MIT Grad Says He Was Original Writer Of ‘Good Will Hunting’ Script

According to a report by Page Six, when Matt Damon and Ben Affleck took to the stage to accept the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for “Good Will Hunting” (1997), they failed to thank one crucial person: the guy who originally came up with the idea.

Bernard Cohen, a writer and artist who graduated from MIT in 1962, after an alleged 20 years of silence, told Page Six that he is the man behind the film that launched Damon and Affleck’s careers — and he’s got nothing to show for it and no way to prove it.

Page Six describes Cohen as “a lifelong Upper West Sider who is an artist and writer, as well as a waiter, bartender, chauffeur and movie extra,” who finally wants to set the record straight. It all began with a fateful meeting with Chris Moore, the Harvard grad who went on to produce the film along with dozens of others.

Cohen says he ran into Moore at the Columbus Bakery in the mid-’90s and, thinking he was actually someone else, started telling him about his idea for a film focused around a janitor who is also a math genius, an idea he says was inspired by a brilliant frat brother who managed to get accepted to MIT at age 16.

“I thought [Moore] was someone else and started talking to him,” said Cohen. “I asked him, ‘Do you know someone younger who could help me finish it?'”

Moore knew exactly the right guy: his classmate at Harvard, Matt Damon. A few days later, says Cohen, he met with Damon at the bakery to discuss the script. But Cohen says he foolishly failed to get any of the agreement in writing.

“I didn’t have anything in writing. It was all verbal. I didn’t even ask for a part,” he said. “But I said, ‘When it wins Best Original Screenplay, I want a thank you, and I want you to finance my next film.'”

Cohen says he didn’t get either — not a thank you nor any help financing his next project. When he followed up with Moore after the Oscars, Cohen says, he blew him off.

“Moore acted like he didn’t know anything and told me not to call him again,” says Cohen. “I was double-crossed. You can’t do it the way I did it, obviously. I figured I was such a ball of fire it didn’t matter what I gave away.”

So is he telling the truth? Well, as Cohen admits, he’s got no evidence whatsoever of any agreement, so who knows? Page Six notes that when they won the Oscar, many were skeptical that guys so new to the industry could’ve written such a polished screenplay, a skepticism strengthened by both men having largely avoided writing since.

Though they didn’t thank Cohen during the 1997 Oscars, they certainly did thank Moore as well as Harvey Weinstein, whose professional relationship with both men has been a thorn in their side in recent months:

Related: Matt Damon: Why Aren’t We Talking About All Of Us Non-Predators In Hollywood?