Matt Damon who plays lt James Granger in The Monument Men says he had no idea that such men existed in history but he did have a lot of fun during shooting for this film. He reveals that it was a treat to work with the talented George Clooney and a host of co-stars whom he admires. But the best part for Damon was the story which was unique and entertaining. Excerpts from the interview
Were you aware of the original monuments men story and their wartime activitiesIJ
No, I actually didn’t know anything about it. I’m surprised that such a great story had eluded me in every history class I had ever taken about World War II. Nobody had mentioned about the stolen artwork that the allies were able to get back. And the idea of these men who were a little past their prime soldiering years dropping everything and going through basic training and going to the front, risking their lives to save artwork was an incredibly compelling story. So, I was shocked to find out that it was true and that I hadn’t even heard of it before.
It does feel like a story made for a movieIJ
It really does. I’m surprised that there hadn’t been scripts kicking around about this for years.
Actors and directors disagree sometime, even if they’re friends. If you did disagree on a scene or a take, how did that play outIJ
Well, we really didn’t have any of those moments. George Clooney lived with this for so long. He had written the script and was directing the film, so he knew exactly what he wanted out of his stars. Clooney had a very specific point of view about how each scene is going to be shot and how the story will unfold. You don’t argue with somebody like that. You just try to give them as many little variations that you can, to give them a little more stuff in the editing room. But the reality is he knew what he wanted and he’s very good about communicating that. So it just made all of our jobs easy.
Would you say The Monuments Men was similar to other ensemble films that you’ve been in, like the Ocean’s seriesIJ
Yes it is very similar to the Ocean’s series. Partly, hopefully, in tone. The Monuments Men should be fun and entertaining, the way those movies were. I think in terms of process, it was extremely similar as well — the actors had a blast. But these movies are always the hardest for the director and the producer. They were very focused and had a lot on their plate.
You knew some of the cast already but how did you find the actors you hadn’t worked with beforeIJ
I hadn’t worked with Bill Murray before and that was a lot of fun. Bob Balaban, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin… it was an absolute treat to work with these stars. They’re all actors whom I admire and look up to. So it was nice to share scenes with those stalwarts.
Clooney is notorious for on-set pranks. Were you the victim of any on this filmIJ
In an interview, George did say that he was reducing the size of my suits by a 16th of an inch every few days. But I had assumed that the suit was getting a little tight and I had attributed this to my poor eating habits. But now it makes a lot of sense when I heard that interview. Honestly though, Clooney was very busy on the sets. He would always have a big dinner on Saturday night with the cast and the crew which was like a two- or three-hour thing and the only free time that he really allowed himself. He and Grant had their heads down on this one.