Good Will Hunting Was An Action Movie Until Rob Reiner's Studio Stepped In
The 1997 movie awards season was shaping up to be surprisingly competitive in the early fall of that year. "L.A. Confidential," "Boogie Nights," and "The Sweet After" were making serious noise, while summer sleepers "The Full Monty" and "Ulee's Gold" appeared likely to stay in the picture as everyone awaited the arrival of presumed heavy hitters like Steven Spielberg's "Amistad," James L. Brooks' "As Good as It Gets," and Quentin Tarantino's "Jackie Brown." But when James Cameron's "Titanic," a wildly expensive coin flip from a director best known for popcorn flicks, began screening for critics and guilds in early November, everything clicked into place. The boat movie was an Oscar lock for Best Picture and Director, "As Good as It Gets" had Best Actor and Actress sewn up, and everyone else was playing for the honor to be nominated.
The one no one saw coming, at least not as a nominee in nearly all of the major categories, was "Good Will Hunting." A character study about a Boston "Southie" who exhibits a genius-level grasp of mathematics and a propensity for self-destructiveness, written by a couple of hunky up-and-coming actors, did not sound like an awards contender. It also felt like an odd fit for director Gus Van Sant, who was best known for edgy indie flicks like "Drugstore Cowboy" and "My Own Private Idaho."
Even when "Good Will Hunting" caught on, its best shot at an Oscar seemed to be via Robin Williams' supporting turn as the psychiatrist who saves Matt Damon's title character from himself. That Damon and Ben Affleck could beat out former winners Brooks and Woody Allen for Original Screenplay seemed an absurd long shot. But the script charmed Oscar voters, which it probably wouldn't have done had Rob Reiner not advised a rewrite several years prior.
Good Will Beverly Hills Cop?
In a 2013 oral history of "Good Will Hunting" for Boston Magazine, Ben Affleck discussed how the script they sold to Reiner's Castle Rock Entertainment was dramatically different from the film they ultimately made. According to Affleck:
"We came up with this idea of the brilliant kid and his townie friends, where he was special and the government wanted to get their mitts on him. And it had a very 'Beverly Hills Cop,' 'Midnight Run' sensibility, where the kids from Boston were giving the NSA the slip all the time. We would improvise and drink like six or twelve beers or whatever and record it with a tape recorder."
What seemed like fun over a couple of six packs was not cutting it for Reiner. Though he saw enormous potential on the page, the story desperately needed to be streamlined. If they wanted to make this movie at Castle Rock (which exists to this day because of Reiner's savvy storytelling instincts), they had to figure out if they wanted to make an action-comedy or a more intimate drama about a boy and his therapist.
Affleck and Damon had to pick a film, and they chose wisely
According to producer Chris Moore, Reiner gave Affleck and Damon an ultimatum:
"[Reiner said] 'Look, you have two movies in this script, and the movies are fighting each other. There's the thriller aspect of the kids from Southie thwarting the big government agency, and then there's this really awesome character story about this math genius and his relationship with this shrink. And we don't think those two can live together.' And to their credit, Castle Rock said, 'You guys wrote a great script and you're the stars of the movie, so we're putting it to you. You've got to pick one.'"
The boys finally chose the math genius and the shrink, but the movie wasn't going to happen at Castle Rock. After studio execs tried to force most established names like Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio on the duo, they managed (with the assistance of Affleck's pal Kevin Smith) to get the script sold to Miramax. And the rest is Hollywood history!
As for that action-comedy version of "Good Will Hunting," we did get to see a glimpse of something akin to that thanks to Mr. Smith. And as far as I'm concerned, I'd be more than happy to get the gang back together for "Good Will Hunting II: Hunting Season."