Good Will Hunting

Good Will Hunting is a 1997 American drama film directed by Gus Van Sant and written by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. It stars Robin Williams, Damon, Affleck, Stellan Skarsgård and Minnie Driver. The film tells the story of janitor Will Hunting, whose mathematical genius is discovered by a professor at MIT.

The film received acclaim from critics and grossed over $225 million during its theatrical run against a $10 million budget. At the 70th Academy Awards, it received nominations in nine categories, including Best Picture and Best Director, and won in two: Best Supporting Actor for Williams and Best Original Screenplay for Affleck and Damon. In 2014, it was ranked at number 53 in The Hollywood ReporterTemplate:'s "100 Favorite Films" list.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Plot

After being paroled, self-taught math genius Will Hunting of South Boston works as a janitor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and spends his free time drinking with his friends Chuckie, Billy and Morgan. At work, he anonymously solves a complex graph theory problem posted on a blackboard by Professor Gerald Lambeau as a challenge for his graduate students. Later, Will and his friends start a fight with a gang that includes one of Will's childhood bullies. When police intervene, Will is charged with assaulting an officer. Lambeau posts a more difficult problem to test the mysterious stranger and later catches Will writing the solution. Mistaking Will for a vandal, Lambeau chases him off but quickly realizes that he was solving the problem. At a bar, Will meets and flirts with Skylar, a student about to graduate from Harvard University, with plans to attend medical school at Stanford.

Lambeau asks the campus maintenance staff about Will's whereabouts, but learns that he did not come to work. He discovers that Will was placed at MIT through a program for parolees and obtains his parole officer's details. At Will's court appearance, Lambeau watches as Will argues in favor of pro se legal representation and later arranges for him to avoid jail time, on the condition that he study math under Lambeau's supervision and participate in psychotherapy sessions. Will agrees but treats his therapists with mockery. A desperate Lambeau contacts Dr. Sean Maguire, his college roommate, who teaches psychology at Bunker Hill Community College. Unlike the previous therapists, Sean challenges Will's defense mechanisms. In the first session, Sean threatens Will after he insults his deceased wife. In the next sessions, Sean encourages Will to open up and Will invites Sean to move on from his wife's death. Will starts dating Skylar but lies to her about his background.

Sean recounts to Will his first meeting with his wife: he saw her at a bar and fell in love at first sight, giving up his ticket to the famous sixth game of the 1975 World Series to his friends by saying he had to go "see about a girl". Sean tells Will that he never regretted that decision, despite the hardships that followed. Will decides to introduce Skylar to his friends. Lambeau sets up several job interviews for Will, but he scorns them. In particular, he turns down a position at the National Security Agency (NSA) with a scathing critique of the agency's moral position. After Will refuses Skylar's offer to move to California with her, she calls him out for being scared, and he tells her about his past as an orphan and the abuse he suffered at the hands of his foster father. Will breaks up with Skylar and ridicules the research Lambeau had been doing. Sean confronts Will on his fear of abandonment and failure, and invites him to be honest about what he wants from life. Chuckie encourages Will to take the opportunities offered to him, telling him that everyday he hopes that Will will not answer the door, having gone away to pursue a better life.

Will hears Sean and Lambeau argue about his potential, with Sean saying that Lambeau risks ruining Will's future by pushing him too hard. Lambeau leaves, and Sean and Will talk about their shared experience as victims of child abuse. Sean helps Will accept that the abuse he received was not his fault by repeatedly stating, "It's not your fault", causing Will to break down in tears. Will accepts one of the job offers arranged by Lambeau. Sean reconciles with Lambeau and decides to take a sabbatical. For Will's birthday, his friends gift him a car to allow him to commute to work. Chuckie goes to Will's house to pick him up, but happily finds that he left. Will leaves a note for Sean, asking him to tell Lambeau that he had to go "see about a girl".

Cast

File:Robin Williams 1996.jpg

Robin Williams in 1996

• Robin Williams as Dr. Sean Maguire: A therapist from South Boston, Sean teaches psychology at Bunker Hill Community College.<ref name="cast1">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
• Matt Damon as Will Hunting: A 20-year-old self-taught math genius, Will works as a janitor at MIT after being paroled.<ref name="cast2">Template:Cite web</ref>
• Ben Affleck as Chuckie Sullivan: Will's loyal childhood friend, Chuckie works in construction and spends his free time with Will and their other two friends.<ref name="cast2" />
• Stellan Skarsgård as Professor Gerald Lambeau: A professor at MIT, Lambeau is an accomplished mathematician, having won a Fields Medal for his research.<ref name="cast2" />
• Minnie Driver as Skylar: Will's love interest, Skylar is a wealthy British student at Harvard who plans to attend medical school at Stanford.<ref name="cast2" />

The cast includes Casey Affleck and Cole Hauser as Will's friends Morgan O'Mally and Billy McBride, respectively; John Mighton as Lambeau's assistant Tom;<ref name="cast1" /> Scott William Winters as Clark, an Harvard student with whom Will has a debate;<ref name="cast1" /> George Plimpton as Will's court-ordered therapist Henry Lipkin;<ref name="cast1" /> Jimmy Flynn as Judge Malone;<ref name="cast3">Template:Cite web</ref> Christopher Britton and David Eisner as two of the company executives that interview Will;<ref name="cast3" /> Alison Folland as a MIT student;<ref name="cast3" /> and Bruce Hunter as a NSA agent that interviews Will.<ref name="cast3" /> Film director Harmony Korine makes a cameo appearance as Herve, a prisoner Will sees in jail.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Production

Writing

Actors and screenwriters Ben Affleck and Matt Damon met in their hometown of Cambridge, Massachusetts, becoming friends at the age of eight and ten, respectively.<ref name="writing1">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Years later, Damon started writing Good Will Hunting as a final assignment for a playwriting class that he attended in his fifth year at Harvard, turning in a script of around 40 pages instead of the one-act play requested by his professor.<ref name="writing2">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Damon said that only the scene of Will and Sean's first meeting survived verbatim from the first script.<ref name="writing2" /> He wrote in it his then-girlfriend, Skylar Satenstein, a medical student at Harvard that later married Lars Ulrich of Metallica.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Damon left university after getting a role in the 1993 film Geronimo: An American Legend and joined Affleck in Los Angeles, bringing with him the script.<ref name="writing2" /> He asked for Affleck's input, leading to the beginning of their long-standing creative collaboration with Good Will Hunting.<ref name="writing1" /><ref name="writing2" /> Affleck and Damon were inspired to work on the script by Quentin Tarantino's success story with the production of his 1992 film Reservoir Dogs, which had been picked up despite him being a store clerk due to word of mouth: Tarantino had talked about the film with producer Lawrence Bender, who brought the script to film star Harvey Keitel, whose interest in starring in it led to Tarantino being able to find funding for the film.<ref name="writing3">Template:Cite magazine</ref> In Los Angeles, the duo secured small roles in films and commercials, sharing their earnings to sustain themselves while trying to break in the film industry without much success.<ref name="writing3" /><ref name="writing4">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Template:Quote box Affleck and Damon were inspired by the resentful feelings experienced in their childhood toward students who came to Cambridge to attend Harvard and MIT, taking over the city uncaring of respecting its residents.<ref name="writing5" /> However, Damon became conflicted after attending Harvard himself, seeing that the students were good-willed and witnessing first-hand the dichotomy between local and college life in Cambridge.<ref name="writing5" /> Affleck and Damon drew on their families and friends' life experiences for inspiration: Affleck's father and his then-girlfriend worked as janitors at Harvard, Affleck and Damon had worked in construction in the summers, and some of Affleck's father and Damon's mother past experiences informed Sean's background story.<ref name="writing2" /><ref name="writing5" /> The duo purposefully wrote Sean's part as one with flexible characteristics, devising it as "the Harvey Keitel part"—meaning a role that suited a Hollywood star, giving the character their best lines but little screen time so it could easily fit in a busy schedule.<ref name="writing3" /><ref name="writing6">Template:Cite news</ref> Damon said: "It could have gone to Meryl Streep, you know what I mean? We could have done some rewrites and it becomes more of a mother/son relationship. It could have gone to Morgan Freeman... and then you bring in elements of racial tension around Boston."<ref name="writing6" />

Initially, the script dealt with the life of a young self-taught physics genius from South Boston sought after by the NSA for his extraordinary abilities.<ref name="writing2" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In scenes inspired by Martin Brest's Beverly Hills Cop (1984) and Midnight Run (1988), the young man and his friends lead the NSA agents in chases around the city,<ref name="writing2" /> as Affleck and Damon felt they had to include an action subplot to make the film commercially appealing.<ref name="writing5" /><ref name="writing7">Template:Cite web</ref> The duo improvised some of the scenes and recorded them on tape while imitating Freeman and Robert De Niro, who they envisioned playing the roles of the therapist and the professor.<ref name="writing2" /> Affleck and Damon shared the script with film producer Chris Moore, whom they both knew: Affleck had been working with him on the 1995 film Glory Daze, while Damon had met him in Cambridge.<ref name="writing2" /> Moore liked Good Will Hunting and decided to help them find a studio to produce it.<ref name="writing2" />

Financing

The duo completed the script in 1994 and brought it to their talent agent, Patrick Whitesell, who recalled: "I read it over the weekend and I was blown away."<ref name="writing2" /> However, Whitesell knew it would be almost impossible to find a studio who would produce a movie written by and starring two unknown actors, with the only precedent known to him being the 1976 film Rocky, in which previously unknown actor Sylvester Stallone wrote the script and starred in the lead role.<ref name="writing2" /> Affleck and Damon had not yet agreed neither on the title nor on the main character's name, which Damon thought should be Nate.<ref name="writing8">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The duo read a script named Good Will Hunting written by their high school friend Derrick Bridgeman, to whom they promised to give $10,000 in exchange for using the title if they managed to sell the script.<ref name="writing8" /> Bridgeman later appeared in the film as a student in one of Lambeau's classes.<ref name="writing8" /> Whitesell brought Good Will Hunting to the attention of several studio executives by initially promoting it as a Shane Black-style film like The Last Boy Scout (1991).<ref name="writing3" /> Information about the script spread to other Hollywood creative executives in the span of four days, initiating a bidding war.<ref name="writing2" /> Affleck and Damon accepted Castle Rock Entertainment's offer of $600,000 in November 1994 at the suggestion of director Richard Linklater, with whom Affleck had worked on the 1993 film Dazed and Confused.<ref name="writing2" /><ref name="writing3" /> After splitting it evenly, both of them spent all of the money in six months, between paying taxes, giving their agents a fee, buying a Jeep Cherokee, and renting a party house by the Hollywood Bowl for months.<ref name="writing4" />

Template:Multiple image Film director and Castle Rock founder Rob Reiner urged Affleck and Damon to focus on either the thriller aspect or the relationship between Will and Sean.<ref name="writing2" /> In one meeting set up by Castle Rock, screenwriter William Goldman read the script and agreed with Reiner, telling Affleck and Damon to focus on Will and Sean.<ref name="writing7" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The duo picked the interpersonal relationship and removed 60 pages of the NSA storyline from the 120-to-130-page script, ending up rewriting it.<ref name="writing2" /> Castle Rock had them rewrite the script several times, but after a year Affleck and Damon began to suspect that studio executives had stopped reading it attentively.<ref name="writing3" /> To test them, the duo began inserting scenes of Will and Sean having oral sex incongruous to the script, which the executives never mentioned in meetings.<ref name="writing2" /> Affleck and Damon wanted to direct and star in the film, but the studio did not allow it.<ref name="writing2" /> After they disagreed with Castle Rock's pick of obscure director Andrew Scheinman, the studio put the film into turnaround, asking Affleck and Damon to find another company that would buy Good Will Hunting for $1 million in thirty days.<ref name="writing3" /> If they failed, Castle Rock would oust Affleck and Damon from the production, going ahead to make the film with another creative team.<ref name="writing2" />

Affleck and Damon went back to the studios that they had previously refused.<ref name="writing2" /> Several executives set up meetings just to tell them that they would not buy the film.<ref name="writing2" /> Affleck said that one such meeting with Interscope Communications founder Ted Field inspired him to write a scene of his 2012 film Argo.<ref name="writing2" /> Studio executives wanted to cast more established actors like Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt in the lead role, but Damon kept reminding them of Stallone's story, which inspired him not to give up.<ref name="writing3" /><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Affleck asked Kevin Smith if he would direct the film and bring it to Miramax Films, as Affleck and Smith had already been working together on the Miramax production Chasing Amy (1997).<ref name="writing2" /><ref name="writing3" /> Smith said he "wouldn't dare direct" it given its beauty, but brought the script to the attention of Miramax founder Harvey Weinstein.<ref name="writing2" /> Weinstein liked it, but asked them to remove scenes in which Will played chess and had sex with Sean.<ref name="writing2" /> In the fall of 1995, one day after reading the script, Weinstein bought Good Will Hunting from Castle Rock for $1 million, sending the film into production with Affleck and Damon set to star.<ref name="writing2" /><ref name="writing3" /> At Miramax, some executives disagreed with his decision; in particular, producer Cary Woods had previously turned down Affleck and Damon.<ref name="writing3" />

Pre-production

Smith recommended to Miramax to let Affleck and Damon direct Good Will Hunting, but the studio disagreed.<ref name="preproduction1">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Affleck and Damon suggested director Gus Van Sant, whom they had come to know and admire through Affleck's brother Casey.<ref name="writing3" /> Miramax sent the script to Van Sant, who said about his first reading of Good Will Hunting: "Usually when I read a script, after a few pages, I put it down—but this kept me going."<ref name="writing2" /> He contacted and set up a meeting with Affleck through Casey, with whom he had worked on his 1995 film To Die For.<ref name="writing2" /> However, Weinstein disagreed with Affleck and Damon's pick and set up meetings for them with other potential directors,<ref name="writing2" /> including Michael Mann.<ref name="preproduction1" /> The Reality Bites (1994) director Ben Stiller refused an offer to direct the film since he had not heard of Affleck and Damon.<ref>Template:Cite website</ref> The duo met with Braveheart (1995) director Mel Gibson and began developing the film with him for a few months.<ref name="writing2" /> However, Gibson's drawn-out production lead Damon to ask him to drop out, since he feared him and Affleck would become too old to play their roles.<ref name="writing2" /> After Gibson agreed, Miramax officially offered the film to Van Sant, but at a quarter of his asking price.<ref name="writing2" /><ref name="writing3" /> Van Sant hesitated at the idea of working with Weinstein, having heard of his temper from Tarantino.<ref name="writing3" /> Van Sant and Weinstein argued over final cut privilege, stopping production of the film.<ref name="writing2" /> Weinstein kept searching for other directors, offering the film to and receiving a refusal from Chris Columbus.<ref name="writing3" /> Meanwhile, Affleck and Damon moved back to Boston.<ref name="writing2" />

Template:Quote box After a year, Weinstein assigned Bender to the film and conceded to pay Van Sant's asking price, prompted to resume the production by Damon's casting in Francis Ford Coppola's 1997 film The Rainmaker, based on John Grisham's 1995 novel of the same name, and film star Robin Williams' apparent interest in Good Will Hunting.<ref name="writing2" /><ref name="writing3" /> In an interview, Damon explained that his casting in an adaptation of a novel by the popular Grisham gave Weinstein confidence of his potential as a leading man, but it was Williams' interest and eventual casting in the film that were pivotal to getting Good Will Hunting made.<ref name="writing2" /> Williams had first heard of the film from Coppola, with whom he had collaborated on the 1996 film Jack, and received the script from Van Sant.<ref name="writing3" /> He became fascinated with Sean's background and attitude towards Will, saying: "It's the same sense I had on Dead Poets Society, that there was something really powerful there."<ref name="writing2" /><ref name="preproduction2" /> At the time, Williams' fee was around $20 million per movie, but he lowered it to $5 million and had it written in his contract with Miramax that he would get 20% of the earnings if the film's gross surpassed $60 million, with the percentage growing as the gross kept increasing.<ref name="writing6" />

Bender officially hired Van Sant as the director.<ref name="writing2" /> Still unsure about the ending, Affleck and Damon talked about it with Van Sant.<ref name="preproduction3">Template:Cite news</ref> The duo had originally ended the script with Will's death at the hands of the gang that Will fights at the start of the film, but Van Sant proposed to have Chuckie be killed in an accident on the construction site.<ref name="preproduction3" /> Affleck and Damon tried writing his idea of the ending, but scrapped that version after Van Sant read it and disliked it.<ref name="preproduction3" /> The duo scheduled a meeting with Terrence Malick, film director and the best friend of Affleck's godfather, who suggested to them to end the film with Will following Skylar to California, instead of them leaving together as they had considered.<ref name="writing5" />

Template:Multiple image In early 1997, Bender, Moore, and Van Sant began auditioning actors at the Bowery Hotel in New York, casting Cole Hauser as Billy but struggling to find performers for the roles of Skylar and Lambeau.<ref name="writing2" /> The team eventually chose actress Minnie Driver for Skylar, with Van Sant saying of her audition: "She just blew us away".<ref name="writing2" /> However, Driver stated that Weinstein sent a sexist note to the casting director, disagreeing with the team's choice because "nobody would want to fuck" Driver, which left her "devastated" at the idea that she might not be hired for misogynistic reasons.<ref name="preproduction4">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Weinstein denied Driver's claim regarding the note, but stated that he had wanted to cast Ashley Judd in the role at first.<ref name="preproduction4" /> Actor Stellan Skarsgård received the script while shooting Steven Spielberg's 1997 film Amistad and accepted the offer for the role of Lambeau.<ref name="writing2" /> Van Sant and the production team assumed that Casey would play Morgan, since he embodied the character's personality and often spent time with the team.<ref name="preproduction5">Template:Cite magazine</ref> However, Casey initially refused the part to focus on making a documentary of the production, before accepting to appear in Good Will Hunting.<ref name="preproduction5" />

Meanwhile, the production team began scouting locations in Toronto, but realized that some of the scenes had to be shot in Boston to truly capture the city's character.<ref name="writing2" /> Affleck and Damon gave tours of South Boston to Skarsgård and Williams at the latter's request; one night, the duo brought Williams to the L Street Tavern, attracting a large crowd of residents.<ref name="writing2" /> Williams liked the gritty atmosphere of the bar and called Weinstein to inform him that he wanted to shoot some of Affleck and Damon's scenes at that bar.<ref name="writing2" /><ref name="preproduction2" />

Filming

Template:Quote box Filming began on April 14, 1997, and ended nine weeks later.<ref name="writing2" /> Affleck and Damon let Van Sant take over the development of the narrative and decided to focus on acting.<ref name="filming1" /> Van Sant's process included rehearsing with the actors, finding an inconspicuous area to place the camera and shooting long scenes without interfering, to get performances and interactions that conveyed a "moment-to-moment honesty" according to Damon.<ref name="writing2" /><ref name="filming1" /> Van Sant tried to accomodate actors: Damon often needed just one take, Affleck liked to try the scenes for a few times, and Williams needed "at least seven takes" to feel satisfied as he wanted to have versions that focused on different emotions.<ref name="writing8" /> Several cast members appreciated Van Sant's method: Damon felt that his acting process was "nurtured" by the director, Skarsgård said he gave "the actors space to grow", and Williams found the process "easy", liking that Van Sant stayed in the scene with actors and did not use playback frequently.<ref name="writing8" /><ref name="filming1" /> Williams often improvised lines on set, with one of his additions being the last line of Good Will Hunting: "Son of a bitch stole my line".<ref name="writing2" />

Filming took place in Toronto for the interiors and in the Greater Boston area for the exteriors and a few interiors.<ref name="filming2">Template:Cite magazine</ref> In Toronto, the production filmed several interior scenes at the University of Toronto, using Knox College, St Michael's College, Victoria College, Whitney Hall, McLennan Physical Laboratories and Faculty Club.<ref name="filming4">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Other scenes were shot at the Central Technical School, the Upfront Bar and Grill, and other locations.<ref name="filming4" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In Boston, Affleck and his brother along with Damon and Hauser lived in the same apartment and often hang out with Driver.<ref name="writing8" /> The cast and crew were welcomed by the residents of South Boston, with some offering suggestions for what would make the film "more Boston".<ref name="writing8" /> Van Sant cast Bostonians in small roles, giving the role of Judge Malone to the production's head teamster Jimmy Flynn, a member of the Winter Hill Gang who had previously been tried and acquitted for murder in the same courtroom of the Boston Municipal Court's South Boston Division used in the film.<ref name="writing8" /><ref name="filming2" /><ref name="filming5">Template:Cite news</ref>

Template:Multiple image The marketing team at Miramax wanted to use several chain restaurants as sets, but Affleck and Damon championed distinctive Boston locations like The Tasty and Kelly's Roast Beef.<ref name="writing2" /> The Harvard administration initially refused to let the production film on campus, but accepted after actor and Harvard alumnus John Lithgow vouched for them, allowing the team to shoot scenes in front of Dunster and Lowell House.<ref name="filming2" /> The Boston Police Department provided security for the production while Damon and Williams were filming a scene at the Boston Public Garden, which attracted more than 3,000 spectators.<ref name="writing2" /> Other locations in Boston used or featured in the film include the L Street Tavern, a Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin Robbins combination store, the MIT campus, the Bow and Arrow Pub, an Au Bon Pain store, the Harvard Square, and Bunker Hill Community College.<ref name="filming2" /><ref name="filming5" /> The film ends with Will driving away on Massachusetts Turnpike.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Post-production and music

File:Gus Van Sant Cannes 2015.jpg

Gus Van Sant in 2015

Van Sant hired editor Pietro Scalia for Good Will Hunting, having liked his work with directors Oliver Stone and Bernando Bertolucci.<ref name="postproduction1">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Scalia used an Avid Technology editing software on Good Will Hunting.<ref name="postproduction1" /> Scalia, Van Sant, and the film's cinematographer Jean-Yves Escoffier worked together to get the final result, starting from a first edited version that Escoffier and Van Sant thought had too many cuts.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Scalia focused on the rhythm of the dialogues and the actors' dialects, trying to convey the film's authenticity.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Cutting Williams' performance, he chose to use the actor's first takes, finding that Williams' later cuts did not have "that early freshness, that insecurity, that fear".<ref name="postproduction2">Template:Cite web</ref> Surprised by the final result, Williams thanked him in person at an exclusive screening organized for him in San Francisco and in a letter after he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, saying Scalia had done "the kindest cut".<ref name="postproduction2" />

For Good Will HuntingTemplate:'s score, Van Sant worked with film composer Danny Elfman, with whom he had first collaborated on To Die For.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> At that time, Van Sant had heard of singer-songwriter Elliott Smith while searching for "raw" sounds, but decided that a heavy metal artist would better fit the film.<ref name="music1">Template:Cite magazine</ref> After wrapping production for To Die For, he began listening to Smith's music, thinking it would be a better match with Good Will Hunting.<ref name="music1" /> He first talked about it with Bender during pre-production and went on to film with Smith's music in mind, telling Scalia to begin incorporating his songs while editing.<ref name="music1" /> Meanwhile, he met with Elfman in Boston to ask for his opinion.<ref name="music2">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Elfman approved and began writing a score to match the songs.<ref name="music2" /> Towards the end of the editing process, Van Sant contacted Smith through mutual friends to ask for permission to use his music.<ref name="music1" /> Smith agreed after watching the film, which inspired him to write an original song, "Miss Misery", for Good Will Hunting.<ref name="music1" /> Elfman, Smith, and Van Sant collaborated to finish the score, blending Smith's songs with Elfman's pieces.<ref name="music3">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Elfman provided the orchestral arrangement for Smith's 1997 song "Between the Bars" and later rearranged "Miss Misery" for his performances at award shows, including the 70th Academy Awards.<ref name="music2" /> Elfman recalled it as "the best experience" he had working on music with an artist, adding: "After 110 films, or whatever, it's been one of the only two times I feel I collaborated with anybody".<ref name="music2" /><ref name="music3" />

Soundtrack

A soundtrack album for the film was released by Capitol Records on November 18, 1997, although only two of Elfman's cues appear on the release.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

"Afternoon Delight" by the Starland Vocal Band and "Runaway" by Del Shannon were featured in the film but did not appear on the soundtrack album.

A limited-edition soundtrack album featuring Elfman's complete score from the film was released by Music Box Records on March 3, 2014. The soundtrack, issued in 1500 copies, includes all of Elfman's cues (including music not featured on the rare Miramax Academy promo) and contains the songs by Elliott Smith. One of the tracks is Smith's songs with Elfman's arrangements added to the mix.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

1. Main Title (2:44)
2. Genie Mopper (0:37)
3. First Calculation (1:08)
4. Theorem (0:42)
5. Kick Ass Choir (0:59)
6. Mystery Math (2:28)
7. Them Apples (0:57)
8. Jail (1:13)
9. Second Shrink (1:14)
10. Any Port (1:25)
11. Times Up (1:14)
12. Oliver Twist (1:58)
13. Staring Contest (0:49)
14. Secret Weapon (0:57)
15. Retainer (Part A) (0:58)
16. Retainer (Part B) (0:20)
17. Tell You Something (0:48)
18. No Love Me (0:47)
19. Fire Music (1:11)
20. Whose Fault (2:34)
21. End Titles (3:50)
22. Between the Bars (Orchestral) (1:09) – Performed by Elliott Smith / Arr. by Elfman
23. No Name #3 (3:04) – Performed by Elliott Smith
24. Say Yes (2:15) – Performed by Elliott Smith
25. Between the Bars (2:21) – Performed by Elliott Smith
26. Angeles (2:55) – Performed by Elliott Smith
27. Miss Misery (3:12) – Performed by Elliott Smith

Mathematics

In an early version of the script, Will Hunting was going to be a physics prodigy, but Nobel Laureate in Physics Sheldon Glashow at Harvard told Damon that the subject should be math instead of physics. Glashow referred Damon to his brother-in-law, Daniel Kleitman, a mathematics professor at MIT. Columbia University physics and math professor Brian Greene at the Tribeca Sloan retrospectively explained that for physics, "Having some deep insight about the universe [⁠ ⁠.⁠ ⁠.⁠ ⁠.⁠ ⁠] typically [⁠ ⁠is ⁠] a group project in the modern era", while "doing some mathematical theorem is a singular undertaking very often".<ref name="bi">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="mit">Template:Cite news</ref> Patrick O'Donnell, professor of physics at the University of Toronto, served as the mathematical consultant for the film.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the spring of 1997, Damon and Affleck asked Kleitman to "speak math to us" for writing realistic dialogue, so Kleitman invited postdoc Tom Bohman to join him, giving them a "quick lecture". When asked for a problem that Will could solve, Kleitman and Bohman suggested the unsolved computer science P versus NP problem, but the film used other problems.

The main hallway blackboard is used twice to reveal Will's talent, first to the audience, and second to Professor Lambeau. Damon based it on his artist brother Kyle visiting MIT's Infinite Corridor and writing "an incredibly elaborate, totally fake, version of an equation" on a blackboard, which lasted for months. Kyle returned to Matt, saying that MIT needed those blackboards "because these kids are so smart they just need to, you know, drop everything and solve problems!".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The second problem written by Lambeau involves graph theory, asking to draw all series-reduced trees on ten nodes. Will manages to write eight of the ten trees, before Lambeau interrupts him.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The first blackboard problem

Near the start of the film, Will sets aside his mop to study a difficult problem posed by Lambeau on the blackboard.<ref>Burkard Polster & Marty Ross (2012) Math goes to the Movies, Johns Hopkins University Press, page 9, Template:ISBN</ref> The problem has to do with intermediate-level graph theory, but Lambeau describes it as an advanced "Fourier system".

To answer the first part of the question, Will chalks up an adjacency matrix:

<math>A=\begin{pmatrix} 0 & 1 & 0& 1 \\ 1 & 0 & 2 & 1 \\ 0 & 2 & 0 & 0 \\ 1 & 1 & 0 & 0 \end{pmatrix}.</math>

To answer the second part, he determines the number of 3-step walks in the graph, and finds the third power matrix:

<math>A^3=\begin{pmatrix} 2 & 7 & 2 & 3 \\ 7 & 2 & 12 & 7 \\ 2 & 12 & 0 & 2 \\ 3 & 7 & 2 & 2 \end{pmatrix}.</math>

The third and fourth parts of the question concern generating functions. The other characters are astounded that a janitor shows such facility with matrices.

Release

Marketing

After the end of production in June, Weinsten ordered a test screening for Good Will Hunting.<ref name="writing3" /> It ended up scoring the highest among all films Miramax had ever produced, leading the studio to move up the film's premiere to December 5, 1997, one week before James Cameron's Titanic.<ref name="writing3" /> At the time, Miramax had become renowned in the industry for its relentless marketing campaigns, targeted at winning as many Academy Awards as possible, as a strategy to promote their independent films to wider audiences.<ref name="release1">Template:Cite news</ref> At the 69th Academy Awards, the studio had garnered twenty nominations for its 1996 productions, including twelve for The English Patient and two each for Sling Blade and Emma.<ref name="release1" /> According to The New York Times, Miramax's strategy that year had involved an advertising campaign in Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, telephone campaigns and screenings to market their lesser-known films to Academy voters, television and radio shows about the making of Miramax films, and a series of cultural events tied to their films.<ref name="release1" /> Weinstein had denied that the studio staged extreme marketing campaigns for the Academy Awards, and an executive stated that their marketing strategy aimed to reach large audiences, not win awards.<ref name="release1" /> Nearing the premiere, Miramax used a similarly intense strategy for Good Will Hunting, running a marketing campaign featuring Affleck and Damon that soon led them to become exhausted.<ref name="writing3" /><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Despite being understanding of the studio's motivations, Damon later said: "The whole experience was overwhelming, very unhealthy."<ref name="writing3" />

Theatrical run

File:Bruin Theatre, Westwood, Los Angeles, CA , at night.jpg

The Bruin Theater in 2006

Good Will Hunting premiered on December 2, 1997, at the Bruin Theater in Westwood Village, Los Angeles.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In the United States, the film received a limited release in seven theaters across New York and Los Angeles on December 5, 1997, grossing $272,912 in its opening weekend.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="release2">Template:Cite web</ref> In its fourth weekend of release, it grossed $1,720,540—a 767.2% increase—from 157 theaters.<ref name="release2" /> Two weeks later, Good Will Hunting received a wide release across 1,787 theaters, grossing $14,844,684 and finishing as the number two film of the week behind Titanic.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In its eight week, it grossed $11,218,707 and began to fall in the rankings, finishing as the number three film of the week behind Titanic and Spice World.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By the following week, the film had earned a total gross of over $60 million.<ref name="release3">Template:Cite web</ref> In the week following the announcement of Good Will HuntingTemplate:'s nominations at the 70th Academy Awards, it earned $11,075,873—a 23.8% increase—and finished as the number four film of the week behind Titanic and two new releases, The Wedding Singer and Sphere.<ref name="accolades1">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In its fourteenth week, the film's total gross surpassed the 100 million mark.<ref name="release3" />

According to Smith, Williams' deal dictated that at that point he would begin receiving a bigger percentage of the first-dollar gross profits—nearing a fifty-fifty split.<ref name="release4">Template:Cite web</ref> Miramax had reached a point where it became more advantageous for them to pull the film from theaters and release it on DVD and home video, instead of paying the cost of running advertisings in publications and keeping the film in theaters.<ref name="release5">Template:Cite web</ref> Weinstein asked Damon to convince Williams to renegotiate the deal so the film could stay in theaters, with the promise that Miramax would keep promoting to help it reach a total gross of $150 million.<ref name="release5" /> After Damon refused, Weinstein and Miramax first scaled back the number of theaters in which it played, before definitively pulling it from theaters.<ref name="release4" /><ref name="release5" /><ref name="release6">Template:Cite web</ref> Good Will Hunting left theaters in its thirty-third week of release, having grossed $138 million and spent thirteen consecutive weeks among the top ten highest-grossing films.<ref name="release3" /><ref name="release6" /> Affleck, Damon, and Van Sant were also owed shares of the film's revenue, equivalent to 2.5% of the adjusted gross for Van Sant and a percentage of the net profit for Affleck and Damon.<ref name="writing3" /> Van Sant stated that Miramax did not pay it and that Weinstein told him that Williams' deal had depleted their resources, but Weinstein refused the claims.<ref name="writing3" /> Affleck and Damon also did not receive their share, as Miramax told them the film had lost $50 million.<ref name="writing3" /> Both were later given a bonus of $500,000 each.<ref name="writing3" />

Home media

Good Will Hunting was first released on home video on July 7, 1998.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Over the course of that year, the film received releases in the United States on formats LaserDisc, DIVX, and DVD, with the latter being a collector's edition that included audio commentary by Affleck, Damon, and Van Sant, eleven deleted scenes with commentary, a promotional featurette on the film's making, and a music video.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In June 2011, it became available on streaming through the subscription video-on-demand service Netflix.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In August 2011, Good Will Hunting was first made available on the home video format Blu-Ray.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A year later, the film received a second Blu-Ray release for its fifteenth anniversary that included previously released bonus content, a retrospective documentary on the film's development and reception, and a featurette of an interview with Damon, talking about its production and impact on his life.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It also became available on the subscription video-on-demand services Apple TV+ and Paramount+.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In August 2025, Good Will Hunting appeared in Netflix's list of the top ten most-watched films of the week.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Reception

Critical response

Good Will Hunting received widespread acclaim from critics. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 97%, based on 91 reviews, with an average rating of 8.10/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "It follows a predictable narrative arc, but Good Will Hunting adds enough quirks to the journey – and is loaded with enough powerful performances – that it remains an entertaining, emotionally rich drama."<ref name="Tomatoes">Template:Cite web</ref> On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 71 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.<ref name="Metacritic">Template:Cite web</ref> Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on a scale of A+ to F.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three stars out of four, writing that while the story is "predictable", it is "the individual moments, not the payoff, that make it so effective".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Duane Byrge of The Hollywood Reporter praised the performances of the cast, writing, "The acting is brilliant overall, with special praise to Matt Damon for his ragingly tender portrayal of the boy cursed with genius."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Peter Stack of the San Francisco Chronicle was equally positive, writing, "The glow goes well beyond a radiant performance by Matt Damon ... Intimate, heartfelt and wickedly funny, it's a movie whose impact lingers."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Owen Gleiberman, writing for Entertainment Weekly, gave the film a "B", stating, "Good Will Hunting is stuffed – indeed, overstuffed – with heart, soul, audacity, and blarney. You may not believe a minute of it, but you don't necessarily want to stop watching." He also noted Damon's and Williams' chemistry, describing it as "a quicksilver intercepting each other's thoughts".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Janet Maslin of The New York Times called the screenplay "smart and touching", and praised Van Sant for directing with "style, shrewdness and clarity". She also complimented the production design and cinematography, which were able to effortlessly move the viewer from "classroom to dorm room to neighborhood bar", in a small setting.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Quentin Curtis of The Daily Telegraph opined that Williams' performance brought "sharpness and tenderness", calling the film a "crowd-pleaser, with bags of charm to spare. It doesn't bear thinking too much about its message ... Damon and Affleck's writing has real wit and vigour, and some depth."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Andrew O'Hehir of Salon stated that despite the "enjoyable characters", he thought that the film was somewhat superficial, writing, "there isn't a whole lot of movie to take home with you ... many will wake the next morning wondering why, with all that talent on hand, it amounts to so little in the end."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Writing for the BBC, Nev Pierce gave the film four stars out of five, describing it as "touching, without being sentimental", although he felt that some scenes were "odd lapses into self-help speak".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Emanuel Levy of Variety called the film a "beautifully realized tale ... engaging and often quite touching". He felt that the film's visual style showcased Van Sant's talent, but the plot was "quite predictable".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Accolades

Template:See also At the 70th Academy Awards, Good Will Hunting and its cast and crew won Best Original Screenplay (for Affleck and Damon) and Best Supporting Actor (for Williams) and received nominations for Best Actor (for Damon), Best Director (for Van Sant), Best Film Editing (for Scalia), Best Original Dramatic Score (for Elfman), Best Original Song (for Smith's "Miss Misery"), Best Picture, and Best Supporting Actress (for Driver).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Affleck and Damon won the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Original Screenplay and the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay, among others.<ref name="accolades1" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Williams won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Academic response

Several scholars have examined the role of class, religion and the cultural geography of Boston in the film. Jeffrey Herlihy-Mera observed that the residual Catholic–Protestant tensions in Boston are an important backdrop in the film, as Irish Catholics from Southie are aligned against ostensibly Protestant characters who are affiliated with Harvard and MIT.<ref name="Herlihy-Mera">Template:Cite journal</ref> Emmett Winn has argued that character interactions show class conflict and stunted social mobility,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> while, similarly, David Lipset commented that class inequality is a driving subtext.<ref name="Lipset">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Sequel

In 2023, Affleck was offered to participate in the production of a sequel for Good Will Hunting, but stated that neither he nor Damon would pursue the project.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

See also

• List of films about mathematicians
• Farmers and Fishermen: Two Centuries of Work in Essex County, Massachusetts, 1630–1850

External links

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