Phelim McAleer asked Matt Damon a question recently that no other professional journalist will likely ask the actor during the star’s current publicity tour.

Damon’s new film, “Promised Land,” is by all early accounts an assault on the practice of fracking as well as oil companies. The fracking process involves drilling deep into shale formations to extract oil and gas, and oil companies are often painted as villains in Hollywood productions. Yet part of the film’s funding comes from “the royal family of the oil-rich United Arab Emirates.”

So McAleer, the director of the upcoming film “FrackNation,” reached out to Damon during a Q&A connected to the new movie. The director asked the “Bourne” franchise star about “Promised Land’s” financial ties to the UAE.

Damon, who also co-wrote the film, essentially denied knowing the connection until he saw the credits on the finished film.