Ben Affleckand Matt Damon
Onscreen, they’re the heartthrob kids (Affleck in Chasing Amy, Damon in Courage Under Fire), but these two former grade-school pals are also emerging quickly as writers. They penned the upcoming Good Will Hunting, in which they costar with Robin Williams. Affleck also has a solo deal to scribe Balling the Jack for New Line. And now, they’re locking themselves away every day to work on their next joint script (though they’re mum about the details). Not that they’ve given up their day jobs: Affleck, 25, stars with Bruce Willis in the upcoming Armageddon. Damon, 27, is expected to score big when Coppola’s Rainmaker opens in November, also starring Claire Danes and Danny DeVito. Then they pair up again for Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan, with Tom Hanks. Who says you can’t chew gum and walk at the same time?

Kevin Smith
Clerks and Mallrats showed 27-year-old writer-director Smith could capture the quirky slacker underbelly. Then came Chasing Amy, which showed he could handle mainstream–well, almost mainstream–romantic comedy. Now, he’s writing Dogma for Miramax, set to star funnyman Chris Rock. He’s attached to the big-budget comic-book rage X-Men–and if that’s not enough, he’ll be resurrecting Chevy Chase for Fletch 3. Hey, if anyone can do it…