Matt Damon says U2 ‘reluctant at first’ to be in his Bosnian War doc
Matt Damon says U2 was initially hesitant to take part in his new Paramount+ documentary Kiss the Future, which details the war in Bosnia, and the impact the stalwart band had on the area’s citizens.
‘I went to them right away and told them about this project and asked if they’d participate and they were reluctant at first,’ the 53-year-old A-lister told People on Tuesday of the doc as it debuted on the streaming platform.
The star of classics such as Good Will Hunting, Saving Private Ryan and The Departed, who attended Monday’s Met Gala with wife Luciana, said that the band informed him that they did not want to be the focal point in the project.
‘I talked to them and realized why – they didn’t want the movie to be about them,’ the Boston native told the outlet. ‘They were like, “We don’t want to be centered in this story.”‘
Damon and friend Ben Affleck, 51, are producers on the doc, which is directed by Nenad Cicin-Sain.
Matt Damon, 53, says U2 was initially hesitant to take part in his new Paramount+ documentary Kiss the Future, which details the war in Bosnia, and the impact the stalwart band had on the area’s citizens. Pictured in Berlin in February
The band, pictured in 2019 in India, initially informed Damon that they did not want to be the focal point in the project
It details the conflict between Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995, and how the citizens turned to art to uplift them amid the turbulent timeframe.
According to a logline from Paramount+, the documentary ‘explores the perils of nationalism and art’s role as a weapon of resistance and activism throughout the 1990s Siege of Sarajevo’ and ‘how art and music sustained hope, thanks in part to humanitarians and the band U2. ‘
Damon told the outlet he and Cicin-Sain sought to showcase ‘these incredible Sarajevan people and their relationship to [U2’s] music.’
The documentary delves into the efforts of American aid worker Bill Carter and his efforts to enlighten the Irish rock mainstays on the profound influence they had on the citizens of Sarajevo.
Carter eventually interviewed the band prior to a concert in Italy, and it was broadcast on news programs in Sarajevo.
The group behind hits such as With or Without You, Where the Streets Have No Name and Mysterious Ways went on to take the stage in Sarajevo in September of 1997, after the war was over.
Damon – whose emotional final scene in the 2011 pandemic film Contagion was scored to the band’s 1989 song All I Want Is You – said he explained to the band the tremendous impact they had during the conflict.
‘We were like, “No, it’s about this incredible thing that you guys did – it’s about the role of art as an act of resistance in the world and in people’s lives and these incredible people who literally were risking their lives to go listen to music or to play music in the middle of the siege,”‘ the actor said.
Damon and his wife Luciana were pictured at the Met Gala Monday evening in NYC
The documentary debuted on Paramount+ on Tuesday
It details the conflict between Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995, and how the local artistry flourished amid the turbulent timeframe
Amid worsening conditions in the area, the citizens turned to art to uplift them
The group behind hits such as With or Without You, Where the Streets Have No Name and Mysterious Ways went on to take the stage in Sarajevo in September of 1997, after the war was over
The documentary features an appearance from former U.S. President Bill Clinton, who served from 1993-2001
Cicin-Sain told the outlet that he decided to make the documentary following a concert in Sarajevo in 2017 commemorating the 20th anniversary of their 1997 show.
The director told the outlet he ‘saw the concert as a way to share what happened in my country.’
Cicin-Sain noted the political undertones in U2’s work originating from the happenings in their home country of Ireland.
‘The reason that U2 went to Sarajevo in the first place was they saw what was happening as similar to what happened in their own country, with social injustice,’ the director said. ‘And they saw a place where they could add value and contribute and have purpose.’
