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Matt Damon is still pissed that it took so many decades for the Academy to recognize Martin Scorsese. The two worked together for the first time in 2006’s The Departed, and the famous director had a big impact on the Bourne Supremacy actor in many ways. The biggest way? Matt thinks that the Academy should be on a ten-year delay. For example, the Oscars just held last month should have been recognizing films that were made in 1998. And last year’s films shouldn’t be recognized until the 2019 ceremony. Good luck with that, Matt. Contact Music has more:

Matt Damon insists the Oscars are no indication of whether films are good or not – even though he’s a past winner. The Bourne Supremacy star picked up a Best Screenplay Oscar in 1998 for Good Will Hunting, a film which also earned him a Best Actor nomination – but he’s skeptical about the way the Academy picks its winners.

He tells Parade.com, “I think that the best way to judge movies is, like, 10 years after they’re released. I think they should actually do the awards that way. I think they should have done the Academy Awards this year for movies from 1998. I think it’s better to look at a movie and then step back and look at it again. I don’t think that the awards necessarily get it right. I think they get it wrong more often than they get it right.”

It’s not the first time the actor has questioned the validity of the Oscars – he campaigned for director Martin Scorsese to win his first Academy Award three years ago (06), insisting the prizegiving would be a “farce” if the moviemaker was overlooked for The Departed.

He said, “Marty’s such a great, great director. He really wants it (Oscar) and he hasn’t made that a secret. He’s been upfront about saying it would really mean a lot to him.”

“He never felt that Hollywood had validated his work because his work is centered around the east coast and New York and that somehow threatened the establishment or something. But it demeans the Oscars more than it demeans Marty that he doesn’t have one, to be honest with you. Once he receives his (Oscar), then everyone who has one, their award is validated.”

Scorsese won his first Best Director Oscar for The Departed. It was the sixth time he had been nominated for the award.

[From Contact Music]

I totally understand the sentiments behind what Matt is saying. The Academy has made so many bone-headed decisions, especially in the past ten years. It used to be an actor would usually win an Oscar for the performance that, as it turns out, is their most famous. Like Gregory Peck winning for To Kill A Mockingbird. Or Audrey Hepburn winning for Roman Holiday. But Nicole Kidman winning for The Hours? Don’t get me wrong, it was a fine performance. But ten years from now, people will remember Nicole Kidman for Moulin Rouge.

There would also be the unintentional side-effect of the ten-year Oscar campaign, which Harvey Weinstein would probably still dominate. How many interviews could an actor or director give about a film they did ten years ago? How would the publicity even ramp up? But, as I said, I understand Matt’s sentiments. I wonder if he thinks his Oscar-winning screenplay for Good Will Hunting stands the test of time?

Here’s Matt Damon at the 68-mile Cape Argus bike trek on Sunday in South Africa. Images thanks to WENN.com.

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