In a recent interview with GQ, the Oscar-nominated director said the studio asked him if one of the two leads in the 2006 film, played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon, could survive the events of the movie. "What they wanted was a franchise. It wasn't about a moral issue of a person living or dying. They wanted the franchise. Which means: I can't work here anymore.". The film stars Damon as a mole for the Irish mob while DiCaprio plays an undercover officer.