Hollywood A-listers and childhood friends Matt Damon and Ben Affleck established their place in movie-making history more than 25 years ago, winning an Oscar for best screenplay with Good Will Hunting in 1998.
Their relationship on screen began in 1989, when they both scored roles as teenage extras in the acclaimed Field of Dreams.
Now, their bromance continues, collaborating on the biopic, Air, about Nike and the rise of NBA superstar Michael Jordan.
‘A shoe is just a shoe, until my son steps into it’
The pair have spoken about their work and life friendship over the intervening years, and have periodically worked with each other when the chance arose.
“I’ve known him for 35 years, and we grew up together,” Affleck told Entertainment Weekly in 2016.
“We were both in love with the same thing – acting and filmmaking. I think we fed on each other’s obsession during really formative, important years and that bonded us for life.”
The bond continued in 2021 for Ridley Scott‘s The Last Duel, co-starring in and writing the feature film.
The love continues with Air (in cinemas April 5), which Affleck directed (based on true events), and focuses on sports giant Nike’s pivotal partnership with Jordan and the ensuing launch of the Air Jordan sneaker.
“This moving story follows the career-defining gamble of an unconventional team with everything on the line, the uncompromising vision of a mother [Viola Davis] who knows the worth of her son’s immense talent, and the basketball phenom who would become the greatest of all time,” reads the film’s official synopsis.
“A shoe is just a shoe until my son steps into it,” says Davis, who plays a key role in the film as Jordan’s mother, Deloris.
Over the past few weeks, the pair have been promoting the film, which is gaining early Oscar buzz, but it’s these words of Affleck that still resonate: “If you’re really lucky in life, you’ll have a friend like Matt … I love him and it’s the biggest joy of my professional life to work with him.”
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Twilight Saga movie marathon: April 5
Calling all vampire lovers.
For a complete change of pace – and for the nostalgic who remember Kristen Stewart (Bella) and Robert Pattinson (vampire Edward) fall in love on screen – select cinemas including Melbourne’s Cinema Nova and the Ritz in Sydney are running an overnight movie marathon of all Twilight movies made between 2008 and 2012.
Showing all five films from the saga, Nova says they’ll be screened back to back “in one chaotic overnight not-to-be-missed event.
“Expect singalongs, giveaways, dress-ups, sparkly torsos, an early morning cereal breakfast, and much, much more!”
Super Mario Bros. Movie: April 5
For the first time, the iconic global entertainment brands Illumination and Nintendo have joined forces to create this new, big-screen adventure starring one of pop culture’s most prominent plumbers of the past four decades.
Based on the world of Nintendo’s Mario games, the story goes that Brooklyn plumbers Mario (Chris Pratt, Jurassic World and The LEGO Movie franchises) and brother Luigi (Charlie Day, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) are transported down a mysterious pipe and wander into a magical new world.
The voice-over cast includes Seth Rogen, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key and Anya Taylor-Joy.
Living: April 5 (special screening with actor Bill Nighy zooming in)
While the big cinema chains periodically showcase a blockbuster with an introduction to the movie by their lead star – think Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick Australian premiere last June – independent chain Cinema Nova are thinking outside the square.
British Oscar-nominated actor Bill Nighy and producer Stephen Woolley will zoom in for a live virtual Q&A after a screening of Living, a story about an ageing civil servant who receives a tragic medical diagnosis and decides to make the most of his last years alive.
It’s a heartwarming and inspirational story about his plan to leave a legacy for the next generation.
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The Pope’s Exorcist: April 6
“Where am I?” Russell Crowe often asks on Twitter, and it’s always cryptic photos of cities where he’s based filming a movie.
Last year, he posted a series of teaser photos (including this one above) while shooting The Pope’s Exorcist in Rome and now we get to see it all in one feature-length film.
The film follows Father Gabriele Amorth (Crowe), chief exorcist of the Vatican, as he investigates a young boy’s terrifying possession and ends up uncovering a centuries-old conspiracy the Vatican has tried to keep hidden.
There are scenes reminiscent of the 1973 classic, The Exorcist (think freezing bedrooms, heads turning and the devil’s voice speaking through a child).
Does Father Amorth make it out alive?
Mafia Mamma: April 13
Enduring Australian actress Toni Collette is no stranger to playing powerful women, and she’s back on the big screen as a suburban American woman who inherits her grandfather’s Mafia empire.
If the trailer is anything to go by she has nailed the brief and, with great comedic timing, defies the trusted consigliere’s expectations and becomes the new head of the family business.
Collette has also just completed the comedy The Estate and is set to star in TV series, The Power.
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Coldplay: Music of the Spheres Live Broadcast: April 19
Time for some musical entertainment, people.
Following the record-breaking success of Coldplay’s Music Of The Spheres Live Broadcast from Argentina to cinemas worldwide last October, the band is back on the big screen in a brand new director’s cut of the show.
Filmed during Coldplay’s sold-out, 10-night run at Buenos Aires’ River Plate stadium, the concert film features remixed and remastered sound with stunning visuals captured by BAFTA-winning and Grammy-nominated director Paul Dugdale.
Guest appearances include Jin of Korean pop group, BTS, with the live debut of his record-breaking single The Astronaut.
The Giants: April 20
In this compelling documentary, the life and career of former Greens senator Dr Bob Brown is showcased in spectacular fashion.
He shares intimate details about his family, his homosexuality and his fight to save the forests – and the planet – from commercial interests.
Using archival footage of demonstrations including his most famous – stopping the Gordon-below-Franklin dam, his arrests, his time in parliament, Dr Brown talks about the future, and what we can all do.
Special mention goes to the Avatar-style graphics of how old growth forests survive.
