''Project Greenlight'' is an American documentary television series focusing on first-time filmmakers being given the chance to direct a feature film. It was created by Alex Keledjian, developed by
Eli Holzman
Eli Holzman (born March 30, 1974) is an American creator–developer, writer, producer and television executive known for creating or serving as executive producer on a number of reality-based television series and documentaries, such as ''Pr ...
and produced by
Ben Affleck
Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Volpi Cup.
Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS educationa ...
,
Matt Damon
Matthew Paige Damon (; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.88 billion at the North Americ ...
,
Sean Bailey
Sean Bailey is an American film and television producer. Bailey is currently the president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production, a role he has served since his appointment in 2010.
Career Early career
As a co-founder and executiv ...
, and
Chris Moore through their production company
LivePlanet
LivePlanet was a production company founded in 2000, and was known for television and new media platforms.
History
It was created by Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Chris Moore and Sean Bailey. Affleck and Damon ended their film production deal in lat ...
, along with
Miramax Films
Miramax, LLC, also known as Miramax Films, is an American film and television production and distribution company founded on December 19, 1979, by brothers Harvey Weinstein, Harvey and Bob Weinstein, and based in Los Angeles, California.
It was ...
. ''Project Greenlight'' first aired on
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
for two seasons (aired 2001–03) before moving to
Bravo
Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels
*Bravo (band), a Russian rock band
* Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984
*Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing company ...
for season three in 2005. The series returned in 2015 for a fourth season airing on HBO. On July 26, 2016, the series was canceled. In May 2021,
HBO Max
HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...
picked up the series with an 8-episode order and will be produced by
Issa Rae
Jo-Issa Rae Diop (born January 12, 1985), credited professionally as Issa Rae, is an American actress, writer, producer, and comedian. Rae first garnered attention for her work on the YouTube web series ''Awkward Black Girl''. Since 2011, Rae h ...
through her production company
Hoorae Media
Hoorae Media (pronounced "hooray"), also known as Hoorae, is an American media production company formed in September 2020 by Issa Rae. Formerly known as Issa Rae Productions, Hoorae launched as an umbrella banner to consolidate her various film, ...
.
Episodes
Season 1 (2001–02)
The script contest ran from September 2000 to March 2001. Over 7,000 screenplays were submitted, and Pete Jones was selected as the winner for ''
Stolen Summer
''Stolen Summer'' is a 2002 drama film about a Catholic boy who befriends a terminally ill Jewish boy and tries to convert him, believing that it is the only way the Jewish boy will get to Heaven. Directed by first time writer/director Pete Jones ...
'', which he then filmed on location in his hometown of
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
during the summer of 2001. The first season of ''Project Greenlight'', helmed by show runner and co-executive producer Liz Bronstein, chronicled the selection of Jones's script and the filming of the movie, aired on
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
from late 2001 through early 2002. ''Stolen Summer'' premiered at the
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
in January 2002, then went on to a limited theatrical release which brought in just under $140,000.
Season 2 (2003)
For its second run, the contest was split into two categories: writing and directing. The winners were chosen on January 18, 2003. Erica Beeney won the writing contest for her script ''
The Battle of Shaker Heights
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'', and
Kyle Rankin
Kyle Rankin (born September 13, 1972) is an American screenwriter and filmmaker known for directing '' The Battle of Shaker Heights'', ''Night of the Living Deb,'' and ''Run Hide Fight.''
Early life and education
Rankin was born in Danbury, Co ...
and
Efram Potelle
Efram Potelle is a filmmaker from Portland, Maine, USA. He is now based in Los Angeles.
He co-directed '' The Battle of Shaker Heights'' through the second season of HBO's ''Project Greenlight
''Project Greenlight'' is an American documenta ...
won the directing contest. The film stars
Shia LaBeouf
Shia Saide LaBeouf (; born June 11, 1986) is an American actor, performance artist, and filmmaker. He played Louis Stevens in the Disney Channel series ''Even Stevens'', a role for which he received Young Artist Award nominations in 2001 and ...
,
Elden Henson
Elden Henson (born Elden Ryan Ratliff, August 30, 1977) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Fulton Reed in '' The Mighty Ducks'' trilogy (1992–1996), Foggy Nelson in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) streaming television series ...
,
Amy Smart
Amy Lysle Smart (born March 26, 1976) is an American actress. A native of Los Angeles, Smart began her career modelling in Italy and subsequently enrolled in acting school.
Her first role in film was in director Martin Kunert's anthology horror ...
, and
William Sadler. The series aired in the summer of 2003, detailing the production of the film in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. ''The Battle of Shaker Heights'' opened in limited theatrical release on August 24, 2003, earning just under $280,000 during its box office run.
Season 3 (2005)
Script submission began and ended during February 2004. After two seasons on HBO, the series moved to
Bravo
Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels
*Bravo (band), a Russian rock band
* Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984
*Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing company ...
and season three began airing on March 15, 2005.
The selected screenplay was a horror script titled ''
Feast
A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes i ...
'' written by
Marcus Dunstan
Marcus Dunstan is an American screenwriter and director who, along with Patrick Melton, wrote screenplay for the film ''Feast'', which was the winner of Season Three of the filmmaking competition reality TV series ''Project Greenlight''. Dunstan ...
and
Patrick Melton
Patrick Melton is an American screenwriter, producer and novelist.
Film career
In 2004, Melton won the third season of Project Greenlight, along with Marcus Dunstan and John Gulager. The television show premiered on Bravo and resulted in the ho ...
. The director was
John Gulager
John Thompson Gulager (born December 19, 1957) is an American actor, cinematographer and film director.
Biography
Film career
The production and filming of ''Feast'' was the main focus of season three of ''Project Greenlight''. The film, mad ...
. The film stars
Balthazar Getty
Paul Balthazar Getty (; born January 22, 1975) is an American actor and musician. His acting debut was in ''Lord of the Flies'' (1990) as Ralph. He went on to appear in '' Lost Highway'' (1997) and had a recurring role as Richard Montana in ''Cha ...
,
Krista Allen
Krista Allen (born April 5, 1971) is an American actress, model and stand-up comic. She is best known for her work in the television series '' Days of Our Lives'', '' Baywatch Hawaii'', and the erotic TV series '' Emmanuelle in Space''. Allen a ...
,
Jason Mewes
Jason Edward Mewes (born June 12, 1974) is an American actor, comedian, film producer, and podcaster. He is best known for playing Jay, the vocal half of the duo Jay and Silent Bob, in longtime friend Kevin Smith's films.
Early life
Mewes was ...
, and
Eric Dane
Eric William Dane (born November 9, 1972) is an American actor. After multiple television roles in the 1990s and 2000s, which included his recurring role as Jason Dean in ''Charmed'', Dane was cast as Dr. Mark Sloan on the ABC medical drama te ...
and was produced by
Dimension Films and
Neo Art & Logic
Joel Soisson is an American filmmaker. He works primarily in the field of independent film. His numerous credits include ''Dracula 2000
''Dracula 2000'' (also known internationally as ''Dracula 2001'') is a 2000 American gothic horror film ...
.
The film ran for a special late night showing on September 22 and 23, 2006, almost a year after its premiere. Feast earned just under $690,000 during its box office run. The DVD was released on October 17, 2006, earning an additional $4,687,595. The film spawned two sequels: ''
Feast II: Sloppy Seconds'' and ''
Feast III: The Happy Finish''
Season 4 (2015)
On April 2, 2015, ''Project Greenlight'' announced the first annual Greenie award winners.
*Best Comedy: ''Heist'' – Director: Brianna Lux and Tony Lazzeroni
*Best Drama: ''A Room for Aden'' – Director: Douglas Yablun
*Best Action: ''Stan Lee Parkour'' – Director: Tom Grey
*Most Unique: ''Listen'' – Director: Joshua Ortiz
*Best Horror: ''The Table'' – Director: Shane Free
*Most "WTF": ''Pink Shorts'' – Director: Jeff Huston
In September 2015, ''Project Greenlight'' became the subject of controversy when an episode aired of
Matt Damon
Matthew Paige Damon (; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.88 billion at the North Americ ...
disagreeing with producer
Effie Brown over the subject of diversity. A later controversy developed over the titling of the season's sixth episode as "Hot Ghetto Mess" involving Brown's attempt to make sure one of the films did not partake in racial stereotypes, which was to be corrected before airing and replaced with "The Pivot", but was never resolved before airtime.
Awards and nominations
Australia
Series 1
In 2005, ''Project Greenlight Australia'' was launched with
Pay-TV
Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, but ...
Movie Network
Crave (formerly The Movie Network or TMN) is a Canadian premium television network and streaming service owned by the Bell Media subsidiary of BCE Inc.
Launched in 1983 as the national service First Choice, early difficulties and a subsequent ...
in partnership with Screentime producing the show and offering the
A$1,000,000 financing to the winning film. The entries were received online with last entries being accepted on February 14. The screenplay selected from the 1200 submissions was ''Solo'' by
Morgan O'Neill
Morgan O'Neill (born 19 April 1973 in Sydney, Australia) is an Australian writer, director, actor and producer. He is also an accomplished professional musician. Having earned an honours degree in Literature from the University of Sydney, he s ...
.
Series 2
In 2006, comedian and filmmaker
Paul McDermott
Paul Anthony Michael McDermott (born 13 May 1962) is an Australian entertainer, best known both for ''Good News Week'' and for his role as a member of the musical comedy group the Doug Anthony All Stars. He has frequently appeared at the Melb ...
hosted the series. The screenplay selected from the 700 submissions was ''The View from Greenhaven'' by The MacRae Brothers.
Notes
The episode "The Pivot" was originally titled "Hot Ghetto Mess." However, the scene contextualizing the title was removed in last-minute editing. The original title was not corrected for television listings before air due to what was described as a "production error" by HBO. Future airings, along with
HBO Go
HBO Go is a partly-inactive authenticated video on demand of the pay television service HBO. The service allowed subscribers to HBO via television providers to access its programming on-demand via the HBO website, mobile apps, and digital media p ...
/
HBO Now
HBO Now (formally named HBO from July 2020) was an American subscription video on demand streaming service for premium television network HBO owned by WarnerMedia subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc. Officially unveiled on March 9 and launched on ...
use "The Pivot" as the episode's title.
References
External links
* at
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
*
{{HBO Max
2000s American documentary television series
2010s American documentary television series
2001 American television series debuts
2015 American television series endings
HBO original programming
HBO Max original programming
Television series by Miramax Television
Bravo (American TV network) original programming
English-language television shows
American television series revived after cancellation
Television series about filmmaking
Hoorae Media