Matt Damon Has Quietly Been Working On His Own ‘Jason Bourne 5’ For Years [The Backstory]

Deadline’s Contenders Film: International award-season event launches Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. PT, the latest in our series of showcases that this time turns the focus toward global cinema via discussions with the casts and creatives of 12 movies submitted by their countries for the 2024 Academy Awards’ International Feature race.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Apple Studios has emerged victorious in a bidding war for “Two For The Money,” a hot package that has attached Oscar-winner Charlize Theron and ex-007 Daniel Craig. Justin Lin, who oversaw several “Fast & Furious” films, is set to direct and produce.

Christopher Nolan‘s Oppenheimer is set to be released in Japanese cinemas, despite public criticism surrounding the senstive subject matter of the film.The Cillian Murphy-led biopic is controversial in Japan, where two atomic bombs were detonated in 1945, killing hundreds of thousands of Japanese citizens.The film was released in most territories in July by Universal and went on to gross $950 at the global box office. But Toho-Towa, which handles most Universal titles in Japan, did not release the film.However, Variety reports that indie film distributor Bitters End will now give the movie a theatrical release in the country.“Bitters End will release Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ in Japan in 2024.

Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer has been confirmed for a theatrical release in Japan. Although it did not specify an exact date, local distributor Bitters End said today that the biographical epic will be in Japanese cinemas in 2024. The decision was made “following months of thoughtful dialogue associated with the subject matter and acknowledging the particular sensitivity for us Japanese,” Bitters End said in a statement (read it in full below.)

in a legal battle, a resurfaced 2022 Men’s Journal interview with Hauser saw the actor recalling his early days in Hollywood, when he worked with and befriended other up-and-comers, including Ben Affleck and Matt Damon (Hauser appeared in “Good Will Hunting”). Taylor Sheridan was also in their circle. According to Men’s Journal, they got into a fight the second time they met.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Something Special, the Seoul-based international format agency founded by format specialists Jin Woo Hwang (president and executive producer) and Kim In Soon (EVP & head of content) announce that ITV Studios has optioned the hit Korean celebrity format “Battle in the Box” for France, Australia, New Zealand, and Israel. The deal was unveiled on Wednewday, the first full day of the Asia Television Forum and Market (ATF) in Singapore. “Battle in the Box,” created by Korea’s NMedia and represented globally by Something Special, has previously seen deals announced with Fremantle for Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal.

Harrison Ford surprised SAG-AFTRA members during a nomination committee Q&A this afternoon when he showed up to talk about his role on Apple TV+’s “Shrinking.” Ford was keen to lavish praise on the cast of the comedy-drama television series, describing working with his co-stars as a uniquely different experience that rejuvenated his perspective on acting. “There are people who improvise as though it was an exercise in egos. That never happens with this bunch.

If there was ever a Hollywood BFF duo that people could confuse for brothers, it’s Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor One of Hollywood’s beloved couples comprises “Oppenheimer” star Emily Blunt and John Krasinski, known for his breakthrough role on the hit NBC comedy series “The Office.” Interestingly, fans of the classic mockumentary often want to see Krasinski alongside his former on-screen partner (Jenna Fischer’s Pam Beesly) rather than Blunt on the red carpet. “Whenever I walk beside him, people still shout out, ‘I wish you were with Pam,’” Blunt shared during an episode of the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast.

20,000 Species Of Bees, the debut film by Basque filmmaker Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren, and Society Of The Snow, J. A. Bayona’s survival drama for Netflix, have dominated the nominations at this year’s Goya Film Awards.

Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series spotlighting the year’s most talked-about scripts continues with first-timer Alex Convery’s screenplay for the Ben Affleck-directed Air. 

John Mulaney resonates with the late Matthew Perry’s story.

EXCLUSIVE: Paul Greengrass has been set by Warner Bros to adapt, direct and produce Drowning: The Rescue of Flight 421. The T.J. Newman bestselling novel was the subject of a fevered bidding battle, with Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group co-heads Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy landing the novel for $1.5 million against $3 million. There were four other seven-figure bids on the table. The project reunites De Luca and Greengrass, who worked together on Captain Phillips.

Focus Features‘ second movie with filmmaker Robert Eggers, Nosferatu, will be hitting cinemas on Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024.

Jeff Shell, whose tenure running NBCUniversal came to an abrupt end last spring, is in advanced talks to join private equity firm RedBird Capital Partners.

Elsa Pataky is taking advantage of the time she’s spent in Spain. The actress that now lives in Australia spent time with some of her oldest friends in the business, her costars from the teen series “Al Salir de Clase,” which was released in the late ‘90s and launched the careers of various young actors. Elsa Pataky, Chris Hemsworth, and their kids go dirtbike racingElsa Pataky goes trick-or-treating with a simple but terrifying Halloween costumeThe photos were shared by her co-star and friend, Aurora Carbonell, showing the group of friends reunited and having some fun together.

As producers across the globe continue to feel the effects of inflation on their budgets, a growing number of European countries have been seeking to alleviate some of that budget squeeze as they battle it out to entice foreign projects to shoot on their home turf. One front runner in this race is Serbia, which has been quietly establishing itself as a trusted and attractive destination for global producers. 

Deadline, All Quiet At The Western Front director Edward Berger is in talks to helm the project, which would be the sixth film in the series. The last was 2016’s Jason Bourne, which saw Matt Damon reprise the role after almost ten years.The currently-untitled film is said to be in early development at Universal, with no script.

The gods of I.P. demand that a good franchise cannot die.

Angelique Jackson Universal is in early development on a new movie about super spy Jason Bourne, with “All Quiet on the Western Front” filmmaker Edward Berger in talks to direct. The new movie would be the latest installment in the blockbuster franchise, which has tallied five films (four of which starred Matt Damon) and more than $800 million at the box office. Sources familiar with the project have stressed that it’s still in early development, so any grand return to the world of Jason Borne may be far into the future.