RACING DAMON

Spotlight

Matt Damon is this year's Edward Norton: Right now you have no idea who he is, but you will. The 26-year-old actor has major roles in three upcoming big-director pictures: Francis Ford Coppola's adaptation of John Grisham'sThe Rainmaker,Gus Van Sant's GoodWill Hunting,and Steven Spielberg'sSaving Private Ryan. The second film is the most personally significant. Damon wrote GoodWill Huntingwith his best friend, actor Ben Affleck (ChasingAmy).A Miramax "indie pic," it's about an untutored math prodigy (Damon) who works as a janitor at M IT "My sister-in-law works e^^l.T., and visiting her, I discovered they have chalkboards in the hallways,"Damon says. "These chalkboards play an important role in a pivotal scene." He laughs at how positively un-box-office this sounds. "Ah, well, that's as high-concept as this movie gets."