The 1997 film awards season was shaping as much as be surprisingly aggressive within the early fall of that 12 months. “L.A. Confidential,” “Boogie Nights,” and “The Candy After” had been making severe noise, whereas summer time sleepers “The Full Monty” and “Ulee’s Gold” appeared more likely to keep within the image as everybody awaited the arrival of presumed heavy hitters like Steven Spielberg’s “Amistad,” James L. Brooks’ “As Good as It Will get,” and Quentin Tarantino’s “Jackie Brown.” However when James Cameron’s “Titanic,” a wildly costly coin flip from a director greatest recognized for popcorn flicks, started screening for critics and guilds in early November, every little thing clicked into place. The boat film was an Oscar lock for Greatest Image and Director, “As Good as It Will get” had Greatest Actor and Actress sewn up, and everybody else was taking part in for the respect to be nominated.
The one nobody noticed coming, no less than not as a nominee in almost the entire main classes, was “Good Will Searching.” A personality examine a couple of Boston “Southie” who displays a genius-level grasp of arithmetic and a propensity for self-destructiveness, written by a few hunky up-and-coming actors, didn’t sound like an awards contender. It additionally felt like an odd match for director Gus Van Sant, who was greatest recognized for edgy indie flicks like “Drugstore Cowboy” and “My Personal Non-public Idaho.”
Even when “Good Will Searching” caught on, its greatest shot at an Oscar appeared to be by way of Robin Williams’ supporting flip because the psychiatrist who saves Matt Damon’s title character from himself. That Damon and Ben Affleck may beat out former winners Brooks and Woody Allen for Unique Screenplay appeared an absurd lengthy shot. However the script charmed Oscar voters, which it most likely would not have performed had Rob Reiner not suggested a rewrite a number of years prior.
Good Will Beverly Hills Cop?
In a 2013 oral historical past of “Good Will Searching” for Boston Journal, Ben Affleck mentioned how the script they offered to Reiner’s Fort Rock Leisure was dramatically completely different from the movie they in the end made. In line with Affleck:
“We got here up with this concept of the sensible child and his townie pals, the place he was particular and the federal government needed to get their mitts on him. And it had a really ‘Beverly Hills Cop,’ ‘Midnight Run’ sensibility, the place the children from Boston had been giving the NSA the slip on a regular basis. We might improvise and drink like six or twelve beers or no matter and report it with a tape recorder.”
What appeared like enjoyable over a few six packs was not reducing it for Reiner. Although he noticed monumental potential on the web page, the story desperately wanted to be streamlined. In the event that they needed to make this film at Fort Rock (which exists to this present day due to Reiner’s savvy storytelling instincts), they’d to determine in the event that they needed to make an action-comedy or a extra intimate drama a couple of boy and his therapist.
Affleck and Damon needed to choose a movie, they usually selected correctly
In line with producer Chris Moore, Reiner gave Affleck and Damon an ultimatum:
“[Reiner said] ‘Look, you might have two films on this script, and the films are combating one another. There’s the thriller side of the children from Southie thwarting the massive authorities company, after which there’s this actually superior character story about this math genius and his relationship with this shrink. And we do not suppose these two can reside collectively.’ And to their credit score, Fort Rock stated, ‘You guys wrote a terrific script and also you’re the celebs of the film, so we’re placing it to you. You have to choose one.'”
The boys lastly selected the maths genius and the shrink, however the film wasn’t going to occur at Fort Rock. After studio execs tried to drive most established names like Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio on the duo, they managed (with the help of Affleck’s pal Kevin Smith) to get the script offered to Miramax. And the remaining is Hollywood historical past!
As for that action-comedy model of “Good Will Searching,” we did get to see a glimpse of one thing akin to that due to Mr. Smith. And so far as I am involved, I would be very happy to get the gang again collectively for “Good Will Searching II: Searching Season.”
