It’s that time of year again — time to find that perfect gift for the Good Will Hunting devotee in your life.

First, let’s make sure we’ve covered the basics.

Does your GWH superfan have the film on DVD? Because it has 11 deleted scenes, including the following one, which is kind of amazing:

Pick up the DVD at a local, independent retail outlet if you can — like Boston’s fine local chain, Newbury Comics. Otherwise, I suppose you can download the film (with no commentary or deleted scenes though, sadly) here on iTunes, and the soundtrack is on iTunes too.

With the basics covered, let’s get down to some of the more nuanced accoutrements.

How about a Kelly’s Roast Beef gift card or hoodie? Kelly’s is another lauded local chain, and they make a great fucking sandwich. (Read about Blog Will Hunting’s trip to Kelly’s here.)

I just bought myself a little something (buying for yourself is always a good way to kick off the holidays). It’s a reproduction of the t-shirt Will wears in the Harvard bar scene and during his first therapy session with Sean.

As far as I know, the logo “ADF” is a generic brand, made up by the GWH wardrobe department — but I’d be thrilled to be enlightened if it actually represents something. I can’t wait until my shirt is as worn and tattered as Will’s; I’ll have to get into some tough scrapes in Southie while wearing my authentic garb.

Buy the shirt here.

Speaking of authentic, what could be a better place to pick up a copy of the Good Will Hunting screenplay than Cambridge’s landmark independent bookstore, Harvard Book Store? (Order it here.) The Oscar-winning screenplay creates a snapshot of the film before the improvisations of the actors and directorial decisions of Gus Van Sant came into play. Learn how the boys originally wrote the big fight scene to be accompanied by “Let’s Get it On” instead of “Baker Street.” Read the original opening scene, set at the Southie St. Patrick’s Day Parade, and the alternate version of Skylar’s dirty joke. Top it all off with a truly insightful (and charmingly naive) introduction by Gus Van Sant (he wrote it before the film had opened to the public and become a nationwide phenomenon, catapulting the filmmakers to superstardom).

Once you’ve got that under your belt, you’ve got to get the play Matt & Ben, co-written by The Office‘s Mindy Kaling. She and her co-writer Brenda Withers co-starred (as Matt and Ben!) in the off-Broadway play in 2003. (Order the play from Harvard Book Store here.)

Lastly, you can get the water bottles Damon mentions in the above video here. Proceeds go to clean water initiatives all over the world.

Before we go, maybe you’re thinking, why not just buy all these books and stuff on Amazon? Yeah… that’s a tough one. Well, first of all, you would deprive your local business of the capital required to continue supplying the community with a diverse selection. And you would deny the local government the sales tax dollars they need to pave your roads and educate your kids. So, one might say, why not just shoot your buddy, take his job and give it to his sworn enemy, hike up gas prices, bomb a village, club a baby seal, hit the hash pipe, and join the National Guard?

Etsy is a website that features handmade goods, crafts, and artwork; Alchemy is a “a space on Etsy where buyers can post requests for custom items.”

I don’t see why they don’t just hire the artists behind the Cartoon Doll Emporium Matt Damon Paper Doll. One outfit I suggest is “Matt, you’re all dressed up for the Oscars, but you forgot to wear pants!!”

This early web format is having somewhat of a resurgence, particularly — it seems — delivering clips from the series Mad Men.

But the present-day GIF love goes beyond aesthetics and nostalgia. Animated GIFs aren’t just throwbacks—they’re uniquely suited to some very contemporary modes of cultural consumption, and they perform distinct functions that other formats can’t.

The article goes on to make some insightful comments on the qualities of a successful GIF –

“They get to the point instantaneously, and at the exact moment when one feels the impulse to rewind and watch the climax again, the loop restarts right where it should.”

So where are all the Good Will Hunting GIFs? I couldn’t find any. So I made some…

For the next few weeks, every Friday will bring another Good Will Hunting GIF. And we will call it TGIGIFF, which stands for “Thank Goodness It’s Graphic Interchange Format Friday.” And I think the image above is a good place to start.

But which Kelly’s shall we go to?

A while back the Blog Will Hunting crew payed a visit to the Christopher Lee Playground, the South Boston location in which the GWH boys watch some little league before picking up some burgers (and then getting into some street fights).

The screenplay, as written, is a little different from the scene in the film:

The next scene shows them in Chuckie’s car — with Kelly’s Roast Beef bags, of course.  As you will recall, in the film the exchange doesn’t have Chuckie dissing Kelly’s this way… it’s a bit of a surprise to see such anti-Kelly’s sentiment on the page, as the local chain is regarded as something of an institution.  (As we noted a couple weeks ago, guest star Julianne Moore namechecks Kelly’s in a recent episode of 30 Rock — “Let’s go to Kelly’s! Let’s get some roast beef!”).

Founded in 1951, Kelly’s lays claim to the invention of the Original Roast Beef Sandwich — “before 1951, no one had ever heard of eating such a creation!“  Their original location is their beachfront outpost in Revere, and over the years four other locations have sprung up around Boston.  One is inside a Jordan’s Furniture.  (Also in that Jordan’s Furniture: an IMAX theater.  I’m pretty sure I saw The Dark Knight there.  At that furniture store.  It’s weird, I know.)

Celebrating six decades of quality, customer service, and value, Kelly’s is still a family owned and operated business that continues the original philosophy of our founders. Many of Kelly’s hourly employees and managers have been with the company over thirty years! Kelly’s is open 363 days a year, providing our valued customers with the quality and consistent standards they have come to expect over the years. Now when people ask, “Why is Kelly’s So Famous Anyhow?” Our answer remains: because of our loyal customers.

They of course also mention Good Will Hunting as one of their many claims to fame.

Their marketing plays up their sense of tradition and customer service, and though Chuckie would have found some allies in his discontent on the Yelp customer review message boards, most Yelpers have positive things to say about the staff, and especially the food, often using the word “fried” as an adjective of deeply satisfied approval.  The reviews tend to prefer the flagship restaurant at Revere Beach, despite the seagulls’ attempts at food theft, and perhaps indicative of nothing, at least one reviewer at another location admits to being drunk during his visit.

So on the day of our visit to Southie, we left the Christopher Lee playground wondering, which Kelly’s did they go to?

It essentially comes down to the flagship Revere location and the one in Medford.

We know that is that it is 15 minutes out of their way… according to Google maps (assuming they were coming back to Southie afterwards) it would take 37 minutes to drive to Revere Beach and back, but only 25 to get to Medford.  Also, the Medford location has a drive-thru, and Chuckie’s comment as they squabble in the car on the return trip — “I know what you ordered, I was there” — suggests they did the drive-thru and Chuck did the ordering (and the paying).

So we drove by the Medford location, and… well… it looked pretty boring….

Despite the fact that is probably the one they went to (CORRECTION: This has been disproved, thanks to Patrick and Josh. Check out the comments) … we wanted to go to the beach.

So on that summer day we had a wonderful meal — open air seating, a sea breeze, seagulls, Bostonians, and more than once, someone would sing out, “Chuck I had a double burger!”

Looks like Robin Williams is out-therapizing Gabriel Byrne.  I’m not sure how I feel about that.  Though Williams’ character has fewer ethical violations, as far as I can tell.

I find it interesting I actually have two of these films from Netflix currently.  Can you guess which two??

And no, despite having rented Rashomon from Netflix twice before, and keeping it for several months each time, I have neither seen it, nor am I renting it now.  (It’s back on my queue at #298.)

Early in the film the boys are brownbagging it at a little league game… you remember:

This was shot in Boston’s own Christopher Lee Park.

We visited last June.  No baseball was being played, sadly.

A fence was added, but little else had changed.

Christopher Lee Playground

Take a visit yourself; you’ll be glad you did.

Ben Affleck as a T employee.

Thanks to Katherine for submitting a photo of Ben Affleck dressed as a T employee, in a new film shooting in Boston.  Unfortunately she could not illuminate what the deal was with “the state of his belt/pants,” responding “I guess we’ll have to see the movie.”

Will Affleck be texting while operating the train?  Will he save someone’s foot?  Will he yell at me for not paying my T fare even though I already paid but stepped out of the crowded car to let people out?  We shall see.

Thanks to Dave, for alerting us that “Matt Damon is NOT dead,” which we didn’t know was a possibility.  A few weeks ago the internet went crazy with the rumor he had died in the desert or something.  Associated Content cleared up the confusion, stating, “Academy Award-winning actor Matt Damon (Good Will Hunting) is not dead, but, rather, is in Venice, Italy, attending the Venice Film Festival.” 

Bollywood 91, which looks like a fake website anyway, reported a very detailed account:

Matt Damon, an American actor and philanthropist, was found dead in California’s Palo Verde mountain area on Wednesday. He was 38.

According to TMZ’s web site, Damon, who was officially reported missing Friday, was on a camping trip. His body was found by an Imperial County Sheriff’s Department deputy on Wednesday.

The cause of death is unknown.

According to TMZ.com on Wednesday, law enforcement headed into the desert near San Diego on Tuesday. That day, TMZ.com reported, “Damon sent a text message to a friend that he was out of water and needed help. There was a massive search that ended abruptly.”

On his personal blog, Damon wrote last month he was going to the desert because of his friends talking about “treasure hunting and lost gold, and my own insatiable appetite for adventure and exploration . . . I plan on going so deep into the desert, that any failure of my equipment could cost me my life.”

Later on, however, he downplayed such fears, writing, “It seems some websites have reported on the story, posting up that I might die out in the desert, or that it might be my greatest opponent yet, etc. Come on guys. It’s really common down in southern California to go out to the off-road recreation areas in the desert about an hour away from L.A. and San Diego. So my plan is to go out to the desert, do some camping, ride the motorcycle, and shoot some guns. Sounds like a lot of fun to me. A lot of people do it. This isn’t a version of Into the Wild. I’m not going out into the desert with a pair of shorts and a bowie knife to try to live off the land. I’m going fully geared up, and I’m planning on having some fun.”

Damon won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for his screenwriting in Good Will Hunting, and was nominated for his lead performance in the same film. Growing steadily in popularity from the 1997 film, he was since matched up with A-list actors in mainstream films, and today is rated among the top actors in Hollywood.

Damons agent, John Hayner, said his client led a simple life and always had an appreciation for the outdoors.

“He was always planning on going on some sort of adventure,” Hayner told TMZ.com. “And his my mom got scared and said ‘You’re moving with your auntie and your uncle in Bel-Air.’ I whistled for a cab and when it came near the license plate said “Fresh” and there were dice in the mirror. If anything I could say that this cab was rare but I thought, naw, forget it, yo holmes to Bel-Air. I pulled up to the house about seven or eight and said to the cabbie “Yo holmes smell ya later.” Looked at my kingdom, I was finally there, to sit on my throne as the prince of Bel-Air.”

Apparently no one who believed this report read the last paragraph.  Though I will now be using the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song lyrics in the place of lorem ipsum text for all future text-filler.

Thanks to Heather for forwarding the press release that Affleck and company would be shooting a scene in Harvard Square.  We thought it would cite exciting opportunities to be an extra or watch the magic happen, but apparently it was chiefly concerned with “parking restrictions.”

We received a film schedule from the folks that are currently in production of a Warner Bros. film called *The Town*. Cambridge native Ben Affleck will direct and star in the film. The film is based on Chuck Hogan’s novel, _Prince of Thieves_, a dark, heist-romance centered around Charlestown, MA.

They will be filming on Tuesday, September 15 (6AM-8PM.) In order to facilitate their production they will be parking some equipment vehicles on streets surrounding the filming location.

Filming Location:

Grendel’s Den
89 Winthrop St

There will be parking restrictions on:

*** Tuesday, September 15 (6AM-8PM) ***

JFK St from Eliot St to Mt Auburn St (both sides)

Eliot St from Bennett St to Mt Auburn St (Winthrop St. sides)

Plympton St from Mt Auburn St to Memorial Dr (both sides)

They assured us that they will do everything they can to minimize the impact of their presence on the area.

Boston.com provided some behind-the-scenes magic of sorts.  Well, a photo.  That’s cool I guess.

The Boston-based bank robber movie “The Town’’ - which has already filmed in Charlestown, Dorchester, and Fenway Park - made its way to Harvard Square on Sept. 15. Director and star Ben Affleck and his crew descended on Winthrop Park at about 6 a.m. to film outdoor scenes in front of Grendel’s Den and UpStairs on the Square.

And thanks to everyone who urgently informed me immediately upon learning about a Zipcar-sponsored outdoor screening of Good Will Hunting.  It was in a little park birthed by the Big Dig, and in true Big Dig fashion, the screening was delayed for at least an hour and a half due to technical difficulties with an electrical problem blamed on the transit authority.

The inflatable movie screen would then begin to gradually deflate. Hey  Zipcar: It's not your fault!

As per Mike’s suggestion, Dave and I got a pizza in the North End and ate it sitting in the grass, and had a fine time despite leaving before it started… if it ever started.

A few years back, I declared I would have a Good Will Hunting Renaissance. It was on my list for the summer. Friends talked it up for weeks. We had not seen the film for years, and in particular, we had not seen it since working in Harvard Square every day.

I can’t say we weren’t disappointed. The chummy therapy, the romance, the arc of self-forgiveness — it’s forced and clumsily stitched together. In the scene that immediately proceeds the birthday scene, Will meets with Sean for his final therapy session — “You’re a free man” he says to Will. And we are to believe he is…

Since it’s “not your fault,” you just have to get a job, a car, a girl, and follow your dreams.

But when Will and his friends gather, the film is understated, charming even when distasteful, and focuses on characters that seem to actually inhabit the world — all this plus blow job jokes.

Will’s pals surprise him with a gift that will complete his process of self-actualization — it’s a clunker of a car but it will get him on the road to see about a girl; he’s no longer restrained to the T or to carpooling (though admittedly, as Chuckie points out, “Morgan wanted to get you a T-pass.”) The exchange is typical of the four guys’ loving and pervasively insulting relationship.

“This is the ugliest fucking car I’ve ever seen in my life,” Will jokes with genuine gratitude.

The character Bill, whose role as fourth-friend is generally “guy passing out drunk in the corner” delivers the oddly heartfelt, half-mumbled, “It’s a good car. The engine’s good.” Compared to “you’re a free man” or “I had to see about a girl,” I much prefer this line as a summary for what Will has learned over the course of the film. It’s a good engine — it’ll get you places — and that’s what matters.

It’s a good birthday.