Matt Damon: Bill Kristol "An Idiot," Bond A "Misogynist Sociopath"

Matt Damon gave an interview to his local Miami Herald speaking out against, among other things, Bill Kristol, torture and James Bond. Damon has done his research, having played Jason Bourne in the "Bourne" trilogy and starring in two CIA movies, "The Good Shepherd" and "Syriana."

On Kristol and torture:

"The small talk -- if that's the right phrase -- ranged from which New York Times columnist is the worst (conservative William Kristol, according to Damon: ''He's an idiot -- he wrote that we should be grateful to George Bush because he won the Iraq war. We! Won! The! War!'') to the proper place of torture in American foreign policy.

''Look, the best line about torture I've heard came from [retired CIA officer turned war-on-terrorism critic] Milt Beardon,'' Damon says. ``He said, `If a guy knows where a dirty bomb is hidden that's going to go off in a Marriott, put me in a room with him and I'll find out. But don't codify that. Just let me break the law.'

He also said what he thinks of James Bond:

''They could never make a James Bond movie like any of the Bourne films,'' Damon says scornfully. "Because Bond is an imperialist, misogynist sociopath who goes around bedding women and swilling martinis and killing people. He's repulsive."

And he explained why he missed Obama's inauguration after campaigning on his behalf:

''Luciana and I decided we wanted to go,'' he admits. 'But when I called my contacts from the campaign, they just started laughing: `We worked on the campaign for 2 ½ years, and we're not going. Forget it.' But then they called me back the next day and said, 'Hey, we've got two tickets for you, in the bleachers, and you'll actually be able to see Obama take the oath. Just $25,000 apiece.' So I'm going to watch. From my couch.''

Not only did Damon campaign and fundraise for Obama, he was one of the most outspoken celebrities against Sarah Palin, calling her "like a really bad Disney movie" and "a really terrifying possibility."

Read the whole interview

Comments

[OhComeOnNow]

Right on both counts - excellent observations!

[Right-turn]

On Sunday afternoon Weekly Standard editor and New York Times columnist Bill Kristol — in an email exchange with Big Hollywood — agreed to debate Matt Damon on his Hollywood home turf after being informed the 38-year old actor ridiculed Kristol in an interview in the Miami Herald.

As the sponsor of the event, Big Hollywood is offering $100,000 to Damon (or to the charity or carbon credit of his choice) to publicly debate Kristol at a mutually agreed upon time, date and venue.

We will see who is the idiot. That is if Damon shows up.......

[Lemmy]

Damon wouldn't dare . . .candy-a$$

[Tommygun264]

I've never been much of a fan of Matt Damon as an actor. However, I am beginning to really like him as a person and will probably drop some coin on his next movie as my own little way of showing support. In my opinion he may not be much of an actor, but Mr. Damon certainly seems to have a good head on his shoulders when it comes to real life issues and politics.

[gisellestwocents]

There were a lot of expenses involved in trying to open this inauguration up to the public a bit more and so additional fundraising efforts were required.

[lefthem]

There is no real prerequisite for having a political opinion. Actors can have them, same as most people on this board who would aspire to be actors. Now, Bill Kristol may not be an idiot per se, but his analysis is weak. For example, in his last NY times column he implicitly associated pro-American w/ conservatism (i.e. progressives/democrats are not pro-American). It's juvenile stuff suited for talk radio, but certainly not for anyone who cares to actually think for themselves.

[mudshark12]

Smooth move Matt! Your view of the inauguration from the couch was no doubt better than if you had paid $50k to freeze in those bleachers. A wise decision on your part.

[aweissnet]

I like Matt Damon. Good actor, plays good roles. I'm usually entertained watching those movies, which is more than I can say for lots of others coming out lately.

And he's obviously not just an overpaid actor. He helped play a part in getting Obama in office. He passed up $25,000 seats. He's a good guy.

[strangerinthenight]

I love Matt Damon as an Actor, specially Good Will Hunting and the Bourne series. I trash his views on James Bond, most specially when it comes to Daniel Craigs' Bond. I don't see Bond's hatred to women or to human in general.

That being Kristol is an "idiot". I firmly second that.

If the goal is to be perceive as an "intelligencia" - Damon failed miserably. Best that he shut his jowl.

[Yovovi]

I love Matt Damon. From this interview it is clear that he wrote the screenplay for Goodwill Hunting with the CIA /NSA references even then...

I agree with his Bond statements, especially imperilaism.

I was pretty sure the celebrities paid big bucks for their seats -- too bad more middle class or poor didn't have seats there.

[Tyrione]

Bond stopped bein imperialistic half-way through the Pierce years.

[anitaj]

I KNEW I liked that boy.

[GetReal1111]

Matt Damon has NO room calling anyone an Idiot - everytime he attempts to speak without a script he proves who is uneducated on the subject at hand. They probably did laugh at him when he called about attending due to what he must have said on the phone. The only reason he even receives this much press is because he is an excellent actor. I mean does he not realize that James Bond and Jason Bourne are NOT REAL!!!! He can't even make good comparisions - Ones that make sense - If he thinks Sarah Palin is bad then compares her to Disney??? I mean who puts Disney Down!!!! If you dislike someone find something better to compare them to than a things that our children all adore Mikey & Donald - Disney !

What a TRUE GOBER! Stick to what you know best - Reading what someone else says and if you must talk politics use your MONEY HIRE a POLITICAL SCIENTIST so YOU SOUND SMART!

[outsourced]

Say what you wish about Damon,but both he and Kristol went to Harvard.

[strangerinthenight]

And so was GWB - scary that Harvard graduate a C - student. Both Kristol and GWB were legacy admissions.

[superduperandy]

Well spoken. Better yet, hire you. :-/

[Usama]

Get Real, you stuck your foot in your mouth.

Matt Damon won an Oscar academy award for screenwriting the script Good Will Hunting with Ben Affleck in which he also starred.
If there's an actor who can read and write, it's him. Very few others have done this.

[PWM]

Calling idiots idiots is justified.

[rajunk007]

wow, what makes matt damon important enough for us to give a damn about what he says?

[superduperandy]

Matt Damon's just an actor, who cares what he says.
(switch)
Billy Kristol, on the other hand, he's such a great actor - we should all agree with him!

Can anyone guess at all what my political posture might be?
(switch)
I'm just being objective! Wow, this new double-think device works wonders! I'm ALWAYS right, and consistancy always justs gets in the way anyway.
(switch)
I don't care about Matt Damon at all, he doesn't matter.
(switch)
I MUST leave a personal remark defaming Damon because he disagrees with me and I can't stand it!

[RoveRoveRoveYourBoat]

...douchbag sez WHAT !

[PWM]

I like Billy but he is no actor.

[Gasparilla]

Good thing Jason Bourne never killed anyone in any of those movies.

[dlo2]

Matt is a thinking man's actor and I applaud him. He's a gifted actor with a moral soul.

[funkulous]

Are we really debating the merits of a Matt Damon quote? He's a fine actor, but come on...

[superduperandy]

I like Damon, he's very cool. But yeah - I totally agree. Still, he believes in what he's saying, he feels it's important (and it is), and fame is what an actor has - so why not use what ya got to do what you feel is important - and that is speaking out.

While anyone's fame or acting ability doesn't sway my political opinions - if it's important to you and you feel that your message is right, what's wrong using what you got?

And given that most people who are reading our comments probably also read the acticle - think about it - we're hardly the ones to write off celebrity opinions entirely and niether is the audience.

[funkulous]

Agreed. Celebrities have both the right and the platform to speak out. And by all means, speak away. It just seems a little absurd that so much time is spent dissecting their opinions. Sign of the times, I guess.

[pfc1369]

Do you really think the likes of Kristol, Chris Wallace, Bernie Goldberg, and on and on have any more credibility than Damon?

[funkulous]

Ahhh, it's the art of getting someone to agree or disagree with a claim he or she has not made. Sorry, but I don't play the "us" vs "them" game. My ideas and opinions are shaped by a wide variety of sources and experiences. I will say, though, that FOX News, like most mainstream media, is about as useful as the personal views of celebrities when it comes to where I get my information from. So, to answer your question, no one on your list, including Damon, are part of my news routine.

[jpshotwheels]

I gotta give it to Matt, I loved him in "The Good Shepard" excellent movie and if no one here has seen it watch it, watch it twice, watch it three times. It makes the Bourne movies look terrible.

He's a great guy.