Leonardo DiCaprio, the other actor of the moment, had been in talks for the starring role as late as Monday night, but when it appeared the “Titanic”star was going to delay his decision, the producers went to Damon, who is reportedly a fan of the Cormac McCarthy novel on which the film is based. Damon takes on the role of a young Texan who rides into Mexico in 1949 with a buddy. When he falls for the daughter of a wealthy ranch owner, the man has the young cowboy thrown into a Mexican prison, but the resilient lad exacts justice and becomes a man by the time he returns to Texas. The Columbia Pictures/Miramax Films co-production is stacked with Academy Award-winning writers: Ted Tally, who won an Oscar for his adaptation of “The Silence of the Lambs”, wrote this adaptation; and Thornton, who took home the gold man in 1996 for his “Sling Blade” script, tackles his first helming stint since that film.

Damon and Ben Affleck last month won an Oscar for writing “Good Will Hunting”, in which the two also starred and Damon garnered a best actor Oscar nomination as well.

Production will start in late 1998 or early 1999, following Damon’s stint in “The Talented Mr. Ripley” for Anthony Minghella of “The English Patient” fame.

Since gaining worldwide acclaim from “Titanic,” and despite eight-figure offers, sources said DiCaprio is being incredibly choosy about the roles he is considering as his follow-up to the $1.5 billion box office smash.But with a finite number of quality scripts out there for young leading men, — and “All the Pretty Horses” is said to be one of the best star vehicles around — other actors like Damon are quick to seize the roles. Reuters/Variety

IT’S BEEN A season defined by the introduction of the New Young Hollywood Studs, from the toothy, chinny grin of Matt Damon (star of Good Will Hunting) to the omnipresent cheekbones of the elfin Leonardo DiCaprio (star of People magazine and the National Inquirer). Beautiful they are–but lest you forget the appeal of the more common “boy next door” type, meet the kids who are winning college movie audiences around the country: Eion Bailey and Robert DiPatri.

Sure, Bailey’s sort of handsome, but it wasn’t looks that made a generation gaga over James Dean–it was smouldering teen angst. When he glared at those around him with a look that mixed contempt and envy for their simple lives, audiences melted. Bailey can do it almost as well.

And DiPatri’s the sort of sympathetic geek we haven’t seen since Anthony Edwards was running around the set of Revenge of the Nerds in his pre-ER days. Big ol’ glasses, awkward haircut, earnest nice-guy helpfulness–you just gotta love him.

The duo stars in A Better Place, a moody high-school drama written and directed by New Jersey’s latest low-budget Gen X filmmaker, Vincent Pereira. Surprisingly, the intimate little 16mm character study turns out to be one of the most intelligent looks at teen violence to grace the screen since Lord of the Flies.

DiPatri plays Barret, a gawky kid who moves to a new town after the death of his father. The new surroundings don’t go very far toward cheering him up: His first day of school starts with a girl mistaking his simple hello for sexual harrassment, and ends with a trio of bullies attempting to beat the crap out of him in the gym locker room. He’s saved by Ryan (Bailey), a loner who hates everyone in town and is shunned by them for his family’s dark past.

The two strike up an unlikely friendship, which Ryan tries to shape into an obsessive two-against-the-evil-world scenario a la Heavenly Creatures. But Barret doesn’t want to be a miserable outsider, and what starts off as a philosphical debate ends up as a desperate attempt on Barret’s part to prevent Ryan from committing murder.

Pereira’s script is admirably lean; dialogue is never overblown, even when it consists of two guys just sitting around and talking for long periods of time. Unlike his friend and executive producer, Kevin Smith of Clerks and Chasing Amy fame (more on him next week), Pereira never sacrifices a scene’s basic plausibility for the sake of wit.

A Better Place is attractive to look at, too–especially for 16mmcolor film. It’s hard to believe the North Jersey landscape can be so compelling when its reputation is one of endless concrete blocks, toxic waste and intolerable population density, but Pereira finds beachside and woodland locations that belie the myth.

The film is touring college campuses as the headlining act of Flixtour, an independent film mini-festival that opens with two hilarious shorts on the topics of car theft and cannibalism. After a showing at Point Park College earlier this month, the audience spent a full hour in a Q&A session with Pereira, who’s accompanying his film around the country. The repeat Pittsburgh performance at Carnegie Mellon on Tuesday will be a welcome opportunity to poke inside the head of an up-and-coming filmmaker who deserves all the attention he gets.

–STEPHEN H. SEGAL for In Pittsburgh Newsweekly

Well, I’m here to show that not all journalists are unethical slimebags.

I’m working on a big Kevin story for In Pittsburgh Newsweekly, and I’d love to quote some of you by name.

All ya gotta do is: Write to me via email at [ADDRESS REMOVED AS PER REQUEST] and answer the following questions:

It’s that simple. Just remember, email me at [ADDRESS REMOVED AS PER REQUEST] — let’s not waste space on the board with this.

Perhaps Affleck‘s greatest ad-lib, that will never see the light of day theatrically (along with the rest of ’em), due entirely to the fact that it was completely out of character. He knows how militant I am, yet he forever endeavors to pop in a line or two, God love him. Perhaps on the laser-disc.

Anyhoo, we’re heading into day four of our six-day shooting week, and now’s as good a time as any to update the faithful.

First off, we answered an age-old question on Monday – one that’s plagued this board since its inception. Hopefully, Brad and Chris will hurry this tid-bit into the Summaries, so the fly-bys and newbies are spared the indignity of a barage of flaming posts.

That age-old question “What ever happened to Randal?”

The newfound answer: “Why, he’s in ‘Dogma’, of course.”

That’s right – Jeff came to town for a quick cameo in the gun shop scene. He turned in a great peformance – one that made this ol’ romantic pine for days of yore. He held his own (and then some) against the Golden Boys, and closed out the day nicely when he said to me “It was nice being behind the counter with you again.”

Also on that day – Ben and Lee, together again. It’s their only scene opposite one another in the flick (along with Matt – which makes it ‘Ben, Lee, and Matty, together again’as they were all in a scene together in ‘Amy’, way back when). Lee continues to be tremendous, and the boys were just as fetching (performance-wise).

Tuesday, we did the ‘opening ceremony’ scene with the boys, Carlin, and a crowd of hundreds. We created (literally) panic in the streets (thankfully, only within the scene), and were able to squeeze all the shots we had to get in between the downpours. To those of you who joined us that day, I offer many thanks for your 12-to-15 hour patience. Like the man said: film-making is repetition.

Today, was both good and bad. The good: we shot our first footage on Rock, who turned in just about the best film work he’s ever done. The bad: it was Carlin’s last day. Chris and George got to hang out and talk shop between the set-ups in Glick’s office. Fiorentino was once again the rock upon which our little potboiler is built, and me and Mewes got to do what we do best: say stupid things, and make stupid faces.

We’re averaging about 15-17 set-ups a day, from what Scott tells me. It may not seem like much within the standard film community (especially when you consider Robert was doing… like… four thousand set-ups a day on ‘From Dusk ’til Dawn’), but for an Askew picture, it’s about ten set-ups more per day than we’ve ever really done before.

Me takes an opportunity to pat myself on the back.

We spend the next three days doing the train sequence, with Linda, Rock, Ben, Matt, Mewes, and me, which’ll close out our third week nicely (which means I’m going to sleep all of Sunday).

Word came down from the ‘Max that the dailies are terrific (always a boon to have the studio cheering you on), and I’m inclined to agree with them. Watching the 2.40:1 projected dailies makes me wish we were done, and close to release.

I’ve gotta say – thus far, it’s a pretty good picture (knock wood), and I’m enjoying the hell out of myself. With all the great performances and footage we’re getting on a daily basis, I’d have to be a prick to not be enjoying myself.

My apologies for not getting to posts tonight, but the ‘Man without Fear’ beckons (let it never be said that I don’t understand the stress of holding down two jobs at once).

Speaking of comics, Duncan sent the first ten sketched pages of the Jay and Silent Bob mini-series for us to check out. They’re gorgeous and funny; fuck, can that man draw!

I’m out for now.