‘Promised Land’: Krasinski, Damon and Van Sant on its now-ness

With their new film “Promised Land,” Matt Damon and John Krasinski are not only the stars of the film, they also wrote the screenplay and acted as producers. The film also reunites Damon and director Gus Van Sant, who had tremendous success with their collaboration on 1997’s “Good Will Hunting.”

In “Promised Land,” Damon plays the representative of an energy company who comes to a rural Pennsylvania town looking to lease land for the controversial practice known as “fracking,” which releases natural gas from the ground. Krasinski plays an environmental operative who seems determined to stop him. Rather than play as a social-problem film, however, the story stays grounded in the personal dilemmas of its characters. As Damon’s Steve Butler undergoes a crisis of conscience, he grapples with the big-picture consequences of his actions.

In this clip from The Envelope Screening Series, Krasinski and Van Sant talk about the timeliness of the movie, grappling with an issue that is currently in the news while also staying true to the character-based inspirations of the initial idea.

And Damon also reveals just how Van Sant came on board to direct.

Also:

The Envelope screening series: the full videos

‘Promised Land’: Matt Damon, John Krasinski drill Capra ground

Matt Damon and John Krasinski’s zig-zag path to ‘Promised Land’

Follow Mark Olsen on Twitter: @IndieFocus