by Stephanie SoteriouBuzzFeedBuzzFeed Staff As I'm sure you've noticed, there's been a lot of talk about Ben Affleck and Matt Damon of late, thanks to the release of their new movie, The Rip, which came out on Netflix earlier this month. Stephanie Augello / Getty Images And the longtime besties being back in the spotlight has made people feel a little nostalgic about the early days of Ben and Matt's friendship. If you need reminding, the two met when Ben was just 8 years old, and Matt was 10, and they lived a block and a half away from each other in Boston, Massachusetts. NBC / Via youtube.com They ended up bonding over their shared love of acting, and moved in together immediately after school as they each worked the audition circuit. At the same time, Matt was casually attending Harvard University, and the final project in his drama class was to write a 40-page script. Vinnie Zuffante / Getty Images This assignment turned out to be completely life-changing for both Ben and Matt. After relocating from Boston to Los Angeles, they decided to revisit Matt's script together, and it eventually turned into the beloved Oscar-winning movie Good Will Hunting. (C)Miramax/Courtesy Everett Collection The pair once revealed that they originally ended up writing "thousands of pages" of the film, with Matt explaining: "It took us forever to write that screenplay... We were, like, unemployed, broke guys." Mitchell Gerber / Getty Images However, the time and effort eventually paid off, with Good Will Hunting being the movie that catapulted both stars to global fame in the late '90s. But getting the film made wasn't exactly plain sailing. (C)Miramax/Courtesy Everett Collection In case you've never seen it (in which case, what are you doing?!), the movie centers around Will Hunting, a troubled young man with a genius-level IQ who is working as a janitor at a school. After a professor discovers Will's impressive mathematical talent, he tries to help him meet his potential - which involves sending him to a therapist, Sean, to work through his past trauma. Through all of this, Will is supported by his best friend, Chuckie. (C)Miramax/Courtesy Everett Collection Once they had finished the script, Matt and Ben started sharing it with production companies to get it made, with the caveat being that they would be able to star in it as Will and Chuckie, respectively. Production company Castle Rock Entertainment is said to have initially bought the rights to the script, but asked Ben and Matt to rework part of it. (C)Miramax/Courtesy Everett Collection This request irritated the pair, who decided to add a graphic gay sex scene between characters halfway through the script. They then sent this revised script to every major Hollywood studio to determine who was actually reading it in full before giving feedback. Bob Riha Jr / Getty Images The stars confirmed this tactic in an interview with Boston magazine back in 2013, where Ben said: "We were so frustrated that Castle Rock wasn't reading the script, so we felt like we had to develop this test. We started writing in screen direction like: '[Therapist] Sean talks to Will and unloads his conscience.' And then: 'Will takes a moment and then gives Sean a soulful look and leans in and starts blowing him.'" (C)Miramax/Courtesy Everett Collection "They weren't reading the script closely anymore. It was literally probably a full paragraph about what these two characters were doing to each other," Matt added in the same interview. Ben reiterated: "We would turn that in, and they wouldn't ever mention all those scenes where Sean and Will were jerking each other off." (C)Miramax/Courtesy Everett Collection Eventually, one producer did pick up on the graphic sex scenes: Harvey Weinstein. He got in touch with Ben and Matt to ask them about it, thus confirming to the pair that he had actually read the story properly. Penske Media / Getty Images The rest is history, with the script being handed over to Miramax, which distributed the film in 1997. In accordance with their caveats, Matt played Will in the film, and Ben played Chuckie. Meanwhile, Robin Williams took on the role of Sean - who, it should be noted, has absolutely zero sex scenes with Will in the final cut of the movie. (C)Miramax/Courtesy Everett Collection Good Will Hunting was released to critical acclaim, and in 1998, Matt and Ben won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for their work, with then-25-year-old Ben remaining the youngest winner of this award to this day. Robin also won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance as Sean. Ron Davis / Getty Images Fast-forward to 2026, and Ben reflected on his and Matt's unconventional approach to selling their script during an appearance on the All The Smoke podcast, where he admitted that he feels differently about the tactic now. All The Smoke / Via youtu.be "Is this urban legend: To see what studios actually read the script, did you put a sex scene between Will and Chuckie, and only one actual