Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are big names in Hollywood now, but it wasn't always so. Everyone knows that they broke into the industry together, with their shared Oscar win for the screenplay of 'Good Will Hunting.' On 'Late Show' (Weeknights, 11:35PM ET on CBS), Damon revealed just how committed they were to making acting their career.

Dating back to when they were young teens, the boys set up a joint checking account for the sole purpose of financing trips to New York for auditions. They did commercials locally to fund these trips in the hopes of making it big. They were focused and dedicated to the dream ... well, mostly.

Tentpoles are letting us down ('Tron' ... meh) and big budget comedies are suddenly bombing ('The Dilemma'), so maybe it's time to put a small fraction of the business back in the hands of amateurs.

The always-riveting 'Project Greenlight' was gone too soon from TV. Sure, it didn't produce any Oscar winners, but it did give talent a leg up (wasn't THAT the point?).

A little-known actor named Shia LeBeouf stole the show in season 2 with his precocious professionalism in the face to 'Project Greenlight's' usual chaos. And on Feb. 25, the Farrelly Brothers' 'Hall Pass' opens wide; the naughty premise was brought to us by indefatigable screenwriter Pete Jones -- yes, that Pete Jones, the first to get 'Greenlight's greenlight, for the twee 'Stolen Summer' (oy, that title).

Ben Affleck and Ellen DeGeneres play a game of "Lap It Up" on 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show' (weekdays, syndicated), competing to see who can build the tallest tower of blocks on a person's lap in 45 seconds.

When Ben Affleck visited 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' (weeknights, 12:05AM ET on ABC), Jimmy Kimmel happily showed the studio audience a little competition that's going on in the pages of 'Variety' magazine between Affleck and his BFF Matt Damon.

Holding up an issue of the entertainment industry publication, he pointed to one of those "For Your Consideration" ads that inundate the season, as industry voters consider who to nominate for Oscars, among other awards. The cover ad promoted Affleck as Best Actor for his role in 'The Town.' However, the inside cover page revealed a Best Actor ad for Damon's role in 'Hereafter.'

Affleck laughed and said, "Those pictures look a little strangely meditative." Kimmel agreed, joking, "It looks like you guys are waiting for the call at five o'clock in the morning to see if you're nominated." The host needled him further, trying to get Affleck to admit to competitive tension between the two friends.

When Matt Damon visited the 'Late Show' (weeknights, 11:35PM ET on CBS), he talked more about other famous actors than himself. David Letterman asked him about buddy Ben Affleck's recent success with 'The Town.' "I'm thrilled for the guy. I'm not at all surprised," said Damon. "Now I'm kinda relegated to emailing him, asking him for jobs," he joked.

Before the film premiered, Damon asked Affleck if he was nervous. Affleck told him: "I wrote it, and I directed it, and I starred in it, so you know I can't really distance myself from it if it stinks. I'm kinda on the hook for this one." The host then persuaded Damon to do his "specialty impression" of Matthew McConaughey.

Ben Affleck is famous around the world, and has just released the new film 'The Town' -- which he wrote, directed, and starred in. But that still doesn't keep reporters from confusing him with other people, as we learned on the latest 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' (weeknights, 12AM ET on ABC).

Jimmy's sidekick Guillermo brought a Spanish-language newspaper into the studio. The paper very politely listed Affleck next to Tom Hanks and Johnny Depp -- which is pretty good company, acting-wise. Unfortunately, the paper also got Ben's name slightly wrong, calling him "Ben Stiller." Whoops. "This is bullsh*t!" Affleck said. As it turned out, the article wasn't even about him. The paper just mixed up his photograph with Stiller's.

Actor Ben Affleck suffers from "Pteromerhanophobia," or -- in layman's terms -- "Fear of Flying." This is an extremely common phobia shared by millions of people around the world. Being afraid to fly is a complex psychological disorder that can have many possible causes. In Ben's case, though, the reasons why are very very simple.

On 'The Tonight Show' (weeknights, 11:35PM ET on NBC), Affleck explained to Jay Leno how his fear first arose. Ben actually started working as a child actor at a very young age. When he was 9 years old, he went on a flight to Washington D.C by himself ... which is when the plane got hit by lightening and the engine caught on fire.

Actor Ben Affleck is the writer, star, and the director of the new film 'The Town.' And as it turns out, he did a little extra research to ready himself for the motion picture. 'The Town' follows the adventures of four bank robbers as they're chased by the FBI. Affleck wanted some extra realism for the role, so he met up with some real-life robbers.

On 'The Daily Show' (weeknights, 11PM ET on Comedy Central), Ben explains this process to Jon Stewart. "Now, how do you get a hold of bank robbers?" Stewart asks. Here's Ben's answer: "The Google." Yep; true story. Affleck simply did an Internet search for some criminals.

Ben Affleck wrote, directed and stars in the upcoming heist flick 'The Town,' which focuses on Charlestown, Boston, an area that's produced more bank robbers than any other part of the country. And according to Affleck, he has first-hand knowledge of how rough Charlestown can be, since he grew up in neighboring Cambridge, he said on 'Today' (weekdays, 7AM ET on NBC).

Actor Matt Damon received a big award during a star-studded gala event on 'Hollywood Salutes Matt Damon: An American Cinematheque Tribute' (Thu., 9PM ET on ABC). A ton of celebrities were in attendance, including Jimmy Kimmel, Robin Williams, Ben Affleck and Clint Eastwood.

One celebrity who couldn't be bothered to show up: George Clooney. Although Clooney did send a video message to Damon. Unfortunately, the message ostensibly took place while George was getting an "elective prostate [exam]" from a doctor.

Clooney appeared a little distracted while sending his message, but -- hey, at least he cared enough to call. "Tonight, you have an American Cinematheque Award," he said to Matt. " ... Ooh! Aaah!" These weren't necessarily sounds of excitement; they were more like noises resulting from the doctor's activities.

Mother's Day is nearly here, and Jennifer Garner imagines how the holiday would be ideally spent with husband Ben Affleck and their children on 'The Early Show' (weekdays, 7AM ET on CBS).

"Ben's really good. He knows I love flowers and he always, always 100% of the time, you know, spoils me," Garner said, then dropping a not-so-subtle hint for how she wants this year's holiday for moms to go. "I'm sure that this year will be my favorite because I'm sure they'll wake me up with breakfast in bed, and I'm sure they'll have made me a homemade card, and they'll have flowers for me, and my husband will be there smiling."

Watch the video after the jump.

'Jimmy Kimmel Live' has a post-Oscars live show every year and last night he had a variety of guests, including Christoph Waltz, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Matt Damon, John Krasinksi, Ted Danson, Rob Lowe, Keith Urban, Sting, Matthew McConaughey, and many others. He also showed one award they didn't show on the Oscars, the one for "Best Actor in Real Life." I think the right guy won.

[Watch episodes of 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' and other shows at SlashControl.]

One of the funniest things we've seen in a while is Jimmy Kimmel's Handsome Club bit on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' (weeknights, 12:05AM ET on ABC).

You might have caught part of it during the Oscars, but seriously, find the full video and watch it; well worth the nine minutes or so. How he managed to round up all those celebrities is beyond us. Then again, he IS Jimmy Kimmel, president of the Handsome Club. But probably not for long.

Late night wars? We smell victory for Kimmel.

Watch the video after the jump.

The prospect of a news show featuring people with disabilities interviewing celebrities and people on the street sounds like a sick way to spend a Sunday evening. That assumption doesn't help when you see South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker's names under the executive producer heading, two guys who made the phrase "Timmy!" and "cripple fight" part of the American pop culture lexicon.

But as Stone said himself in my soon-to-be awarding winning interview (my boss said he would put a gold star on my next paycheck), How's Your News? -- which premieres at 10:30 tomorrow night on MTV -- aims to change the audience's perspective on more than one level.

It's a journey of self-discovery for both the participants and the viewers and that's a big step for a network that has had a hard time figuring out what it's supposed to be.

If you watched Saturday Night Live this past week (or caught up with the show online), you know that they finally decided to skewer Keith Olbermann and the self-important tone he uses... well, just about everywhere. One major problem: the impression, by guest host Ben Affleck, stunk on ice. In the far-too-long sketch, Affleck spent the entire time trying to get a hold on how Olbermann sounds, alternately making the Countdown host sound like a British lord of the manor and a man with clogged sinuses. It didn't help that the sketch was all over the place, mocking the entire Countdown show rather than one particular segment, Olbermann's oh-so-mockable Special Comments.

But one comedian, Michael Terry, completely nails the Olbermann impression in the video after the jump. In it, he doesn't attempt to ape the entire show; he just makes a Special Comment complaining about how he got cheated on his Subway sandwich. "Double meat, sir, as any Ritalin-addled eight-year old will tell you, means twice the amount of meat." It's hilarious, and it puts Affleck's impression to shame.