Bourne Again

Some weeks are more interesting than others. This was one of the more interesting ones.

I left New York at 8am last Saturday morning and arrived in London at 8pm that night, a mere 7-hour plane ride and 5-hour time difference from New York. Sunday, courtesy of my partner Larry Scheinthal, I got the opportunity to see the NY Jets play the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium, just outside of London. This game is one of three being played in London this year as part of the NFL’s desire to increase its international fan base and — who knows? — possibly expand to include teams throughout Europe one day. What a stroke of luck for a die-hard New Yorker like me, to be in London for this particular show-down! The Jets/Dolphins rivalry is one of the all-time best in sports. I’ll spare my friends from Miami any further discussion about the game.

Monday through Wednesday I spent on the set of the fifth installment of the Jason Bourne movie franchise, watching the filming of the still-untitled sequel, currently referred to as Bourne 5.  As regular readers of this column know, I am a producer of the Bourne film series. And I must say, the new film promises to be as exciting if not more so than the four predecessors.

Matt Damon looks great, returning as Jason Bourne 14 years after being cast in the first one. In fact, he looks better (don’t we all wish we could say that?). Julia Stiles is also back, reprising her role as Nicki Parsons, and delivers an amazing performance. And fans of the series will be happy to know that the action in this installment fully lives up to, if not exceeds, Jason Bourne standards. You will not be disappointed; I guarantee it.

The production will be based in London for the next month or so and then head to places such as Berlin, Washington, DC and Las Vegas. I’m hoping, between now and mid-February when shooting wraps, to be able to carve out some more time to be on set.

For someone who spends most of his working hours in an office either in meetings or on phone calls, wearing a suit and tie, getting out in jeans and sneakers and forgetting about my desk job for a couple of days (ok, well not really forgetting) is a real treat. And watching these stars work and seeing the movie come together before my eyes is an experience I’m really enjoying.

Hopefully, audiences will enjoy seeing the results. At a minimum, they’re bound to like it more than Miami liked the Jets-Dolphins game.