Movie News

Matt Damon signs up for 'Untitled Greengrass Thriller'

Thu 10 Jan 10:10 AM

Matt Damon has reportedly signed up to the "Untitled Iraq War Project" for two-time collaborator Paul Greengrass who memorably directed Damon through parts 2 and 3 of the "Bourne" series to widespread critical acclaim. Also on board this project is Amy Ryan ("Mean Girls" and "Red Eye") and Greg Kinnear ("Matador"). Shooting is already underway in Spain for Universal Pictures.

Apparently, the film will be closely inspired by Rajiv Chandrasekaran's nonfiction book "Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone" (my guess is that they shorten that title down to just "Green Zone").

Greengrass and producer Brian Helgeland have turned the premise into a fictional thriller set in said "Green Zone," a fortified area where U.S. troops are stationed during the Iraq occupation (like mini castles in the middle of battle zones) .

Damon will play a high-ranking officer who teams up with a senior CIA officer to search for evidence of weapons of mass destruction. Ryan is down to play a New York Times foreign correspondent sent to Iraq to verify these WMD claims. Kinnear will play a rival CIA officer and my feeling is that he may even be the film's antagonist - preventing Damon from carrying out his plans.