Air Premiere: Ben Affleck and Matt Damon Pay Tribute to the Late Erik Lomis, Who Played a Key Role in the Film’s Theatrical Release

Erik Lomis died suddenly last week and the stars of Heaven honoring the late MGM and Amazon Studios CEO.

At the red carpet premiere of the film, which he is producing with Ben Affleck under their Artists Equity label, Matt Damon acknowledged that Lomis played a key role in taking the film from a Prime Video drop to a theatrical release take.

“It’s bad, it’s a big loss for both teams and I’m grateful he was part of the pit [this movie in theaters] – how we’re going to see it and how the country is going to see it,” Damon said meeting.

“It’s a big, big loss,” he added. “There is an email chain with his colleagues at Amazon and MGM. There’s a small chance we’ll be honoring him at the show tonight.’

Damon said that while he “didn’t get a chance to get to know him well,” he had “a few calls” with Lomis where they worked out the marketing strategy for the film.

Thank you Lomis, Heaven became Amazon’s first wide release in years. Affleck also paid tribute to the late director at the red carpet premiere and emphasized Lomis’ qualities as a person.

“He was a lovely guy — a lovely, smart, kind, generous, funny, warm guy, and I was shocked and saddened by his sudden death,” Affleck told Us of Lomis. “He was instrumental in saying, ‘Hey, I’m a theater sales manager, I know how to do this, we can do this with this movie. He insisted [a theatrical release] and he believed in it. I’m sure there were many more important things he would have liked to see, but as far as I’m concerned it’s a shame I wish he had seen this film.