Matt Damon is a hypocrite! (according to one website quoting another website quoting a videogame developer who never talked to Damon)

Here's a great post from veteran videogames writer and regular Variety reviewer Tom Chick about how shaky allegations spread through videogame websites and blogs.

I don't want to steal Tom's thunder -- you should really read his post -- but he's basically pointing out that the whole thing started with an MTV Multi-player post reporting that an employee at High Moon Studios said Matt Damon isn't in their "Bourne Conspiracy" game because he objected to the violence.  Then Kotaku and Blue's News both "reported" (and I use the term very loosely) that Matt is "OK With Movie Violence, Not OK With Game Violence." (I should note that Blue's News later apologized. Which is very admirable.)

MTV at least talked to someone who it believed had spoken to Damon (though it later turned out the person hadn't), but Kotaku and any others who went off its post are making allegations about the actor's position on media violence based on what another website said somebody at a developer said about why Damon didn't want to be in his videogame.

Most importantly, Tom writes, "nowhere in this train wreck of a telephone game does Matt Damon ever say he's not OK with game violence! Furthermore, he doesn't even say he's okay with movie violence. You'll note that Jason Bourne kills relatively few people, and he certainly doesn't shoot them. In fact, he takes pains to disarm his opponents and throw away their guns."

Now, based on a Boston Globe interview that MTV later linked to, it does seem Damon shares his childhood development expert mother's concerned about the impact of media violence on young kids and that played a role in his decision not to appear in the game. But as Tom says, without somebody talking to Damon directly, all we've got is hearsay and implications. And the result is vague headlines and accusations of, as Kotaku wrote, a "double standard." Classy.

Comments

[Paula]

At long last sanity. I was just about to offer my kingdom for an honorable reporter! Thank you for restoring my faith in the human race. Tom Chick and Ben Fritz, may all your children live long and joyful lives.