Jason Bourne Comes Home, Literally

AUGUST 9--The multimillion-dollar marketing campaign for 'The Bourne Ultimatum' is so extensive that Universal Studios has actually placed a towering billboard for the hit spy movie on the side of the small Manhattan coop where the film's star, Matt Damon, lives with his family.

So now when the actor returns to his downtown loft, a large likeness of himself is staring down at him from the six-story building's northern wall.

The billboard (which is actually one of those scrims that get fastened to a building's exterior) shows Damon's character, Jason Bourne, walking with a gun in his hand. As seen in this photo, the advertisement-which is about 15 feet wide and 50 feet high--notes that on August 3 (the day the film opened), "Bourne Comes Home." Home being the United States, not the 3500-square-foot loft occupied by Damon, his wife, and their daughter.

The spot on the side of Damon's building apparently is leased by Universal, which has previously used it to advertise "Man of the Year," a Robin Williams comedy. "The Bourne Ultimatum" took in a whopping $70.2 million last weekend, the largest August movie opening ever, and solidified Damon as Hollywood's most bankable star. (1 page)