THREE QUESTIONS WITH BEN AFFLECK AND MATT DAMON

'Matt & Ben' stages the ultimate pop culture 'what if'

So who really wrote 'Good Will Hunting'

By Jeanne Claire van Ryzin
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, March 27, 2008

It's the ultimate pop culture "what if" situation. What if one afternoon in a sloppy Boston student apartment, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon — before they were famous, before they won an Academy Award, before they dated the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Lopez and starred in thrillers such as "The Bourne Ultimatum" — suddenly had the fully written screenplay to "Good Will Hunting" just drop from the sky with their names on it? Should they take credit for it?

In 2003 writer/performers Mindy Kaling (now featured in "The Office") and Brenda Withers penned and starred in "Matt & Ben," a hilarious and more than a little spiteful send-up of Hollywood and the ultimate pretty-boys-done-good, Affleck and Damon. "Matt & Ben" was an Off Broadway hit. Now, Austin's Arts on Real launches its own production with actresses Kelley Estes and Breanna Stogner portraying Damon and Affleck, respectively. And that gave us an unusual method to interview the Hollywood stars.

XL: If an Oscar-worthy script drops out of the sky and no one is there to give it proper attribution, who should take credit for writing it and why?

Matt Damon (Kelley Estes):Throw it away. You don't want to mess with mystery scripts, especially if you've done nothing to deserve them. Success is not something I've wrapped my brain around. If people go to those movies, then yes, that's true, big-time success. If not, it's much ado about nothing.

Ben Affleck (Breanna Stogner):Well, that depends (on) if it were an awesome script with meteors, superheroes and hot Latin women — and my name on it, obviously. If it is something lame like "The Piano" or "The Crying Game," then screw that.

Matt, what's the thing you like least about Ben and why?

Damon:He gets pretty (dumb) at inopportune moments. Don't leave him alone with a hot girl you like. I'm just saying.

Ben, what's the most embarrassing thing you know about Matt and why?

Affleck:One time, I caught Matt eating chunky peanut butter, butt naked on the floor watching old "Saved By the Bell" re-runs. He says he was hot and hungry — I say he had a thing for Tiffani-Amber Thiessen. But who didn't, right?

'Matt & Ben' previews at 8 tonight and Friday. Shows continue 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays through May 10. $25-$35. 472-2787, www.artsonreal.com.