James Cameron has responded to Matt Damon’s claims that he turned down more money than any actor ever when declining a role in Avatar – and he’s told Matt to simply ‘get over it’.
Here's the trailer for the latest Avatar film, in case you've not seen it:
So, you might remember that Matt Damon made headlines a few years back by saying that he had to turn down a role in James Cameron’s record-breaking 2009 film because he was making one of the movies in the Bourne franchise.
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That franchise didn’t do too badly at the box office either, did it?
Damon explained how he was actually offered 10 percent of the total takings of the film, which would have seen him trouser a cool $250 million or so for playing Jake Sully, a role which in the end was given to Sam Worthington.
They probably didn’t have to pay him as much, of course.
Now, Titanic director Cameron has had his say, and he jokingly suggested that Damon just needs to get on with his life and forget about it.
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After all, he’s a pretty bankable star in Hollywood and probably isn’t struggling for a buck or two.
With Cameron’s new flick Avatar: The Way of Water now out in cinemas, the director was obviously fielding questions about the first film, which took more at the box office than any other film in history.
On BBC Radio 1, Cameron said: “[Matt Damon is] beating himself up over this. And I really think you know, ‘Matt, you’re kind of like one of the biggest movie stars in the world, get over it.’
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“But he had to do another Bourne film which was on his runway and there was nothing we could do about that. So, he had to regretfully decline.”
Still, there’s more to come in the Avatar world after this film – if it does well, at least – so perhaps the door isn’t completely closed on the Damon/Cameron collaboration.
When asked if there would be a role for him in a future film, Cameron said: “Must do it. We have to do it so the world is in equilibrium again. But he doesn’t get 10 per cent, f**k that.”
Aside from the cash – which would obviously have been nice for him – Damon’s big regret was that he didn’t get to work with Cameron in the end.
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Speaking in a 2019 conversation with Christian Bale organised by GQ, Damon explained: "I've left more money on the table than any actor actually.
"Cameron said to me in the course of that conversation, 'Well, you know, I've only made six movies.'
"I didn't realise that ... I realised in having to say no that I was probably passing on the chance to ever work with him. So that sucked and that's still brutal."
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The door is still open, Matt.
Just don’t expect to earn $250 million for the privilege, that’s all.
Topics: US News, Celebrity, Film and TV, James Cameron, Matt Damon, Money
Tom Wood