Chapter 6:
The Winning Lottery Ticket

After years of getting only the scripts that A-list actors such as Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt or former friend (and School Ties co-star) Chris O'Donnell passed up, Matt got tired of reading hand-me-downs.  There weren't any good roles being offered to Matt, so rather than wasting more time and waiting for something to come, it was then that he decided to write a good script himself.

Remembering that he had started a screenplay for a class at Harvard, Matt pulled out and dusted off the old pages.  Over the next few years with many beers, improvs, and faxes back and forth, Matt and best friend, Ben Affleck continued to add to the screenplay.  They finally finished in 1992 and then the bidding war began.

"Good Will Hunting" they called it.  It's a story about friendships and the depth of an individual. Four friends, all of whom would lie down in traffic for any one of the others, have lived all their lives in the rough area of South Boston (otherwise known as "Southie").  One, Will Hunting (played by Matt Damon) has a remarkable gift of genius capacity.  Sheltered by the safety of his friends, Will has no desire to leave Southie, but the story takes you through the trials and tribulations of this young character as he struggles to find out what's best for himself.

What's presented as a simple story with simple characters actually has more depth than anyone ever expected.  It is this that makes "Good Will Hunting" so wonderful.  It may have come from two young writing ameteurs, but it was in a word: brilliant.  It may have only focused on one genius onscreen, but it's the work of two geniuses behind the screen that made it possible.

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck had cashed in their winning lottery ticket.