Movies - TV
Rob Reiner's Studio Changed Good Will Hunting In One Major Way
By JEREMY SMITH
In a 2013 oral history of “Good Will Hunting” for Boston Magazine, Ben Affleck said the original script was dramatically different from the film they ultimately made.
The script was sold to Rob Reiner of Castle Rock Entertainment who saw potential on the page but the story desperately needed to be streamlined.
According to producer Chris Moore, Reiner gave Affleck and Damon an ultimatum saying, “‘Look, you have two movies in this script, and the movies are fighting each other.’”
Affleck and Damon had to choose between making an action-comedy or an intimate drama about a boy and his therapist. Thankfully they choose the math genius and the shrink.
Castle Rock Entertainment didn’t end up making the movie, but that didn’t stop “Good Will Hunting” from achieving Oscar gold with Miramax.