I Dream of Matty
Dreamed I saw Matt Damon walking down the street in New York City without a shirt on. I yelled at him in a playful tone: "Really, Matty? Really? What the hell man?"
He looked over at me then crossed the street. It felt like a Good Will Hunting moment.
“It’s steamy out here today,” he said and winked at me. I guess we were flirting. He invited me to join him and film a scene for a new movie he was making about the people you can meet on the streets of Manhattan, so I went back with him to his hotel room at The Plaza.
There was a camera red light blinking on the bureau, and another one perched on a tripod beside the desk by the picture window. Acoustics in the room were good, helped by the soft upholstered furniture and layered Turkish rugs on the floor. It seemed different from a typical room, like he had made a special request for the extra carpeting.
“Did you make a request to the hotel for extra rugs?” I said, gesturing at the piles under my feet.
“Brought them here myself,” Matty said.
“I like the patterns,” I said and sat down on one of the armchairs by the coffee table.
“Got a good deal the last time I was in Istanbul,” Matty said, putting on a t-shirt then plopping himself down in the other armchair facing me.
We played a game of chess and talked about our favorite horror flicks, argued the virtues of jump scares versus psychological slow burns, and described the scenes that have stuck with us over the years. He went on for a while about Jaws. “One of the best movies ever made,” he said. Maybe it was.
I was a little disappointed that he didn’t drop his Rs when he mentioned The Conjuring, but he did pronounce Babadook like it had an H in it.
“I liked your accent in The Departed,” I said.
The chess match was tough, and despite the fact I hadn’t played since my babysitting days (when I taught myself the rules by reading the manual that came with the set while minding a six year old) I managed to keep it going for a while. I didn’t end up winning but when I was in check-mate Matty still let me castle so we could continue the game and chat some more.
When I left, I walked out with $700, and picked up a tuna salad sandwich on toasted sourdough someone took a bite of and left on a room service tray outside their room.