Matt Damon gave "literally everyone" True Grit for Christmas

Mr. Damon, 40, says he was unfamiliar with the 1968 Charles Portis novel that inspired the movie prior to signing on for his role in the Coens' film. "It's a great American classic and I don't know how I missed it up to now," he said. "It's beautifully written and I've been recommending it to everyone. I literally gave it to everyone for Christmas this year."

Just when we thought we couldn't love Matt Damon more comes this fantastic Q&A with him in the Wall Street Journal. While we think he absolutely nailed the role of LeBeouf, we're especially thrilled that this film introduced him to True Grit and Charles Portis.

Just a reminder for those of you who prefer to read your books in the 21st century way--True Grit will be released as an ebook on 1/21.

Happy reading!

The Wall Street Journal
NY Culture
January 11, 2011
by Michelle Kung

With $110 million and counting at the box office, the Coen brothers' remake of "True Grit" has become one of the most successful Westerns in Hollywood history, thanks in no small part to the effort of stars Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld and Matt Damon, who plays the comical but steadfast Texas Ranger, LaBoeuf.

Mr. Damon, 40, says he was unfamiliar with the 1968 Charles Portis novel that inspired the movie prior to signing on for his role in the Coens' film. "It's a great American classic and I don't know how I missed it up to now," he said. "It's beautifully written and I've been recommending it to everyone. I literally gave it to everyone for Christmas this year."

Mr. Damon, who lives with his family in New York, spoke with the Journal about "True Grit," the Coen brothers and New York City tax breaks.

Recently you've been working with directors you've made films with before, like Clint Eastwood and Steven Soderbergh. What was it like being directed by the Coens for the first time?

The Coens weren't totally unfamiliar to me because I did a movie ["The Good Old Boys"] in 1994 with Frances [McDormand, who is married to Joel Coen], and Joel was around on set. Also, because I've had so many friends work with them, I had already heard a lot about their process. There wasn't a sussing-out period; I felt very comfortable right away. Part of that though, is that they try very hard to make everyone feel comfortable on-set. I'm hoping I get to keep working with them. We did [an interview with] Charlie Rose about a month ago and as we were leaving, I asked them what they were working on. They said they didn't know, so I said, "Untitled Matt Damon Project"?

Maybe you're good luck for them, seeing as the film's gross has passed the $100 million mark.

And don't think George [Clooney] and Brad [Pitt] won't be hearing about that.

Why do you think this particular Coen brothers film has connected with audiences?

I honestly don't know why this one caught on—maybe because it was a familiar property. All of their films are just so beautifully made. In general, it's less about genre; audiences don't suddenly say, "I want to go see a Western now." I think there's just something about the story that people connect to and it's a great book. A lot of it has to do with Charles Portis. He's got a pretty militant following. People who know his work really love his work, so I think he definitely deserves a lot of credit. The book worked as a film in 1969; it's working again.

How did you and the Coens develop the character of LaBoeuf?

There were quite a few things we talked about. On the technical side, my character gets a tongue injury, which we figured out how to play pretty quickly. But there were more discussions about what we wanted this guy to look like and how we wanted to get this character, who's so well-drawn in the book, across to audiences. We found the answer in Tommy Lee Jones, who directed the movie I did with Fran in 1994. We all spent the summer with Tommy Lee in West Texas, where he's from, and he just happens to be a really interesting guy to talk to—a prizefighter conversationalist. So the Coens and I started talking about Tommy Lee and other people that are fun to listen to, like Bill Clinton, and thought about what it would be like if a person had that kind of showy presentation—but was devoid of substance. That's how we approached LaBoeuf.

Your next film is "The Adjustment Bureau", a sci-fi thriller that you shot in New York and was directed by George Nolfi, who's perhaps better known as a screenwriter.

I worked with George on both "Ocean's Twelve" and "The Bourne Ultimatum." Particularly on the last "Bourne" movie, there was so much pressure on us because we were on the set of this giant movie and we had no script. It doesn't get more pressure-packed than that in the movie business. You're under significant pressure as the director of a film, but anything would pale to the pressure he was under on "Ultimatum."

Given the various cities you and your family have lived in, where is home these days?

We're based in New York. I try to get everything I can in New York. There's a pretty good tax deal there right now, so you can make the argument with a straight face to any production that they should shoot their interiors in New York. So I try to do that as much as possible.

On the fifth day of Christmas, Overlook Press gave to me...

...TRUE GRIT, TRUE GRIT AND MORE TRUE GRIT!

We have some AMAZING True Grit-related prizes that we’ll be giving away to our wonderful Overlook readers over the next few days to get you as excited as we are about the new Coen Brothers film that’s getting some great early reviews, as well as the classic Charles Portis novel from which the film was adapted.

First, congratulations to Heather B, Jenna! and Don, winners of yesterday's contest. They'll each receive a signed copy of the amazing DRAWING IS THINKING by art and design legend Milton Glaser.

Now, onto today's contest. We've never done ANYTHING like this before, but we're beyond thrilled to be offering you a chance to win these amazing prizes tied into the new film release of True Grit. You could win:
TICKETS TO AN ADVANCE SCREENING OF TRUE GRIT IN NYC: Unfortunately, this is only open to our New York City-area readers. But get two FREE passes to the ADVANCE True Grit screening on December 14 at 7 p.m.!

OUR TRUE GRIT BONANZA PACKAGE: Copies of True Grit (the brand-new movie tie-in edition and the limited-edition Hollywood hardcover), a True Grit movie poster, and 2 movie passes you can use to see True Grit in a convenient theatre at your leisure.

And 5 winners will receive a copy of the new movie tie-in edition of True Grit!

TO WIN: Tell us why you love TRUE GRIT, the book, or are excited to read it! Enter through Facebook, Twitter, or by commenting here. You can also enter by sending us a link to your blog where you have an entry about TRUE GRIT (email a link to kgales at overlookny dot com). That means each person can enter up to four times. PLEASE indicate if you are able to see the advance screening in NYC on the 14th so you are entered into that part of this contest. (For Twitter, given the character limits, just tag #truegritnyc for the screening or #truegritbook for the rest of the prizes.)

The NYC winner will be announced on Monday 12/13 and the Bonanza Package/book winners will be announced on Thursday, December 16. NYC entrants who did not win the screening tickets are still eligible for our other prizes. GOOD LUCK! And happy True Grit-reading!



Previously:
Autographed Drawing is Thinking
Nonesuch Dickens Christmas Books
Autographed Bliss, Remembered
Penny Vincenzi novels

We depart from our regularly scheduled holiday giveaways

...to bring you this fantastic piece about TRUE GRIT by Malcolm Jones in Newsweek. Much like how dessert is our favorite part of any meal, the concluding paragraph is our favorite part of this column:

True Grit is one of the great American novels, with two of the greatest characters in our literature and a story worthy of their greatness. It is not just a book you can read over and over. It’s a book you want to read over and over, and each time you’re surprised by how good it is. In every Portis novel, someone makes some kind of journey. His protagonists all have a little Don Quixote in them. They are at odds with the ordinary ways of making do, and they don’t care what the world thinks. In True Grit, these elements are the raw ingredients for one of the finer epic journeys in American literature. The Coen brothers, with their wry, dry-eyed take on all things American, are supremely equipped to bring Portis’s vision to the screen intact. But do yourself two favors: read the novel before you see the movie. You won’t regret it. As for the second favor: do not loan this book out. You’ll never see it again.

Go here to read the article on newsweek.com!

True Lit: Movies eclipse their literary sources all the time, which is fine when the book is ‘Jaws.’ But when John Wayne overshadows a master such as Charles Portis, we have a problem.

When Charles Portis published True Grit in 1968, the novel became a critically praised bestseller. Then a year later the movie, starring John Wayne, came out, and after that no one even remembered there was a book. If we know how 14-year-old Mattie Ross hired Rooster Cogburn, a one-eyed U.S. marshal with a drinking problem, to hunt down the man who robbed and killed her father, it’s mostly because the movie never stops showing up on television. As a result, most of the pre-release chatter about the new Coen brothers version of True Grit, with Jeff Bridges as Rooster, continually calls it a remake of the John Wayne film. For Portis fans this is nothing short of a crime.

Criminal or not, there’s nothing unique going on here. Any time Hollywood takes a book and turns it into a successful movie, there’s every chance that the book, however good it may be, will be forgotten. For every To Kill a Mockingbird or Gone With the Wind, where the book and the movie are equally respected and neither trumps the other, there are five examples of movies that eclipse the books they came from. Of all the people who have seen Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds, how many have read the Daphne du Maurier novella on which the movie is based, much less recognize that in many ways the original is better? How many fans of Die Hard know it’s based on a good crime novel? Or Out of the Past, Vertigo, or Don’t Look Now (du Maurier again, this time a short story)? The explanation isn’t complicated: more people will go to see a movie on any given Wednesday afternoon than will read the book on which it’s based in a year. Almost always, the more successful the movie, the more forgotten the book. But understanding that situation is small consolation for authors or their admirers.

Readers who love Portis have it especially tough. To the extent that he’s known at all to the reading public, it’s as the author of True Grit—his one shot at the big time, and it backfires. This has only goaded his small but devoted band of readers to spread their gospel, and with good reason. His five novels are not hard to read or hard to find—it is a true credit to the publishing industry that someone, as a labor of love, is always republishing him. Maybe Roy Blount Jr. got closest to the truth of the matter when he said, “Charles Portis could be Cormac McCarthy if he wanted to, but he’d rather be funny.”

Readers and critics don’t like putting “funny” and “important” in the same sentence when talking about a writer, as though there’s something vaguely disreputable about someone who can make you laugh. Or, to put it another way, they are not comfortable with the idea that someone who can make you laugh can also make you think. Would Mark Twain still enjoy his status as a great American writer if he had not inserted the issues of slavery and racism into The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn? Just asking.

In the case of True Grit, the onus of humor is not even much of a problem. Which is to say, it’s not a comic novel but a novel that has comedy in it, and the funny stuff comes from the characters and the way they talk. Mattie Ross is an old woman when she sets down her adventures as a teenager in Arkansas and the Oklahoma territory, and there are numerous passages in her fusty, opinionated style that can make you smile and a handful that will have you laughing out loud. Writing about the ponies that her father had purchased right before he was killed, she admits that “it was wrong to charge blame to these pretty beasts who knew neither good nor evil but only innocence. I say that of these ponies. I have known some horses and a good many more pigs who I believe harbored evil intent in their hearts. I will go further and say all cats are wicked, though often useful. Who has not seen Satan in their sly faces?” If it were nothing else, True Grit would stand as an astonishing act of literary ventriloquism. From beginning to end, you never once doubt that this story is being told by a smart old spinster in the early part of the last century.

The novel outshines the 1969 movie at almost every turn. We remember that version because of John Wayne. Say what you like about his acting, it was the rare actor who could hold his or her own against Wayne onscreen. Poor Kim Darby as Mattie never had a chance. But the book is better balanced. Rooster may not think so at the outset, but Mattie always knows—and so do we—that she is every bit his equal. The admiration that grows between these two over the course of the story is genuine and affecting. And the devotion they feel for each other—demonstrated in actions, never words—is the most moving thing about this story. He saves her life; she pays to put a headstone on his grave. The Coen brothers’ version is a much better movie. They capture the raw surreality of the Arkansas frontier, and the acting is more of an ensemble work. Artists in their own right, they have been respectful but not slavish to Portis’s vision. But is this movie better than the book? That would be a very tall order.

Why quibble? True Grit is one of the great American novels, with two of the greatest characters in our literature and a story worthy of their greatness. It is not just a book you can read over and over. It’s a book you want to read over and over, and each time you’re surprised by how good it is. In every Portis novel, someone makes some kind of journey. His protagonists all have a little Don Quixote in them. They are at odds with the ordinary ways of making do, and they don’t care what the world thinks. In True Grit, these elements are the raw ingredients for one of the finer epic journeys in American literature. The Coen brothers, with their wry, dry-eyed take on all things American, are supremely equipped to bring Portis’s vision to the screen intact. But do yourself two favors: read the novel before you see the movie. You won’t regret it. As for the second favor: do not loan this book out. You’ll never see it again.

The Arkansas News: Coens and Portis, genius on genius

A must-read: this wonderful feature on True Grit from a newspaper columnist who knows the famously publicity-averse author. He joins the rest of us in being excited to see the upcoming Coen Brothers film adaptation!

Coens and Portis, genius on genius
December 5, 2010
The Arkansas News
By John Brummett
Go here to read the article online

All the insider movie rage last week was about the imminent debut at a movie theater near you of the genius Coen brothers’ version of “True Grit.”

It is from the novel by Charles Portis, the lovably reclusive author in Little Rock whom some consider the best American writer of our time or at least the most under-appreciated.

Portis is not much for attention by photograph or interview or tribute or the unsubstantiated superlative. His personal style is as lean and minimalist as some of his writing.

If he warms to you at all, and you cannot be sure of that, it is because you do not bother him or make over him and you do not let it rile you that, when he finally decides to engage, he goes all right-wing.

He loves having been a Marine in Korea. He likes the militaristic field-positioning of old-style football. He hates our litigious society.

Or at least that is what he said. I do not profess actually to know. I only profess to have had the privilege of inhabiting a bar stool next to his a time or two.

I am fairly sure he despises pretense especially when verbose.

Once when I was editor of the Arkansas Times when it was a slick monthly magazine, Portis gave me an epic piece about the Ouachita River that won a national prize. All he asked was that I not change a word unless I talked with him first and not to make a big splash about him on the cover.

I said I would never do such a thing.

That banner above the nameplate — “Charles Portis discovers the Ouachita” — was no big splash. It was medium-sized.

All he ever said to me about writing a novel was that “you gotta have a story.”

I took that to mean it is one thing to write a sentence or a paragraph or an essay, but that it is something else entirely to conceive of a drunken eye-patched U.S. marshal in Fort Smith who heads out for serious character development in the unlikely company of a noble teenage Arkansas hill girl determined to seek justice for the murder of her father by a most-evil outlaw.

That is “True Grit,” and what the Coen brothers — Joel and Ethan — have done with it has now been seen by a few critics, most of them admiring and a few extolling, and will get its theatrical release Dec. 22.

The main criticism has been that the movie, by clinging so closely to the novel and by stressing peculiar and archaic language and slow character development, may not offer the mass appeal of the action-adventure form.

But that is not detraction. It is roaring endorsement.

The Coen brothers are known for homages to great literature and for mastering the distinctive dialogue of places and periods, as in “Fargo” and “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” and “Raising Arizona” and “No Country for Old Men.”

This is technically a remake of the John Wayne vehicle of 1969, but poor Glen Campbell ruined that one trying to portray the Texas Ranger. Matt Damon gives that role a go in this one.

Jeff Bridges plays Rooster Cogburn and, in apparent deference to Wayne, puts the patch on the other eye. A new young actress is introduced as Mattie Ross.

Paramount so likes the product that it is putting it out for the awards season.

I will admit to being a little excited. It is not every day that a story based from Yell County and Fort Smith by an author of my acquaintance gets made into a big-time film by the most gifted and imaginative filmmakers of our time.

I do not know if Portis is excited. I do not know what that would look like or how one could tell.

All I know is that I read that he didn’t know who the Coen brothers were and will be happy as long as the checks come in.

USA's "Character Approved" Blog on TRUE GRIT

The excitement is building--here in our offices and throughout the country--for the new Coen Brothers film adaptation of TRUE GRIT. We love it! Check out the latest from the fantastic entertainment blog from USA, "Character Approved."

True Grit: A 1968 Novel Rides to Hollywood with Joel and Ethan Coen
Written By Ann Kingman
Nov 26, 2010

One of the most anticipated films of 2010 may also bring new life to a classic work of fiction. True Grit, the latest film from Joel and Ethan Coen, stars Jeff Bridges, Josh Brolin, Matt Damon, and newcomer Hailee Steinfeld. It is set to open December 22nd. The Coen brothers are on record as saying that their Character Approved project is not a remake of the 1969 John Wayne film, but that they are basing their movie on the 1968 novel of the same name that was written by Charles Portis.

Speaking about the earlier film, Ethan Coen told Comingsoon.net: "It made very little impression on me, the movie. We subsequently both read the book and the book made a huge impression and I guess that's kind of why we're interested in doing the movie."

"It's not a great movie but it is a great book actually," Joel Coen added.

Portis' book tells the the tale of Mattie Ross, a 14 year-old girl in 1880 Arkansas who leaves home to avenge her father's murder at the hands of farmhand Tom Chaney. Along the way, Mattie convinces mean, one-eyed U.S.Marshal Rooster Cogburn to assist her, and the two form an uneasy partnership as they track down the outlaw gang that Chaney has joined.

The trailer (embedded below) for the reimagined True Grit has recently hit theaters. It will remind many of No Country for Old Men, which the Coen brothers wrote and directed in 2007. The film was a faithful adaptation of the original Cormac McCarthy novel, and the hit western spurred sales of McCarthy's book. I'm willing to bet that True Grit brings the Portis novel to top of the bestseller lists as well.

Publishers Weekly: Overlook Sees Portis Boost from 'Grit'

We are, of course, avid devotees of Publishers Weekly, but it's nice to see our very own publicity director quoted in their pages about one of our most beloved projects this fall--bringing Charles Portis' backlist to a new generation of fans. Check out the article below, or go here to read it on the PW site!

Overlook Sees Portis Boost from 'Grit' By Rachel Deahl Nov 16, 2010

The Coen Brothers' forthcoming adaptation of Charles Portis's True Grit has brought the celebrated, if reclusive, author back into the headlines...and onto readers' bookshelves. Overlook, Portis's publisher, has seen strong sales on its tie-in edition of the book, which it published on November 4. The indie house went to press for 100,000 copies of the edition--it features, as the house's previous edition did, an afterward by Donna Tartt, with updated cover art that references the movie. A rep from Overlook predicted that a second printing of the tie-in will happen before Christmas.

The Coens' film, which is scheduled to open wide on December 22, has also ignited an interest in Portis's backlist. Overlook's Jack Lamplough said the press "rescued" Portis's backlist a few years ago. Portis is known, Lamplough said, as America's "greatest 'unknown' author," and now Overlook is seeing a sales spark in other Portis titles like The Dog of the South, Gringos, Masters of Atlantis, and Norwood.

While movie adaptations are expected to spark sales for their print source material, Lamplough thinks the Coens' adaptation is a unique example of how a movie can help a book. True Grit, Portis's best known novel, was in some ways overshadowed by the popular 1968 John Wayne film of the same name, a film which veered in tone and content from the book. According to Lamplough, though, the Coens' have stayed closer to Portis's book than the Wayne western, and they've been talking that fact up. "The Coen Brothers and [their] stars Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon have repeatedly said the new movie takes its inspiration from the Portis novel, and not the 1968 movie starring John Wayne," Lamplough said.

Overlook has also been doing its part to publicize the book. The house launched a True Grit Facebook page and Lamplough said the house is working with Paramount on a publicity campaign that pushes both the movie and the book. To that end, an interview with Overlook publisher Peter Mayer will be featured on the planned DVD edition of the film.

Thanks, PW!

TRUE GRIT ... and other great book-to-film adaptations this fall!

We always count on the New Yorker to point us in the direction of the best-looking books and film, and this literary guide to holiday movies is no exception. We're glad they mentioned our slick new edition of TRUE GRIT (read that excerpt below!) but we're also excited for the new adaptation of THE TEMPEST starring Helen Mirren as Prospera.

“True Grit” (December 25th) is the latest from the Coen brothers, and is based on the novel by Charles Portis ,which has been given a spruced-up new package and an afterward by Donna Tartt (“The Secret History”). Featuring Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, and Jeff Bridges, “True Grit” is the tale of Mattie Ross, whose father has been murdered; she attempts to track down the killer with assistance from a U.S. Marshal.

Do you plan on seeing any of these films? (And more importantly, will you read the book first?) Happy movie-going!