John Krasinski Dishes on Writing with Matt Damon

John Krasinski is taking his first stab at Hollywood screenwriting with the help of his high-profile bud, Matt Damon.

Video: Matt Damon's Dramatic 'Promised Land' Trailer

The twosome collaborated on Promised Land, their new drama about the American heartland, which premiered last night in New York City. Speaking at the star-studded event, Matt and John let us in on what inspired them to put their heads together for this particular project.

"I met Matt through Emily [Blunt, his wife] who did Adjustment Bureau with Matt and then after a while we became friends pretty quickly," John remembers. "We were talking about what we want to do and what we were looking forward to, and he said, 'I'm really looking forward to directing. Do you have anything you're working on?'... And I said, 'Yeah I have this thing.' And it turned out to be this movie, so this is crazy."

"The idea of writing something with John was really exciting," adds Matt. "Originally I was going to direct it ...and then for personal reasons I ended up not directing it and then we got Gus [Van Sant]."

Video: Globes Flashback '98: Affleck's In Shock

The film reunites Matt with the Good Will Hunting director for the third time. Along with buddy Ben Affleck, Matt won an Academy Award in 1998 for the screenplay.

Promised Land, out January 4, also stars Frances McDormand, Rosemarie DeWitt and Hal Holbrook.