This Day in Indie History: Good Will Hunting

by MovieMaker Staff | Published December 4, 2006

Gus Van Sant’s Good Will Hunting premiered in New York City on this day in 1997. Brainstormed and written by actors Ben Affleck and Matt Damon on numerous cross-country drives, the film brought both men into the Hollywood limelight. The script first gained attention from Rob Reiner’s production company, Castle Rock, before director Kevin Smith passed it along to Miramax. Though rumors still persist that screenwriter William Goldman doctored the Academy Award-winning script, Goldman denies any ties with the revision, saying that he would never write the “It’s not your fault” scene.

Film Factoid: In the shooting script, psychiatrist Sean Maguire (Robin Williams) relates this story about his wife: Every morning she would turn off the alarm clock while sleeping and thereby prevent him from getting to work on time. In production, Williams improvised the anecdote, the result of which is the memorable monologue about the wife’s tendency to fart indiscriminately while sleeping.

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