beyond overwhelming. It was beyond anything we'd ever hoped for. We were just hoping to get the movie made.
Right.
You were a big help you know. You told people to go see it.
Well, I thought it was great. I really did.
Thanks.
When you were there did you expect to win?
No, we didn't plan what to say or anything, because we figured if we planned what to say and didn't win we'd probably never get up there again, you know. We'd be old, like 80 and just kinda know that we had planned something.
Yeah.
We'd never really say that we had planned something, we'd never admit it, but he and I would know and it would be like this life long barriar between us.
Right,
So when we won, I just pushed him up to the thing because I didn't have anything to say, I didn't know what to say.
Right. It was very cute though. Are you writing another movie?
Eventually but we did it to get work as actors.
We were pretty much penniless and hoping for work so now we have work and so now it's kind of taken us apart. He's all over the place doing movies.
Your mom, when you were here last, you told us she was a little weary of you getting into showbiz. Is she a little bit converted now?
Well, yeah, I mean she's still got the same concerns about the kind of man I grow into and hopefully not being too coddled or spoiled.
I'm sure the Oscar makes it a little easier to take.
Yeah, when she gives me too much lip I just sort of pull it out!
You play Private Ryan in the film?
Yeah.
Did not have to go to boot camp?
No. Actually these guys were face down in the mud with Dale Dye saying "Come on maggots, move!" LIke two months later I show up, "hey how's the war going?" (laughter)
Rosie: How did you get out of it?
Matt: It was a good idea for me not to go, because in the film these guys really kind of resent Private Ryan at first, this one man that they all have to risk their lives for. Eight of them have to risk their lives, and they had to have this really strong bond, in order to make it work they needed to resent me a little, and they definitely resented me when I didn't go to boot camp.
Rosie:Was the first time you met Steven Spielberg at the audition?
Matt: Actually the first time, Robin Williams introduced me to Steven. We were in Boston rehearsing for Good Will Hunting and Steven came up for one day shooting Amistad and Robin took me over to meet Steven and so it was this kind of fortuitous introduction that kind of led to this role so I owe yet something else to Robin. Beyond my first one.
Rosie: (laughs) All of your children named Robin.
Matt: That's right, the boys and the girls.
Rosie: It's a wonderful movie and you're great in it. Now we're going to take a break and come back to talk to them all.
Rosie: Back with Tom Hanks, Ed Burns, and Matt Damon who all star in Saving Private Ryan. You guys shot over in Ireland? (loud cheers)
All: All right Ireland!
Rosie: All right, give them a pint of Guiness.
The D-Day stuff was shot in Ireland but the part I was in was shot in England.
Rosie: Oh really? Did you have a good time?
Tom: Everyday was out doors, every day was out in the fields, it was beautiful.
Rosie: You stayed in like a big castle house thing?
Tom; Well I did.
Ed: Tom stayed in a castle, we were in a flat.
Tom: They were all running around, the great London nightlife after work. I was not.
Rosie: Being the family man and all. Do you still get recognized over there (gesturing to Matt and Ed) I'm sure that you do (gesturing towards Tom.)
Tom: (to Ed) Oh he's like the crown prince of Ireland. (Irish accent) He's Eddie Burns. The Brothers McMullen.
Ed: Ireland was good, but England was kind of nice and anonymous. We got to to get a little crazy, we didn't get into any trouble so...
Matt: No, and it was a time for me when nobody had any idea who I was. I was begging these guys for a jobs. They're both directors.
Ed: Now he doesn't take our calls.
Tom: Matt was talking about this little movie he'd made about a kid in Boston, and we were like, "Yeah that sounds really good, anyway..."
Rosie: I saw a paper, it said you were in Vegas playing poker for a new movie? Like at some tournament or something?
Matt: Yeah, yeah they let me into this tournament for real card players. I went in and they bought my way in for me, and I lost to the two time world champion.
Rosie: You made it all the way to the end round?
I didn't even make it close to the end round, it was pretty early, he just got seated at my table.
Rosie: (laughs) Oh I thought it was you and him going (sneers)
Matt: No, nothing that dramatic. He made quick work of me.
And that film is called Rounders?
Yeah Rounders, that's coming out in September. But we're here to talk about Saving Private Ryan.
Yeah there we go. Give me a good Steven Spielberg story. Anything? You notice his clothing, a little wierd?
(laughs) No, I'm not as into fashion as Tom. Clearly, Eddie gaslit me. I called him to ask him what he was going to wear for the show and he said, "Whatever you do don't wear a jacket, we're not wearing jackets." So...he's trying to make me look bad. (Tom and Ed are both wearing suits, Matt is in a black V neck sweater.)
Ed: You gotta take care of your buddies.
Rosie: Well I think it's a wonderful movie. Were you familiar with the story before you read the script? The Sullivan case?
Yeah it's a pretty well known case and I was pretty familiar with it and there are a few other cases similiar to it. But this one is fictitious, it's sort of using the others as a starting point. It's something that does happen constantly, families lose more than one son, or daughter.
Rosie: The food you had to eat, did they make you do the rations while you were there filming? Probably these guys.
Not you again.
Yeah, three steaks, two lobsters. I was having a great time.
Look, they sent us the food that you guys had to eat.
(laughter) You know what's in this? M&Ms. The only good thing about this was in fact the M&MS. But during the shooting of those scenes did they make you do-
Ed: Just during boot camp.
Tom: Yeah we had the British Army meals, which is different from the Americans. A lot of salt, a lot of sodium, and a lot of bad horrible horrible food.
Tom: We eventually would just cook the rice, everyone was fighting over the rice. You put everything in the rice, you put in the curried chicken, you put in the vegetables-
Ed: Now, he was the master chef of boot camp. He was sitting around the fire with a little pan-
Tom: Watch and learn, watch and learn.
Ed: We knew, follow this man.
Tom: Had some tabasco sauce and everyone was coming to me for a little taste. (laughter)
Tom: Swing by the captain's tent, he might help you out.
Rosie: Are you going to be directing again soon Tom? Did you enjoy That Thing you Do?
Tom: Yeah yeah, I hope so. But I like working like these guys for as long as I can. Much easier to just act.
Uh yeah, you just sleep better, and people bring you sandwiches more.
I want to thank all three of you for being here and it really is a movie that all of you should see and so much a part of our country's history. Saving Private Ryan comes out this Friday.
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