Matt Damon revealed he and Ben Affleck sold the script for their blockbuster hit “Good Will Hunting” for $600,000 — far less than anyone would imagine — and ended up pocketing very little of that money.
Affleck revealed that he and Damon were both broke just six months after selling the script, and offered an explanation as to where all the money went.
“When we sold ‘Good Will Hunting,’ I was like, ‘we are now rich for life,’” Affleck said on The Drew Barrymore Show. “My needs are over! I’ll never have to work again! I’m rich, forever! We sold it for $600,000. We split that, $300,000 each, and then the agents got $30,000, so we had $270,000. We paid about $160,000 in taxes so we had $110,000. We each bought $55,000 Jeep Cherokees and then had $55,000 left,” he said.
#AirMovie‘s @BenAffleck and Matt Damon went broke just six months after selling the script for “Good Will Hunting.” pic.twitter.com/nYL4woytAs
— The Drew Barrymore Show (@DrewBarrymoreTV) April 21, 2023
Affleck went on to state that he and his pal Damon indulged in a few other little luxuries with the money they made from the sale of the script.
“Naturally we decided to rent a $5,000-a-month party house on Glencoe Way by the Hollywood Bowl and we were broke in six months,” he said.
The sale of the screenplay didn’t quite make them rich, but the movie itself resulted in Oscar wins for both Affleck and Damon, and solidified their careers and future success in the industry.
Damon recently mentioned that there was an exciting new opportunity on the horizon.
“Someone just tried to pitch Ben ‘Good Will Hunting 2,’” Damon said to Variety. (RELATED: ‘There’s Maggots’: Ben Affleck Slams Matt Damon For Being A Terrible Roommate)
“I shit you not — that happened. He told me today. He was like, ‘You’re not going to believe what I heard.’ This was a flat-out sequel. I don’t get it.”
Affleck set the record straight to avoid the rumor mill from spiraling out of control. “It’s not a sequel we’re going to pursue,” he said.