Matt Damon - Matt Damon praises Promised Land co-writer

Matt Damon praises Promised Land co-writer

Matt Damon has compared his 'Promised Land' co-writer to Ben Affleck.

The 42-year-old actor thinks John Krasinski - who also stars in the eco-warrior drama alongside Matt - is ''incredibly'' clever and reminded him of working with his best friend and long-term collaborator Ben.

He said: ''John has got this incredibly fast brain. So the writing would come quickly and we would laugh together. It reminded me of writing with Ben Affleck, a very similar feeling and above all else a lot of fun - I'd forgotten just how much.''

'Promised Land', which has been hotly-tipped for the Oscars, is the story of a corporate representative (Matt) whose attempts to buy drilling rights are opposed by a community organizer (Krasinski).

Matt and 'The Office' star John discovered they had the same hard-working ethic and were determined to make the anti-'fracking' film a success, but still managed to have more fun together than Matt has ever had on a job.

He told FlicksandBits.com: ''During the week, John and I would go back to our jobs and pore over what we'd written during our down-times, scribbling notes and ideas before reconvening on the weekend to revise and revise and revise.

''My wife said to me, 'You had such a great time that even if it never gets made, it was worth it because you remembered how much you love writing and you had this incredible creative experience with John'. It was a lot of fun writing with John.''

The film is directed by Gus Van Sant and hits US cinemas in December and the UK in April 2013.

Meanwhile, childhood friends Ben and Matt are working on a new project about notorious Boston mobster Whitey Bulger.

It marks their first collaboration since 1997's 'Good Will Hunting', which earned them nine Academy Award nods and an Oscar for Best Screenplay.