Good Will Hunting: A Screenplay (Paperback)

~ Ben Affleck (Author), (Author), (Introduction) "The bar is dirty, more than a little run down..." (more)
Key Phrases: Carmine Scarpaglia, Professor Lambeau, Double Burger (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

As director Gus Van Sant observes in the introduction to Matt Damon's and Ben Affleck's screenplay Good Will Hunting, the two young actors somewhat resemble the characters they play in the film: they're best friends, and Affleck (who plays Chuckie) habitually chauffeurs Damon (Will), who doesn't drive. Van Sant says we can see how badly Damon drives by watching the film's last scene, in which he is actually driving the car with the camera mounted on it. But Damon and company write better than he drives; this script contains some of the boldest, best monologues since Pulp Fiction.

Van Sant and cast member Robin Williams helped the young actors tame the tigers in their cranial tanks, trimming the script into a precision instrument. Though the stills from the film are not perfectly matched to their places in the script, this story remains as much a joy to read as it is towatch on the big screen.

Product Description

As director Gus Van Sant observes in the introduction to Matt Damon's and Ben Affleck's screenplay Good Will Hunting, the two young actors somewhat resemble the characters they play in the film: they're best friends, and Affleck (who plays Chuckie) habitually chauffeurs Damon (Will), who doesn't drive. Van Sant says we can see how badly Damon drives by watching the film's last scene, in which he is actually driving the car with the camera mounted on it. But Damon and company write better than he drives; this script contains some of the boldest, best monologues since Pulp Fiction.Van Sant and cast member Robin Williams helped the young actors tame the tigers in their cranial tanks, trimming the script into a precision instrument. Though the stills from the film are not perfectly matched to their places in the script, this story remains as much a joy to read as it is towatch on the big screen.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Miramax; 1st edition (January 2, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786883448
• ISBN-13: 978-0786883448
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #277,859 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Damon and Affleck score high with Good Will Hunting, May 6, 1999

By A Customer

Having read all the reviews and endless adulation for this film, it's easy to see why the screenplay for Good Will Hunting snatched up an Oscar last year for Best Original Screenplay. Damon and Affleck have crafted an intelligent story that speaks volumes of humanity in the dialogue and character relationships. Characters are three-dimensional, flawed and compelling, forcing the audience to actually CARE what happens to them.

The major strength of the script is the finely-crafted monologues that Damon and Affleck give their characters: i.e. Shawn's speech to Will in Boston park is simply beautifal. Then there's Will's speech to the NSA agents which combines humour and observation in one neat little package.

The actor's performances stem from the sheer amount of subtext handed to them by Damon and Affleck in their script. Primarily, Will's path goes from frightened loud-mouth to assured and confident young man through his counseling sessions with Sean. These scenes are a joy to read as Will and Sean draw closer together by burying to the root of Will's struggle and for Sean to overcome past tragedies. Robin Williams at first seems like an odd choice for the role of Sean, but, for anyone who's seen DEAD POET'S SOCIETY will understand, approaches his role with vigour, inflecting Sean with wisdom, quiet solidarity and subtly conveys Sean's pain and anguish from a life of struggle.

Also, Affleck gets a great speech near the end of the story when Chuckie tells Will to accept his gift and to follow his heart and to stop denying himself in the eyes of others, because he has something that not many people have.

The script is also laced with some wonderful photographs from the film, which chart the progress of the story in pictures, and also includes a superb introduction from the film's director Gus Van Sant. The story is warm, deeply emotional and human, containing brilliant flashes of wit, pathos, observation and self-doubt, and I have no doubt that from this, Damon and Affleck will continue to rise and rise. Good Will Hunting reminds us that movies don't have to be about exploding asteroids, sinking ships or gratuitous car chases, they can be about the explorarion of the human condition, where the guay gets the girl and has all the answers.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Original Writing., February 27, 2001

By	tvtv3 "tvtv3" (Sorento, IL United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

It is not difficult to understand why this screenplay won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. There are only so many stories to be told; the difference is how those stories are told. In a land where movies about old television shows are considered original, Hollywood is desperate for anything that looks even remotely new. The tale that Damon & Affleck (with some help from Goldman) tell is not a new one. However, it is the way they tell it that makes this story so fascinating. The characters are fleshed out, not cardboard cut-outs. The words you read actually make you care about the characters, thinking of them as real people.

Ah, the words. That's what makes this script so original. If Will, Chuckie, Sean and the rest of the clan were not so eloquent, this would just be another run of the mill buddy/romance/coming-of-age flick that just happens to star Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Robin Williams. Most people remember at least one of the wonderfully written monologues from this film, such as Will's interview with NSA or Chuckie's speech to Will about using his gift. However, the normal every day-to-day speech between the characters is written just as poetically.

Words are powerful, something we seem to forget in our modern American society. If nothing else, this screenplay is worth looking at just to refresh one's memory of how moving words can be.

A great screenplay to companion a great movie.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great script of a great movie, October 26, 2004

By	Kristin J. Johnson "Three-time published author" (Palm Desert, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The lines such as "How do you like them apples" are classics already. The movie was brilliant and I own the screenplay. A terrific insight into the anatomy of the film.