Project Greenlight

[BeefMissile]

I won a Project Greenlight DVD set(series one) years ago in a "movie idea" contest. The whole thing was rigged & I should have won 1st place(a video camera & a chance to have my project reviewed by Hollywood execs) but that's okay. I also bought the 2nd series box set as a gift for a friend.
The series was okay. I thought it was funny how actor Gary Cole wore a black PG t-shirt on camera in the comedy; Win A Date With Tad Hamilton. Cole got d$&#ed over in a Project Greenlight episode & it's funny how he took it in stride. Good for him.
The Project Greenlight where the cinematographer shakes the camera because he didn't "trust" the director & editor shows how inept/jacked-up some of the crew members were.
Shaker Heights has a run time of around 80min and Stolen Summer(season one) was way to melodramatic/sappy.
When veteran actor/industry professional, Bonnie Hunt had to step in & explain to Pete(the contest winner) that the young kids were very cold & might get sick showed how the production had big problems.

Ben Affleck & Matt Damon were not really involved in these films either. They started Project Greenlight but seemed to be over-run by the dynamics & constraints of film production. The series had a few odd-balls too. The Shaker Hts screenwriter & Feast's dir; John Galleger(check spelling).

I did watch Feast on HBO a few years after the Bravo season of PG & it's really a decent horror-sci fi film. I'd heard the 2 D2V Feast sequels were God awful.

I'd suggest any film student or anyone interested in the film industry watch Project Greenlight but it's mostly what NOT to say & do.

[Mac H.]

Interesting article about the career of the winner to Project Greenlight's successor/competition 'On the Lot':

"I had stars in my eyes after that show where I thought, ‘Sure, I’ll be directing a feature soon ' ..."

Yet five years later, Bigham, a 36-year old Texan with a wife and two kids, is just now directing his debut feature, the teen comedy “The A-List,” on a shoestring budget of less than $1 million.

Full article: http://www.thewrap.com/movies/articl...g-mentor-51141

Mac

[jsay]

Interesting article... especially with Nicholl results coming... All what you do with the opportunity, and seems like winning a contest is just the beginning...

[Signal30]

Originally Posted by BeefMissile

I did watch Feast on HBO a few years after the Bravo season of PG & it's really a decent horror-sci fi film. I'd heard the 2 D2V Feast sequels were God awful.

If you like deranged horror-comedy along the lines of early Peter Jackson, then Feast is more than just a decent horror-sci fi film. It definitely likes crossing boundaries in pursuit of cheap laughs...and pulls it off. There's some pretty messed up **** going down, but also a pretty cool meta approach to the tropes of the genre. It's also probably what drove a stake in the heart of Project Greenlight. I'm guessing the sponsors weren't too happy when they came out of the screening.

And yes...the two sequels are pretty bad. More like Ed Wood on mescaline. Which sounds more promising than what they deliver.

[BeefMissile]

I think the "writing on the wall" was in the second HBO based season of Project Greenlight. Ben Affleck seemed annoyed & POed at dealing with some of the contest finalists & winners.
The main EP/honcho; Chris Moore(I think that's his name but I might be wrong) really went ape-s*+t a few times too.
The Shaker Heights directors seemed stuck-up and annoying.

Feast's crew & production had a lot of drama too. Some of it sounded stupid.
If major Hollywood stars or a top prodco gave you a chance to produce your project, would you act like a d-hole or be ungrateful?

Beef

PS; the popular indie doc: Overnight about the film, The Boondocks Saints & how the dir screwed up his big shot also descibes these points.