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

[jchri66]

I agree with pepperdude. Bill Kristol is not stupid, he does what he does very carefully and knows exactly what he is doing. His father Irving Kristol is the founder of the Neo-Cons and a was part of a Marxist sect prior to formulating the Neo-Con way of thinking. I think that explains a lot about the last 8 years. Look it up.

[Tyrione]

True. Neo-cons the inverse equivalent to Marxists. Both are bankrupt of reality.

[piquet]

But Beyonce got a front row audience...and you people called me a hater for having the audacity to wonder why she was even there after doing NOTHING for the campaign...forgive me if I didn't feel "inspired" by the parade of fools.
Thank you Matt Damen for exposing the the stupidity of it all and being one of the few to call out the "idiocy of Palin"

[jchri66]

Not, to defend the whole Beyonce thing but she did perform at the Ball afterward so maybe that's why she was there. I sat through 16 hours of poll working and also got a front row seat at the couch but then again I didn't ask for tickets nor did I do it for anything in return but the hope of a better future for my children.

[Pulemerci]

Matt, just memorize those lines and keep working out.

[hopenforchange]

What a wimp. He was offered $100,000 to debate the "idiot" but he ain't man enough to show his ignorance.

[mommasigma]

You got to love Matt Damon. A lot of us worked for the campaign and we watched from our couch too!

[rshrink]

There are some people that actually deserve our scorn. In my biased opinion, repubs generally show scorn towards good people, like John Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Barack Obama. Even if you don't agree with their politics, these people are certainly not criminals and have given a lot to this country which should be obvious. Palin is clearly more interested in getting than giving. Kristol, I do think, is approaching sociopathy and definitely is narcissistic.

[Cuba5]

At least SOMEONE said William Kristol is an idiot.

The ONLY way to save America is to expose the idiocy of the PUNDITOCRACY.

[pepperdude]

Is this a case of sour grapes? I mean is the ugly,neo-imperialist american really that superior the debonair imperialist brit? And disagree with Kristol all you want but saying he's stupid is not really all that bright. That's just a slogan revealing a particular partisan bent and an ideological prejudice.

[piquet]

He and everybody that bought the mongoloid logic are STUPID and deserve the title...Sorry if that hits close to home. But it is what it is.

[donniebnyc]

Personally, I have to believe that anyone who can defend W at this point has a cognitive defect. The man was a failure at everything.

[Tyrione]

Kristol is defending his Neo-con heritage, not Bush. Bush was their puppet.

[rowzeer]

Love Bill Maher new rules featuring Kristol. You can't call your self a think tank if all your ideas are stoopid.

[Proletarian101]

"Damon has done his research, having played Jason Bourne in the "Bourne" trilogy and starring in two CIA movies, "The Good Shepherd" and "Syriana."

Is that being sarcastic or a joke? I hope so. To even think that a bit of topical research makes someone an expert is, well, ridiculous. There are people that have actual lived through events similar to those potrayed in his movies that would not call themselves experts. If he feels that playing these "characters" makes him an expert on these situations, he has definitely reached a pathological level of narcissism.

[feliznavidad]

Thoughtful comments by Matt, as always.

By the way, Matt, I (a local business owner) volunteered for the Obama campaign, including going door to door early on. I wasn't even invited to the local party!

However, the Republican mayor of our town was invited to the exclusive party for big wigs -- although she reportedly spent the six months leading up to the election publicly denouncing Obama with the N word.

I think the Obama people are cowtowing too much to the repubi-crabs. Yet, there is no compromise possible that would enlist these mean spirited people to shoulder any load, least of all anything they would perceive as helping Obama.

[Fremon]

I like Matt but I like the Bond films just as well. They are pure escapist fantasies as are most movies. Few, especially, American films provide anything else.
I recently saw Slumdog Millionaire and thought most of the commentaries missed, what I thought was the main philisophical concepts. First the book, on which the film was based, was written by an academic. I saw it as a film stating that PRACTICAL AND USEFUL information (in the form of the young protaganist's life and experiences from disadvantaged Slum experiences ) is gained equally from life as it may be from learned academic education. Coupled with that, life learned knowledge also needs fortune and luck to gain life prizes as represented by the young man taking a guess on his last question and ultimately becoming a "millionaire".

[leftLibertarian]

Jason Bourne would have offed Billy boy.

[pepperdude]

Jason is just younger and less well dressed and more dysfunctional in a very American way.

[LollieDotCom]

Yes Matt, the Bond character is all of those things just as he's always been. What's changed is that what we once considered charming is now kind of repulsive. Also the character is so outdated he's no longer believable on any level.

Here's what I'd like to see, a movie with a hero who uses his charm, wit and integrity to overcome violence and corruption, most importantly for a cause that is truly worthy. I mean sure, this real life Obama thing is great, but why just have it in real life? Why can't we watch this in a movie. Oh yeah, oops,forgot about Milk. But wait, even that's a movie about a real person. When are we going to have a fictional hero that the audience doesn't have to be told in colors, sounds, features and light that this murderer is the good guy and this one is the bad guy? When are we going to have one where there are no visual and auditory hints and outright labels who the good guy is.... where you can only determine the difference by the integrity and generosity of their rules, values and beliefs.... Yeah Matt, that's what I want to know, when are you going to make that movie?

I guess I kinda get on a roll, huh. I'll climb off my soapbox now. Love your brain.

[Amy001]

I agree with Matt Damon; the Bond character is a killer who beds women. The Bond actors are mannequins who do not have to act and just perform stunts in beautiful settings. The Bourne actors have to act and the writers actually write intelligent stories.

[VespaGirl]

Matt, don't feel bad.

I volunteered for the campaign for 1 1/2 years, at the national headquarters in Chicago no less, volunteered for every project possible, worked in field offices in 6 states (on my own dime) and I got stiffed on everything. We weren't even invited into the area for local staffers at Grant Park! Apparently, volunteers don't count for squat as far as staffers are concerned. I applaud you for not coughing up $25,000 and I feel your pain!

[ParaplegicNomad]

Got stiffed? I dunno, I think Mr. President Obama was a nice reward. That's what I worked for, anyway.

[VespaGirl]

Yes, that's true but, come on! Why is it wrong to want to be asked to participate in festivities that celebrate your hard work. It made me feel taken for granted, especially when I worked hard for a long time. It's like working hard on planning a party for your best friend and then not being invited.

Don't fault people who want a little bone thrown their way as a reward.