Matt Damon is lying about the dangers of hydrofracking, a pro-fracking filmmaker is alleging.
Phelim McAleer, who directed the documentary FrackNation , which paints fracking in a positive light, said Matt Damon’s new movie Promised Land is spreading misinformation about the natural gas drilling technique.
The new film from director Gus Van Sant, written by Matt Damon and John Krasinski, suggests that fracking can contaminate local water supplies, leaving the water itself flammable. McAleer says that’s not true, even taking out a billboard to note that the water the the area where the film takes place has always been on fire, back to the 1600s.
“This stuff can get into the water supply naturally,” McAleer told Politco . “In America hundreds of years ago, native Americans named three different locations ‘Burning Springs.’ Quite simply, this is because of the naturally occurring gases, like methane, that are found beneath the earth’s surface and that can rise to the surface with water. This pre-dates fracking and, in fact, there is no evidence that suggests that fracking has led to an increase in this phenomenon.”
Other reports about Promised Land have painted Matt Damon’s movie in a less controversial light. Movieline.com noted that the movie isn’t so much about politics as the democratic process.
McAleer disagrees, saying that Matt Damon has created nothing more than “propaganda” with the movie.
“I don’t want to call Matt Damon a liar but he’s a liar, really,” McAleer said. “It’s a deeply political movie and it’s deeply disingenuous for Matt Damon to say otherwise. … Matt Damon isn’t telling the truth.”
