Promised Land: A 2012 Contented?

Actor/Writer Matt Damon and Director Gus Van Sant on the set of Good Will Hunting over a decade ago

In 1997, Gus Van Sant directed Good Will Hunting, based on an Oscar winning original script written my Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.

Gus Van Sant's newest project also features Matt Damon in the lead role, as well as Damon as one of the credited writers (alongside film co-star John Krasinki, based on a story by Dave Eggers). This project is titled Promised Land, and feature Damon as a natural gas sales man coming to a small town, where his pitch meets resistance by local residents.

One of the unique things about the film season, particularly as it relates to the Oscar awards season is that as the year pushes forward the potential list of players adjust as film schedules adjust. Typically you experience a few disappointments as films get postponed and are taken out of the equation. This year we've seen potential film-players such as Gravity or The Great Gatsby pushed to 2013.

In the situation of Promised Land we experience the opposite, were it has just recently been given an awards eligible run during the last week of the 2012 calendar year, making the film and it's performers worth considering for potential award's traction.

Glenn Whipp for the LA Times mentioned in his recent article how this gives Focus Features four marketable award films this year (in addition to this film, Anna Karenina, Hyde Park on Hudson, and Moonrise Kingdom), where he calls into question either the quality of this film and perhaps the potential bust of some of these future releases that might not have the gusto needed for a best picture nomination.

Either way, I hope that the release schedule and reuniting of part of the Good Will Hunting team holds a promise of a quality film. Matt Damon's film schedule continues to be full and agreesive, and perhaps this film will help him receive another invitation to the Academy Award red carpet, if not as an actor, perhaps again as a writer.