Matt Damon attends screening in Boise

BOISE – Actor Matt Damon says he hopes his third visit to Boise won’t be his last.

Damon, the star of “The Bourne Ultimatum,” and producer Frank Marshall attended a screening of the film Monday at Boise’s Egyptian Theatre as a fundraiser for Boise Contemporary Theater.

The pair have attended screening events in Boise for each movie in the Bourne trilogy; though “Ultimatum” is expected to close the series, Damon said he would like future projects to bring him back to Idaho.

“I hope to. I was just talking to the governor about that,” Damon said.

“I’m hoping that a lot of people from the industry come to Idaho – the mountains, the desert, the city, with everything that you have going for you, more movies should be shot out here.”

Marshall, who is working on a sequel to the “Indiana Jones” series as well as an independent film called “Crossing Over” about immigration in America, wouldn’t rule out another Bourne sequel but said the story had already ventured far afield from the books by author Robert Ludlum.

“There might be an idea out there that we could go forward with, but right now, the trilogy is done,” Marshall said.

Gov. Butch Otter also attended the screening.

Idaho’s lawmakers have created some economic incentives to lure the film industry, but they’re capped at about $500,000, the governor noted.

“A lot of states, a lot of other countries offer more,” Otter said. “But we have an opportunity to attract small films, less-expensive films, that want the beauty of our river and mountains. They pay a lot of money into the economy but they don’t have kids in schools and don’t drive much on the highways, so it’s a good industry to attract.”