Summary

• The Instigators is a Boston-based comedy heist movie starring Matt Damon and Casey Affleck, directed by Doug Liman.
• Action sequences were challenging but working with Liman alleviated concerns about the film's success for Casey Affleck.
• Liman appreciates heist films for their rule-breaking nature and enjoyed working with a star-studded cast.

The Instigators, a new comedy heist movie from Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, hit select theaters last week, and much of the cast and crew traveled to New York City to celebrate on the red carpet. The film is directed by Doug Liman, known for films like Mr. & Mrs. Smith and this year's Road House remake, and is the latest project produced by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. Damon stars in the film alongside Casey Affleck, Kinds of Kindness' Hong Chau, and musician Jack Harlow.

The Instigators continues a longstanding tradition for Affleck and Damon, taking place in Boston, and also marks Damon's return to working with Liman following 2002's The Bourne Identity. Damon plays Rory, a first-time criminal roped into a scheme to rob the city's mayor on election night with the help of ex-con Cobby (Affleck). However, after things go awry during the crime, the duo are forced to go on the run, bringing Rory's therapist (Chau) into the chaos with them as they're pursued both by law enforcement and corrupt officials.

Screen Rant interviewed cast and creatives at the event in New York City, including Matt Damon, Casey Affleck, and Matt Damon, to discuss the heist genre, the biggest challenges of action, and Damon returning to comedy.

The Instigators Star Matt Damon Would Do “Anything” With Tina Fey

Screen Rant: Personally, I love seeing you return to a comedic role. It reminds me of one of my favorite roles you've ever done, actually, which was in 30 Rock as Carol Burnett.

Matt Damon: [Laughs] Carol Burnett, yeah.

Do you find yourself wanting to do more comedic stuff these days, and maybe even work with Tina [Fey] again?

Matt Damon: Oh, I'd do anything with Tina. She's amazing. But if I can find something good, I would love to do another great comedy if I could find one.

Source: Screen Rant Plus

Casey Affleck Didn’t Know If The Instigators Would Work

Screen Rant: This movie has so many awesome both comedic and action sequences, and I'm curious if either of those proved to be especially difficult for whatever reason behind the scenes.

Casey Affleck: I had no idea if it was going to work, but that's why you hire someone like Doug Liman - Bourne Identity, Go, Swingers, Edge of Tomorrow, it's all fun. He manages to do action from a character point of view, so he's never asking you to do something that you think like, "Oh, I wouldn't do this. This feels fake." He'll just say, "Oh, well then do something else," which is not how everyone works. And it's a luxury as an actor to have somebody who's so good at action, and likes doing it so much, pay such close attention to the actors.

Source: Screen Rant Plus

The Instigators Director Doug Liman Would Pull Off An Unusual Heist

Screen Rant: This is not your first heist film - you also made Lockdown a couple of years ago. I'm curious what made you want to return to the genre, and if you feel like you've learned any lessons from your first time around with a heist movie that you've taken into this?

Doug Liman: I think I'm a rule breaker as a human being, as a filmmaker, and so I think that's why heist movies really appeal to me, because they're the ultimate in rule breaking and wish fulfillment. In the case of Instigators, a chance to do a comedy heist - I mean, obviously Lockdown was also comedy, but to find two people, Matt Damon and Casey Affleck, and create basically the two worst possible thieves.

I also thought the script to Instigators had so many amazing ing parts, that we would attract the kind of cast we did attract. Obviously, Matt and Casey, they're legendary, but they also attracted this insane ing cast with Hong Chau and Jack Harlow. I'd done Road House and cast Conor McGregor in his first movie, and I was excited to repeat that, and cast Jack Harlow in Instigators, and Michael Stuhlbarg and Alfred Molina, Ron Perlman, Paul Walter Ha. It's an embarrassment of riches. So probably even more than it being a heist, it was a chance to just work with some of the actors I've died to work with my whole life.

If you were to heist anything, what would your ideal grab be?

Doug Liman: I'd break into Carvel in the middle of the night when it's closed, and I still want an ice cream.

Source: Screen Rant Plus

About The Instigators

Rory (Matt Damon) and Cobby (Casey Affleck) are reluctant partners: a desperate father and an ex-con thrown together to pull off a robbery of the ill-gained earnings of a corrupt politician. But when the heist goes wrong, the two find themselves engulfed in a whirlwind of chaos, pursued not only by police, but also backwards bureaucrats and vengeful crime bosses. Completely out of their depth, they convince Rory’s therapist (Hong Chau) to their riotous getaway through the city, where they must put aside their differences and work together to evade capture — or worse. Directed by Doug Liman and written by Chuck MacLean and Casey Affleck, “The Instigators” also stars Michael Stuhlbarg, Paul Walter Ha, Ving Rhames, Alfred Molina, and Toby Jones, with Jack Harlow and Ron Perlman.

Check out our other Instigators interviews with:

• Matt Damon & Casey Affleck
• Hong Chau

The Instigators is now in theaters and hits Apple TV+ on August 9.