A Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) graduate claimed that he was “double-crossed” by actors Ben Affleck and Matt Damon after allegedly writing the “Good Will Hunting” script, according to Page Six.
Bernard Cohen, MIT’s class of ’62, claimed that he is actually the mastermind behind the 1998 blockbuster “Good Will Hunting,” Page Six reported. Cohen allegedly met with young producer Chris Moore in the mid-1990s and brought him the unfinished script. Cohen allegedly received inspiration from a frat brother who was also a 16-year-old genius at MIT. The movie follows similar suit about a 20-year-old janitor at the college who is secretly a math genius. The film stars actors Damon, Affleck, and Robin Williams.
“I thought [Moore] was someone else and started talking to him,” Cohen told Page Six. “I asked him, ‘Do you know someone younger who could help me finish it?'”
“But I said, ‘When it wins Best Original Screenplay, I want a thank you, and I want you to finance my next film,” Cohen allegedly told Moore. However, Affleck and Damon won an Oscar in 1998 for best original screenplay and did not give the alleged scriptwriter any recognition. Cohen got in touch with Moore who pretended he was unaware of the situation and told him to refrain from contacting him again.
Critics also cast doubts that the two young actors wrote such a noteworthy film, especially after they primarily acted in films for the next 20 years. However, Damon claimed that he handed his Harvard professor a 40 page script during his playwriting class for a one-act play. He later asked his childhood friend Affleck to help him finish the script, according to a 2013 interview with Boston Magazine.
“Good Will Hunting” was a huge success, receiving nine Academy Award nominations and grossing $226 million.
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