Matt Damon Opens Up About the Chaos Behind 'Margaret'
Matt Damon shares his perspective on the chaotic journey of Kenneth Lonergan's 'Margaret,' from endless post-production battles to lawsuits, calling the experience 'completely nuts.' Discover the behind-the-scenes drama that nearly derailed the film.
When even the combined influence of Martin Scorsese and Thelma Schoonmaker can’t rescue a film, it ’s easy to think the project is doomed. But Matt Damon wasn’t ready to give up. He stood by his friend Kenneth Lonergan through years of turmoil, determined to see the film through despite endless setbacks. Damon has always been loyal to those close to him, whether it’s teaming up with Ben Affleck for their Oscar- winning breakthrough or championing Casey Affleck’s talent. He’s the kind of guy who’ll answer the call whenever Steven Soderbergh needs him on set.
Lonergan, a longtime friend, reached out to Damon in the early 2000s. Their friendship quickly grew, and when Lonergan needed someone to play Aaron Caije in his second feature, 'Margaret,' Damon didn’t hesitate—even if it meant taking a minor role. Filming wrapped up in 2005, but the movie wouldn’t see the light of day until 2011.
Endless Disputes and Studio Standoffs
Between the end of filming and the eventual release, Lonergan and the studio clashed over the movie’s length and final version. The situation escalated so much that Scorsese and Schoonmaker were brought in to mediate, but their proposed cut was still rejected by producer Gary Gilbert. Legal battles erupted: Fox Searchlight sued Gilbert and Camelot Pictures, claiming unpaid production costs, while Gilbert’s team countered, accusing Searchlight and Lonergan of sabotaging the film and delivering what they called “a clearly inferior and unmarketable film.”
Amid the chaos, reports surfaced that Lonergan borrowed a million dollars from Matthew Broderick to finish his preferred version. Damon, caught in the middle, was eventually deposed. He watched the drama unfold from the sidelines, waiting for his turn to testify.
“I knew it was in trouble, and I was talking to him a lot through all of that,”
Damon recalled.
“And I was definitely involved in the whole thing. I mean, it was a real mess. I just remember back in 2008 spending hours and hours on the phone with Fox Searchlight and a lot of email exchanges back and forth and all that. And then the whole regime at Searchlight changed, and a whole new regime came on, and this all went on for years.”
Personal Appeals and Lingering Fallout
Desperate to help, Damon even tried to bypass the studio by reaching out directly to Tom Rothman, the company’s founder and an old friend. But his efforts went nowhere.
“The whole thing was completely nuts,”
he said. Rothman himself was eventually deposed, and the situation spiraled into what Damon described as
“a big ugly lawsuit. ”
In the end, Lonergan’s film was released at 156 minutes—about thirty minutes shorter than he wanted. Since then, Damon has appeared in nearly forty films and documentaries as an actor, voice artist, or producer, but none of them have been with Fox Searchlight or Searchlight Pictures. That fact alone speaks volumes about the scars left by the ordeal.