14 DAY TRIAL // It’s not uncommon for franchise stars to keep details about upcoming installments under wraps, so perhaps this is what Matt Damon was also doing when he said he was too old for a fourth “Bourne” film. Granted he was on board with the project, the franchise has hit a very serious bump in the road in that director Paul Greengrass has left it after a fallout with Universal Pictures, The Playlist informs.
The problem is, according to the movie-oriented e-zine that cites well informed sources, that Matt Damon will not even hear of making the fourth “Bourne” film without Greengrass, with whom he also worked on the last two films. Again, the problem with this is that Universal is trying to cut down production costs and Greengrass is not actually the person to attempt this with, given his well-known propensity for spending over the allotted budget.
To make matters even worse, not only is Universal now without a director and a star, but it’s also coming short in terms of a script. “Sources and friends close to the project tells us that Paul Greengrass has quit ‘Bourne 4’ and walked away from the project. […] Two scripts have been written for the project, which is not exactly a vote of confidence. One penned by George Nolfi (who co-wrote ‘Bourne 3’ and is currently busy working with Matt Damon on ‘The Adjustment Bureau’), and a few months ago, Universal hired another scribe, Josh Zetumer, to write what they are diplomatically calling a ‘parallel” script,” The Playlist writes.
Sources also reveal that, for the time being, Universal is trying to keep Greengrass’ departure a secret and telling people the franchise is dealing with some “creative differences,” but that it will happen nonetheless as initially planned. The movie studio has not yet decided what to do should Damon really decide not to return to the franchise, out of loyalty for Greengrass, but hopes are things will not get that far.
“Some have suggested Greengrass walking away is a ‘typical Paul move’ and again, that he possibly could be back on the project in a few more months, but at the very least it does strongly indicate the tension and problems that have been brewing between the director and the studio for several months now. ‘Bourne 4’ is way off track. The studio, Greengrass and Damon’s schedule (which he kept open) was hoping to shoot the film in the fall of 2010. With no script, that’s unlikely going to happen,” the same e-zine concludes by saying.