It's not just the writing, it's the awareness of the production issues. They only budgeted an hour to get the scene, and in the same time he gave them multiple options.
It shows some give and take; Nicholson is clearly a little full of himself over the years, but he knows enough that he can present an idea that he came up with in a way that doesn't cost the production anything other than hearing him out. If he was truly pretentious and a drama queen like many actors are, he could try to hold up the shoot until they try his idea, and do it several times until he feels they got it right. Then they'd have a bad experience all around, but they're not likely to pin it on Nicholson because he's an A tier actor .. they'll just skim it from somewhere else down the road to make up the loss; which could still end up being a great scene, but they could have altered the film in another spot that doesn't make up for what they gained. He's also probably good enough as a story teller / writer to know the whole thing could have just been a good gag, because the comedic timing of it shows in Damon's reenactment of the "You could end it there..." , as if he's just dragging it out into absurdity to see how long he can make the joke last.
For sure. He understands every facet of making a film. He didn't know that early on, however, and his writing skills along with his acting skills kept him working.
Why would you need Matt Damon to have won an Oscar to believe Nicholson is "good"? That's moronic. Nicholson was and is one of the greatest minds in the history of films, not just American films, it's not even a matter of opinion.
Looks like a super nice guy, but he was always as one dimensional as it gets. Wasn't there a law suit with that Oscar winning script as Afleck and another guy also helped write it?
Some are but most are not. I've seen interviews with actors who spent months on set and can barely remember anything about it. Writers though, they remember their shit. So stop sucking actors dicks please. Or keep doing it if that's your thing.
Matt Damon is an amazing storyteller. I've watched this one several times now. His Nicholson impression is also spot on. He should write a book about his encounters in the industry
I've watched this so many times. Such a great story, and Matt tells it so well with great Jack impression. And all this time, I hadn't realized Fortune Feimster was there.
I think the most telling part of this story was that in creating this moment Nicholson gives the *final line* of the scene to Ray Winston. He doesn't need to end the scene himself. Ray Winston's line improves the scene makes his character look better *and* raises Nicholson's character too.
I remember when I saw the movie and that peticular scene, thinking to myself self: “Now that is realy sick” and now hearing Matt telling how it came to be, I realise the fantasy and creativity in all directions Nickelson posesses. It was a sick scene, but great movie. The scene added reality to the movie. Criminals like that have a strange sence of humor.
That’s always been one of my favorite scenes in the movie because of how dark and funny it is at the same time, Jack Nicholson is just so fuckin ruthless and then he’s cracking jokes and is really funny and Ray Winstone’s reaction was just priceless. I always wondered how the writer could come up with such a unique moment in a scene that’s only a few seconds long really- I never heard this story til now and now it makes so much sense, it was the actor’s idea in collaboration. Fascinating
Matt has become one of the best storytellers in Hollywood…I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched him telling little onset anecdotes, and he always does it brilliantly.
The amazing part of that writing is how that introduces the character in such a way that we aren’t told but can understand so much depth at the same time. We aren’t told he’s sinister we actually see and feel it.
That's what a great actor does - he gives the editors and director a lot to choose from. One of the most amazing examples of this that I have seen is Chistopher Walkin in Catch Me if You Can in the restaurant scene. He delivers the same line (I think) three completely different ways - changing the entire meaning of the statement each time - and then after the third, where he brings himself to tears, pulling raw, heartfelt emotion from the line, he still wanted to give them another version of the line, even as he was wiping tears out of his eyes - but the director was so blown away by what he had just done, he told him there was no need. Amazing skill to be able to call on real emotions of any kind at any moment to achieve that!
Willam Defoe did something similar in *American Psycho.* He performed each of his lines three different ways, so that you had one take where he knows Patrick Bateman is a murderer, one take where he's suspicious of Bateman, and one take where he's completely oblivious and doesn't suspect Bateman at all. Then they combined all the takes in editing so that we the audience are as paranoid as Patrick and have no idea how close Defoe is to figuring him out.
Damon does pretty much a bang on perfect impression. It would be cool to see Damon play Jack in a film about his life, or just about that time in Hollywood.
I appreciate how Jack acknowledged the influence of the late great Roger Corman, one of the all time champions of getting something out of nothing and producing and directing serviceable films on time with negligible budgets. Scorsese also worked under him in the early years and probably recognised what Nicholson was going for.
Matt Damon should write a book containing these vignettes. He must know a plethora of them. Your audience is waiting with bated breath for this book, Matt.
Said this in comments in a short on this same video, but: When it comes to actors, there's Good, then there's Great. Good is separated from Great by just a couple of well executed lines.
He does a great Jack Nicholson impression! What a great story about how to make it in Hollywood! Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have obviously been great writers since Good Will Hunting and why they are still 2 of the most well known actors in Hollywood!
I’ve heard the story once before, maybe it was in a full podcast, but it’s still great. It’s hilarious, but it does convey one of the reasons Jack Nicholson is such a great actor and has had such a long career. And the same could be said for Matt Damonas far as his career path has gone.
Matt Damon is a mans man...but his good will hunting is short of righteous jim christian..hes such a mathmatician and a sinister manipulator. A 007 of his earlier works but none the less valted off his friend ben afflect. Without that dual threat of cryptonite acting i don't think his Carrera would have flourished soo.@cryptoshorts007
All greats are one - whether their professions or métiers are writing acting directing editing ... - they're storytellers, and to do that well ya gotta intimately know your characters to credibly present their stories. Matt, Jack, Marty, Bobby, Harrison, Marlon, ...they all have this in common.
I love this story, I actually use it for trying to sort of squeeze extra bits of dialogue or visual and audio story telling out of scenes or paragraphs.
Jack Nicholson man pure American man. Pure talent in a brilliant fucking mind. Matt Damon you are so lucky to have sat down with Marty and fucking Jack way to go bro.
And after ray says you gotta see someone... you can end the scene there... but if ya leave the camera rollin 😂 Legend has it the camera is still rolling
DAMNNNNN this was a BADASS story, props to Damon for giving us that glimpse Also it’s well known in the “interrogation” scene of Nicholson wondering if Leo was a rat, when he dropped that heavy gun and grabbed it like he accidentally dropped it n you see Leo more scared…THAT WAS ALL IMPROVISED ON THE SPOT… Knowing Nicholson and Scorsese crazy ass not gaf, i guarantee Jack had a real pistol … That scene was all real and improvised Just amazing and one of myriad of reasons, why it will always be n my top 5 fave movies of all time , hands down
What is with these hosts? "So it was me, Jack, and Scorsese in the room." "Hahahahah!" "And then Scorses left so it was just me and Jack." "Hahahahahaha!" Pipe down.
I kinda liked Matt in a few films, good actor and all. Then I saw The Bourne Identity and saw the best portrayal of any character from a book brought to life(and yes it strayed far from the novel and it needed to). He owned that role
The fact that Matt tells the story so succinctly is a testament to his writing ability.
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Waaay to small numer of likes. Great comment, cheers. Pozdro666
@@zagadape109 👍
That was a great way to use the word succinctly. But if you leave the sentence open...
@@bookshelflearn9352epic! 😂
This video ended at 4:10, but if you'd left the camera rolling...
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Excellent carry on.
Hehehehe. 😅
W comment
It's not just the writing, it's the awareness of the production issues. They only budgeted an hour to get the scene, and in the same time he gave them multiple options.
It shows some give and take; Nicholson is clearly a little full of himself over the years, but he knows enough that he can present an idea that he came up with in a way that doesn't cost the production anything other than hearing him out.
If he was truly pretentious and a drama queen like many actors are, he could try to hold up the shoot until they try his idea, and do it several times until he feels they got it right. Then they'd have a bad experience all around, but they're not likely to pin it on Nicholson because he's an A tier actor .. they'll just skim it from somewhere else down the road to make up the loss; which could still end up being a great scene, but they could have altered the film in another spot that doesn't make up for what they gained.
He's also probably good enough as a story teller / writer to know the whole thing could have just been a good gag, because the comedic timing of it shows in Damon's reenactment of the "You could end it there..." , as if he's just dragging it out into absurdity to see how long he can make the joke last.
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For sure. He understands every facet of making a film. He didn't know that early on, however, and his writing skills along with his acting skills kept him working.
@@ToadstedCroaks great analysis, TC
And the editing made the scene take a whole different direction - brilliant!
Let’s not forget that Matt Damon is literally an Oscar-winning writer himself; so if he says Jack Nicholson is good; I’ll believe him!
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Yup. I sorta believe that was Jack's long drawn out way of acknowledging Damon's writing Oscar. 🏆😏
@@Agent.Wadsworth 😎
Why would you need Matt Damon to have won an Oscar to believe Nicholson is "good"? That's moronic. Nicholson was and is one of the greatest minds in the history of films, not just American films, it's not even a matter of opinion.
Looks like a super nice guy, but he was always as one dimensional as it gets. Wasn't there a law suit with that Oscar winning script as Afleck and another guy also helped write it?
I love it when Damon shares acting stories. They touch on a reality on the craft of acting you can't learn in a classroom or workshop.
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Acting is not a craft. All other aspects are, but acting is the least difficult skill to master in film.
I go back to the Tom Cruise story frequently it's hilarious
Actors are always such good story tellers. The memories, the eloquence, the charisma, and most importantly, the ability to mimic others.
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You mean, good actors.
@@carloschacal9334 👍
Some are but most are not. I've seen interviews with actors who spent months on set and can barely remember anything about it. Writers though, they remember their shit. So stop sucking actors dicks please. Or keep doing it if that's your thing.
@carloschacal9334 If we are talking specifically about Matt Damon, then he is a storyteller (writer), not just an actor.
Matt Damon is an amazing storyteller. I've watched this one several times now. His Nicholson impression is also spot on. He should write a book about his encounters in the industry
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I'm sure he practiced a few times as well...
@@TheMaleRei 😂
The Jack impression, and all the times he says “…but if you keep the camera rolling…” 😂
@@markdaniels7174 😂
Matt' "...but if you leave the camera rolling..." got to be the best JN imitation of late.
Absolutely. Great Jack Nicholson voice.
Sounded straight out of A Few Good Men, great impression.
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I've watched this so many times. Such a great story, and Matt tells it so well with great Jack impression.
And all this time, I hadn't realized Fortune Feimster was there.
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I think the most telling part of this story was that in creating this moment Nicholson gives the *final line* of the scene to Ray Winston. He doesn't need to end the scene himself. Ray Winston's line improves the scene makes his character look better *and* raises Nicholson's character too.
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I remember when I saw the movie and that peticular scene, thinking to myself self: “Now that is realy sick” and now hearing Matt telling how it came to be, I realise the fantasy and creativity in all directions Nickelson posesses. It was a sick scene, but great movie. The scene added reality to the movie. Criminals like that have a strange sence of humor.
The way Jack Nicholson acts, looks, talks, brilliant. Excellent actor. Brings chills down your spine
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jack nicholson is on a whole other level. He just seemed to take over every scene of this film
NO he doesn't. You want the truth? YOU want the truth?
@@logon235YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!
He absolutely dominated the fuck out of that film and rightly so, considering how central his character was to the entire plot of the film
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Could listen to Matts stories all day. Hope he's writing them all down because that's a hell of a book.
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My favorite was the "Tom Cruise, Mission Impossible". I won't spoil it, but its on here. From one of the Late Shows..... 🤣
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Damon is so good at communicating these deep-craft acting/filmmaking stories so well, always love to catch a good interview with him.
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Just a revelation of how collaboration can be awesome in the right hands.
Hollywood, the one we knew, is dead! Replaced by actual dimwits, simpletons, morons and bafoons!
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Matt Damon is a hell o'a story teller
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Maybe that’s why Good Will Hunting was so good.
@@mediamannaman 👍
That's just amazing. Nicholson seems like a great writer. And Damon is a great storyteller.
Yeah but when he does write, the only thing he types is “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”
😂😂😂😂
@@williampatrick2971 Lol I just watched The Shining yesterday.
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"...But if you leave the camera rolling..."😆😂🤣
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He sounded exactly like Jack Nicholson. And the 'fell funny.' line was brilliant.
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I think he missed the fact that it was a compliment, that Matt is in fact a great writer
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That’s always been one of my favorite scenes in the movie because of how dark and funny it is at the same time, Jack Nicholson is just so fuckin ruthless and then he’s cracking jokes and is really funny and Ray Winstone’s reaction was just priceless. I always wondered how the writer could come up with such a unique moment in a scene that’s only a few seconds long really- I never heard this story til now and now it makes so much sense, it was the actor’s idea in collaboration. Fascinating
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Nicholspn was teaching more about screenwriting than acting! Such great experience and insight!!
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Matt has become one of the best storytellers in Hollywood…I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched him telling little onset anecdotes, and he always does it brilliantly.
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So, sitting down with Jack for dinner or coffee teaches you much more than one year of film school…
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We are about to get the would you take 500k or a dinner with Jay Z question but with Jack instead of Jay Z lol
@@andrejristic4956 ❤️
The amazing part of that writing is how that introduces the character in such a way that we aren’t told but can understand so much depth at the same time. We aren’t told he’s sinister we actually see and feel it.
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Matt was gifted a precious moment in life.
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That's what a great actor does - he gives the editors and director a lot to choose from. One of the most amazing examples of this that I have seen is Chistopher Walkin in Catch Me if You Can in the restaurant scene. He delivers the same line (I think) three completely different ways - changing the entire meaning of the statement each time - and then after the third, where he brings himself to tears, pulling raw, heartfelt emotion from the line, he still wanted to give them another version of the line, even as he was wiping tears out of his eyes - but the director was so blown away by what he had just done, he told him there was no need. Amazing skill to be able to call on real emotions of any kind at any moment to achieve that!
❤️
Willam Defoe did something similar in *American Psycho.* He performed each of his lines three different ways, so that you had one take where he knows Patrick Bateman is a murderer, one take where he's suspicious of Bateman, and one take where he's completely oblivious and doesn't suspect Bateman at all. Then they combined all the takes in editing so that we the audience are as paranoid as Patrick and have no idea how close Defoe is to figuring him out.
THANKS for uploading. Really fun to watch. Love Matt's stories. Told with such joy & enthusiasm.
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Jack is going to talk God into giving him a longer life... "You could end the scene there, but if you keep the camera rolling..."
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Jack Nicholson is such a good actor
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And writer. 😁
@@PepeTheFren 👍
Damon does pretty much a bang on perfect impression. It would be cool to see Damon play Jack in a film about his life, or just about that time in Hollywood.
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Matt Damon is great at his craft but to be honest, he makes a great teacher as well. That's rare. Doing it and being able to teach it, that's gold.
His mother is a teacher. Must be where he gets it from.
@@MrSfxer that's a really good point!
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"Now you could end the scene there, but if you leave the camera rolling..."
The best line in the story...🤣
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Matt explains it so nicely in the video, you feel like you were there. The Departed is a movie studded with legends.
@@rushabhdoshi7 👍
Agreed, I really enjoy the peeks into the real life of movie making.
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_"Now you could end the scene there, but if you go get the safety guy..."_
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😂😂😂😂 brilliant way to merge those two great stories!
John Malkovich: "iiif you don't hghave my money.. "
Matt's film stories are the best.
@@n.s.3410 😎
I appreciate how Jack acknowledged the influence of the late great Roger Corman, one of the all time champions of getting something out of nothing and producing and directing serviceable films on time with negligible budgets. Scorsese also worked under him in the early years and probably recognised what Nicholson was going for.
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I could listen to these insider stories all day!
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@@cryptoshorts007 Cheers! I just subscribed!!
@@jeffwiesner2334 Thank you 🙏
"But if you leave the camera rolling..."😆😂🤣
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The way Matt Damon tells the story : that's how a great writer looks like.
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Oh my just Love Hugs Matt Damon ❤so positive always kind but takes No crap in a way only he can do it without him sounding rude ❤❤❤
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His diction is spot on. So much clarity and eloquence when he speaks
@@vinprabhakaran ❤️
Yup one of the greatest actors i have seen.
I haven't seen a single movie with Jack Nicholson i didn't like.
he elevated everything he was part of.
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Human mind is a mixture of savagery and sublime !
somewhere I suspect if there was no fucking just straight up shooting or using axe then you wouldn't have said that
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I love the precission with which Matt is telling the story, that is value and carisma out of the blue, no wonder this people are so succesful
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I watched this clip years ago, and I still remembered “but if you leave the camera rolling”.
@@Moonwired 😎
Matt Damon should write a book containing these vignettes. He must know a plethora of them. Your audience is waiting with bated breath for this book, Matt.
@@LaFloridaHemingway 👍
Matt Damon is an excellent storyteller
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And a great actor.
Gives the director all those options. ❤
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Matt is a great story-teller with an amazing sense of timing...Nicholson is one of the greatest actors alive.
@@az7500 ❤️
Matt has captured nicholsons cadence and speech patterns like a boss
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Said this in comments in a short on this same video, but: When it comes to actors, there's Good, then there's Great. Good is separated from Great by just a couple of well executed lines.
@@benjaminrussell3458 ❤️
I could listen to Matt Damon all day! ❤
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He does a great Jack Nicholson impression! What a great story about how to make it in Hollywood! Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have obviously been great writers since Good Will Hunting and why they are still 2 of the most well known actors in Hollywood!
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I’ve heard the story once before, maybe it was in a full podcast, but it’s still great. It’s hilarious, but it does convey one of the reasons Jack Nicholson is such a great actor and has had such a long career. And the same could be said for Matt Damonas far as his career path has gone.
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Matt Damon is a mans man...but his good will hunting is short of righteous jim christian..hes such a mathmatician and a sinister manipulator. A 007 of his earlier works but none the less valted off his friend ben afflect. Without that dual threat of cryptonite acting i don't think his Carrera would have flourished soo.@cryptoshorts007
@@JamesChristian-nr4ux 👍
This really adds an aspect of the process I never even thought about..... but if you leave the camera rolling.........
@@allanfischer9417 ❤️
Jack Nicholson has and always will be one of the greatest Hollywood stars ever.!!!
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For past few months i watch this clip like multiple times, and its funny each time :D
@@statusquo1473 😎
All greats are one - whether their professions or métiers are writing acting directing editing ... - they're storytellers, and to do that well ya gotta intimately know your characters to credibly present their stories. Matt, Jack, Marty, Bobby, Harrison, Marlon, ...they all have this in common.
❤️
I love this story, I actually use it for trying to sort of squeeze extra bits of dialogue or visual and audio story telling out of scenes or paragraphs.
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I never knew that Matt Damon could do impressions so well. For a minute I thought they were playing a recording of Jack Nicholson. Wow ❤
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Matt Damon is a good writer and a great story teller.
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I Love The Departed! One of my favorite movies! Probably in my top 10!
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Jack Nicholson man pure American man. Pure talent in a brilliant fucking mind. Matt Damon you are so lucky to have sat down with Marty and fucking Jack way to go bro.
@@giannigunn5247 ❤️
And after ray says you gotta see someone... you can end the scene there... but if ya leave the camera rollin 😂
Legend has it the camera is still rolling
@@OdinSmilesRavensLaugh72051 😎
I miss Jack Nicholson. He was a staple in Hollywood. I always liked to see him at the Academy Awards. The show isn't the same without him.
@@gwynnielsen5081 ❤️
Matt Damon, you sir are also a great writer.
@@DannyGautama ❤️
What a legendary story! Jack is truly a phenomenal artist!
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I want a GIF of that scene all you need is the shot of Costello laughing
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Fabulous..one of the best movies ever..
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I love that story. And Jack Nicholson. 🙂
@@JesperAndersen 😎
"Riiiiight. Riiiiight. Riiiiight."
Top notch noise making.
@@LibertyAtYourService 😎
Great post. Matt’s Jack impersonation is so good 👍😎
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Brilliant insight , thank you
@@joannecourt6211 👍
This is like the best dinner table/fireside story ever. I bet Matt has told it a few times to his friends 😁
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DAMNNNNN this was a BADASS story, props to Damon for giving us that glimpse
Also it’s well known in the “interrogation” scene of Nicholson wondering if Leo was a rat, when he dropped that heavy gun and grabbed it like he accidentally dropped it n you see Leo more scared…THAT WAS ALL IMPROVISED ON THE SPOT…
Knowing Nicholson and Scorsese crazy ass not gaf, i guarantee Jack had a real pistol …
That scene was all real and improvised
Just amazing and one of myriad of reasons, why it will always be n my top 5 fave movies of all time , hands down
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I don't imagine there would be human resources departments in Hollywood like there is in normal workplaces.
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Most interesting video Ive seen all of Christmas '23. Thanks!!
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What is with these hosts?
"So it was me, Jack, and Scorsese in the room."
"Hahahahah!"
"And then Scorses left so it was just me and Jack."
"Hahahahahaha!"
Pipe down.
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Wow, I have a new respect for Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson…❤
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Matt also tells a great story on Tom Cruise. If you guys havent heard it, check it out 😊
@@amoeliono ❤️
3:07 was so poetic, almost like a song the way he said "but if you leave the camera rolling / Ray stops / and look at me"
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Fantastic insight on how filming works
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I miss Jack Nicholson 🥹 there will never be another actor as fascinating as him
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I kinda liked Matt in a few films, good actor and all. Then I saw The Bourne Identity and saw the best portrayal of any character from a book brought to life(and yes it strayed far from the novel and it needed to). He owned that role
@@lethalwolf7455 ❤️
Jack Nicholson is one of the GOAT’s in cinema!
@@jasonw586 ❤️
This is a good interview snippet, and I'll hit the like button either way....but if you keep the clip rolling...
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There's a reason Jack is so f*ckin cool
@@christophercoupland5430 😎
Now I want to see the whole unedited scene.
@@epr8974 😎
I love it when Matt tells this story.
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My love for this actor began with one film, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”
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Nicholson probably said the line about him being a writer because he knows Damon is a writer too
@@Yo_Waddup ❤️
Now that's actual Jack Nicholson impersonation: no over the top flourishes, Matt just spoke as Jack might.
@@integral 👍
Anyone notice the female in the group stopped laughing towards the end?
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Yeah, I noticed that too.
There was a sense of awkwardness or sadness on her face as soon as she heard that a woman was being killed here
@@AtTheCricketPitch 👍
Boy, this was a great video. Thank you.
You are welcome
"....but if you leave the camera rolling." Will now be my, "What would Jack say for this...?"
@@BobMinelli ❤️
Thank you so much. That was cool! Very interesting and informative
@@DwaineMoon-i4t ❤️
I love Matt Damon's jack Nicholson impersonation!
@@JamesNelson-j4j 😎
Man, Jack Nicholson is something else!!! 😂😅
@@jedhawkins1769 😀