Editing Good Will Hunting (section)

==Production==
===Development===
[[Matt Damon]] started writing the film as a final assignment for a playwriting class that he was taking at [[Harvard University]].<ref name="boston">{{Cite news|url=https://www.bostonmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/2013/01/02/good-will-hunting-oral-history/|title=Good Will Hunting: An Oral History|work=[[Boston (magazine)|Boston]]|date=January 2, 2013|access-date=July 13, 2017|archive-date=December 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223234200/https://www.bostonmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/2013/01/02/good-will-hunting-oral-history/|url-status=live}}</ref> Instead of writing a one-act play, Damon submitted a 40-page script.<ref name="boston" /> He wrote into his script his then-girlfriend, medical student Skylar Satenstein (credited in the closing credits of the film).<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 11, 1998 |title=The Unlikely Link Between Metallica And Matt Damon |url=https://www.mtv.com/news/1432111/the-unlikely-link-between-metallica-and-matt-damon/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170627051540/http://www.mtv.com/news/1432111/the-unlikely-link-between-metallica-and-matt-damon/ |archive-date=June 27, 2017 |access-date=May 8, 2018 |work=MTV News}}</ref> Damon said that the only scene from that script to survive verbatim was when Will (Damon) meets his therapist, Sean Maguire ([[Robin Williams]]), for the first time.<ref name="boston" /> Damon asked [[Ben Affleck]] to develop the screenplay with him. They completed the script in 1994.<ref name="boston" /> At first, it was written as a thriller about a young man in the rough-and-tumble streets of [[South Boston]] who possesses a superior intelligence and is targeted by the government with heavy-handed recruitment.<ref name="boston" />

[[Castle Rock Entertainment]] bought the script for $675,000 against $775,000, meaning that Damon and Affleck would earn an additional $100,000 if the film was produced, and they retained sole writing credit.{{citation needed|date=May 2018}} Castle Rock Entertainment president [[Rob Reiner]] urged them to drop the thriller aspect of the story and to focus on the relationship between Will and his therapist. [[Terrence Malick]] told Affleck and Damon over dinner that the film ought to end with Will's decision to follow his girlfriend Skylar to California, not them leaving together.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 5, 2011 |title=THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS: Malick gave Good Will Hunting its ending |url=https://tomshone.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-good-will-hunting-got-its-ending.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180716111732/https://tomshone.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-good-will-hunting-got-its-ending.html |archive-date=July 16, 2018 |access-date=May 8, 2018 |website=THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS}}</ref>

At Reiner's request, screenwriter [[William Goldman]] read the script. Goldman consistently denied the persistent rumor that he wrote ''Good Will Hunting'' or acted as a [[script doctor]]. In his book ''[[Which Lie Did I Tell?]]'', Goldman jokingly writes, "I did not just doctor it. I wrote the whole thing from scratch," before dismissing the rumor as false and saying that his only advice was agreeing with Reiner's suggestion.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PmE9DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA332|title=Which Lie Did I Tell?: More Adventures in the Screen Trade|last=Goldman|first=William|year=2001|publisher=Vintage Books|pages=332–333|isbn=9780375703195|access-date=May 8, 2018|archive-date=February 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210206031537/https://books.google.com/books?id=PmE9DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA332|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Ben Affleck and Matt Damon|Affleck and Damon]] proposed to act in the lead roles, but many studio executives said that they wanted [[Brad Pitt]] and [[Leonardo DiCaprio]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Juul |first=Matt |date=January 6, 2016 |title='Good Will Hunting' Might've Been Very Different Without Sylvester Stallone |url=https://www.bostonmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/2016/01/06/matt-damon-sylvester-stallone-rocky/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215143637/https://www.bostonmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/2016/01/06/matt-damon-sylvester-stallone-rocky/ |archive-date=February 15, 2018 |access-date=March 11, 2018 |work=[[Boston Magazine]]}}</ref> Meanwhile, [[Kevin Smith]] was working with Affleck on ''[[Mallrats]]'', and with both Damon and Affleck on ''[[Chasing Amy]].''<ref>Smith's comments on the ''[[Mallrats]]'' DVD audio commentary</ref> Castle Rock Entertainment put the script in turnaround and gave Damon and Affleck 30 days to find another buyer for the script who would reimburse Castle Rock Entertainment the money paid; otherwise the script would be reverted to Castle Rock Entertainment, and Damon and Affleck would be out. All of the studios that were involved in the original bidding war for the screenplay turned the pair down, taking meetings with Affleck and Damon only to tell them this to their face.

As a last resort, Affleck passed the script to his ''Chasing Amy'' director Kevin Smith, who read it and promised to walk the script directly into [[Harvey Weinstein]]'s office at [[Miramax|Miramax Films]]. Weinstein read the script, loved it, and paid Castle Rock Entertainment their due, while also agreeing to let Damon and Affleck star in the film. Weinstein asked that a few scenes be removed, including an out-of-place, mid-script [[oral sex]] scene that Damon and Affleck added to trick executives who were not looking closely.<ref name="boston" />

After buying the rights from Castle Rock Entertainment, Miramax Films put the film into production. Several well-known filmmakers were originally considered to direct, including [[Mel Gibson]] and [[Michael Mann]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Radish |first=Christina |date=September 6, 2014 |title=Chris Moore Talks THE CHAIR, Choosing Shane Dawson and Anna Martemucci for the Competition, GOOD WILL HUNTING, SURVIVOR'S REMORSE and More |url=https://www.collider.com/chris-moore-the-chair-good-will-hunting-interview/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112034828/https://collider.com/chris-moore-the-chair-good-will-hunting-interview/ |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |access-date=September 5, 2020 |website=Collider}}</ref> Originally, Affleck asked Kevin Smith whether he was interested in directing. He declined, saying that they needed a "good director",<ref>{{Cite web |author1=Gregory Wakeman |date=March 25, 2015 |title=Ben Stiller Turned Down Good Will Hunting, Here's Why |url=https://www.cinemablend.com/new/Ben-Stiller-Turned-Down-Good-Hunting-Here-Why-70511.html |access-date=September 11, 2022 |website=CINEMABLEND |language=en}}</ref> that he directed only projects that he wrote, and that he was not much of a visual director, but he still served as one of the film's co-executive producers. Damon and Affleck chose [[Gus Van Sant]], whose work on previous films, like ''[[Drugstore Cowboy]]'', had left a favorable impression on the fledgling screenwriters. Miramax Films was persuaded and hired Van Sant to direct the film.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Huff |first1=Lauren  |title=Ben Affleck and Matt Damon credit Kevin Smith for saving 'Good Will Hunting' |url=https://ew.com/movies/ben-affleck-matt-damon-kevin-smith-good-will-hunting/ |website=EW.com |language=en|date=January 12, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Setoodeh |first1=Ramin |date=April 11, 2020 |title=Kevin Smith Says Harvey Weinstein Refused to Pay Him Royalties for 'Clerks' (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://www.variety.com/2020/film/news/kevin-smith-harvey-weinstein-royalties-clerks-1234577663/ |website=Variety}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Zilko |first=Christian |date=January 15, 2022 |title=Matt Damon Says Kevin Smith Saved 'Good Will Hunting': 'We Were Dead in the Water' |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2022/01/matt-damon-kevin-smith-saved-good-will-hunting-1234690854/ |access-date=September 11, 2022 |website=IndieWire |language=en}}</ref>

===Filming===
[[File:Au Bon Pain, Cambridge, MA.JPG|thumb|left|The [[Au Bon Pain]] in [[Harvard Square]] where Skylar asked Will to explain his "[[photographic memory]]" to her (as seen in 2013; it has since been redeveloped by Harvard)]]
Filming took place between April and June 1997. Although the story is set in Boston, and many of the scenes were shot on location in the [[Greater Boston area]], many of the interior shots were filmed at locations in Toronto, with the [[University of Toronto]] standing in for MIT and Harvard University. The classroom scenes were filmed at McLennan Physical Laboratories (of the University of Toronto) and [[Central Technical School]]. Harvard normally disallows filming on its property, but permitted limited filming by the project after intervention by Harvard alumnus [[John Lithgow]].<ref>{{cite web | last=Ba Tran | first=Andrew | title=Then and Now: Revisiting 'Good Will Hunting' | url=http://archive.boston.com/yourtown/boston/southboston/gallery/good_will_hunting_15_years_later?pg=2 | work=Boston.com | page=2 | access-date=January 25, 2017 | archive-date=February 2, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202031302/http://archive.boston.com/yourtown/boston/southboston/gallery/good_will_hunting_15_years_later?pg=2 | url-status=live }}</ref> Likewise, only the exterior shots of [[Bunker Hill Community College]] were filmed in Boston; however, Sean's office was built in Toronto as an exact replica of one at the college.<ref>{{cite web | last=Ba Tran | first=Andrew | title=Then and Now: Revisiting 'Good Will Hunting' | url=http://archive.boston.com/yourtown/boston/southboston/gallery/good_will_hunting_15_years_later?pg=21 | work=Boston.com | page=21 | access-date=January 25, 2017 | archive-date=February 2, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202031104/http://archive.boston.com/yourtown/boston/southboston/gallery/good_will_hunting_15_years_later?pg=21 | url-status=live }}</ref>

The interior bar scenes set in "Southie" were shot on location at [[L Street Tavern|Woody's L Street Tavern]].<ref>{{cite web | last=Dunn | first=Gabrielle | title=Famous Movie Locations: Woody's L Street Tavern in 'Good Will Hunting' (Boston) | url=http://blog.moviefone.com/2010/06/03/famous-movie-locations-woodys-l-street-tavern-good-will-hunting-boston/ | work=Blog.moviefone.com | date=June 3, 2010 | access-date=January 25, 2017 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20121203101349/http://blog.moviefone.com/2010/06/03/famous-movie-locations-woodys-l-street-tavern-good-will-hunting-boston/ | archive-date=December 3, 2012 | url-status=dead }}</ref> Meanwhile, the homes of Will (190 West 6th Street) and Sean (259 E Street), although portrayed as some distance apart in the film, are actually next door to each other on Bowen Street, the narrow street that Chuckie drives on to walk up to Will's back door.<ref>{{cite web | last=Ba Tran | first=Andrew | title=Then and Now: Revisiting 'Good Will Hunting' | url=http://archive.boston.com/yourtown/boston/southboston/gallery/good_will_hunting_15_years_later?pg=6 | work=Boston.com | page=6 | access-date=January 25, 2017 | archive-date=February 2, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202031200/http://archive.boston.com/yourtown/boston/southboston/gallery/good_will_hunting_15_years_later?pg=6 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=scenery>{{cite web | url=http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/magazine/articles/2007/11/25/behind_the_scenery/ | title=Behind the Scenery | work=The Boston Globe | date=November 25, 2007 | access-date=January 25, 2017 | archive-date=March 5, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305000217/http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/magazine/articles/2007/11/25/behind_the_scenery/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

The Bow and Arrow Pub, which was located at the corner of Bow Street and Massachusetts Avenue in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]], doubled as the exterior of the Harvard bar in which Will meets Skylar for the first time.<ref>{{cite web | last=Ba Tran | first=Andrew | title=Then and Now: Revisiting 'Good Will Hunting' | url=http://archive.boston.com/yourtown/boston/southboston/gallery/good_will_hunting_15_years_later?pg=8 | work=Boston.com | page=8 | access-date=January 25, 2017 | archive-date=February 2, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202031102/http://archive.boston.com/yourtown/boston/southboston/gallery/good_will_hunting_15_years_later?pg=8 | url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Baskin-Robbins]]/[[Dunkin' Donuts]] featured in the "How do you like ''them'' apples?" scene was next door to the pub at the time of the film's release.<ref name=scenery/> The Harvard Bar interior scenes were filmed at the Upfront Bar and Grill on Front St. E. in Toronto.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Carruthers |first1=Nicola |title=The most iconic bar scenes in movie history |url=https://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2017/02/the-most-iconic-bar-scenes-in-movie-history/2/ |website=The Spirits Business |date=February 16, 2017 |access-date=July 14, 2022}}</ref>

[[Tasty Sandwich Shop|The Tasty]], at the corner of JFK and Brattle Streets, was the scene of Will and Skylar's first kiss.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ba Tran |first=Andrew |title=Then and Now: Revisiting 'Good Will Hunting' |url=https://archive.boston.com/yourtown/boston/southboston/gallery/good_will_hunting_15_years_later?pg=20 |access-date=January 25, 2017 |work=Boston.com |page=20}}{{dead link|date=August 2023|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> The [[Au Bon Pain]], where Will and Skylar discuss the former's [[photographic memory]], was at the corner of Dunster Street and Mass Ave.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ba Tran |first=Andrew |title=Then and Now: Revisiting 'Good Will Hunting' |url=https://archive.boston.com/yourtown/boston/southboston/gallery/good_will_hunting_15_years_later?pg=23 |access-date=January 25, 2017 |work=Boston.com |page=23}}</ref>

The [[Boston Public Garden]] bench on which Will and Sean sat for a scene in the film became a temporary shrine after Williams's death in 2014.<ref>[https://www.boston.com/news/2014/08/12/good-will-hunting-bench-boston-public-garden-becomes-robin-williams-memorial/9NupwfvGMPMUolDr9IpsYL/story.html "‘Good Will Hunting’ Bench in Boston Public Garden Becomes Robin Williams Memorial"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141103222321/http://www.boston.com/news/2014/08/12/good-will-hunting-bench-boston-public-garden-becomes-robin-williams-memorial/9NupwfvGMPMUolDr9IpsYL/story.html|date=November 3, 2014}} – Boston.com, August 12, 2014</ref>

The film's end-credits roll over a continuous shot of the car Hunting is driving to California, with the songs "Miss Misery" and "Afternoon Delight" playing on the soundtrack. It was shot on a stretch of the [[Massachusetts Turnpike]]. The car eventually disappears down the road after passing under the bridge carrying the [[West Stockbridge, Massachusetts|West Stockbridge Road]].<ref name=slate>{{cite news |last=Vanhoenacker  |first=Mark |date=August 18, 2014|title=What Does This Beloved Road Sign on the Massachusetts Turnpike Actually Mean?|url=https://slate.com/human-interest/2014/08/becket-massachusetts-next-highest-elevation-oacoma-south-dakota-what-does-the-road-sign-mean.html |work=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|access-date=September 25, 2024}}</ref>