I was interested in Project Greenlight when it was announced, but was turned off by the selection process. Contest members judging each other isn't likely to produce solid results...

It sounds like a terrific TV show--about the making of a really bad movie, by a pushy and whiny first-time director with no social skills... Here's Salon's review of the first two hours: Anatomy of a Disaster They're pretty scatheing when it comes to the movie script and director...

As usual, I wish I had HBO...

That was a great article, now I -have- to see the rest of this show.
"call him Danny"... classic.

D

don't get it here in Canada, which is for the best, seeing as I WASN'T allowed to enter either, because of where I live...not that i'm complaining...but i was following this project from it's inception, for quite some time before the official contest went online... dammit!! My perfect script has been ready and waiting since 1997.... would make millions!

MATT

Post it.

das

Originally posted by das Monkey:
Post it.

So we can steal it!

Fear of having a script stolen is almost negligible. Once it's registered at the WGA ($20 and you don't even have to be a member), it's easy to prove that it was yours. It's a ten times more economical to just pay out the $20 grand(or less) than it is to risk a court case. It would cost more than the script is worth just to have the lawyers show up.

D

Actually, there's no way to protect yourself from being ripped off. As the old adage goes: There are two kinds of writers in Hollywood - those that have been ripped off and those that are going to be ripped off.

Worrying about a script being stolen is a waste of time and energy. A saying that the lawyers out here enjoy is: "You can copyright scripts, but you can't copyright ideas." That's how I lost the suit re: my stolen script.

Look at it this way; if it's the only idea you got in your head, don't bother trying to become a writer.

Unless you're the biggest one-trick pony on the face of the Earth named Chris Carter. Then you write one idea over and over and over and over and over ...

das

... and over and over ...

Only a half hour show this week, I wonder if all the rest are only 30 minutes as well.

Anyway, it looks like many a complication is arising at Miramax. They are pretty much refusing to increase the budget past $1 million.

I was a little surprised that for such a low budget film, that they were going after such big names (Sean Penn, Emma Thompson) it seems like the majority of the budget would be spent on their salaries alone

by the looks of next weeks previews Pete Jones is in for a long hard movie making process.

Oh and I loved the so called advice that Kevin Smith gave to Pete Jones. "be prepared to gain weight"

Enjoyed tonights show, and it looks like the road gets even rockier ahead, with Mirimax exects complaining about how ungreatful Pete is. From the looks of it though I can't say I blame them. Silly firsttime primadonna directors!

If you're interested in seeing who actually ended up in the movie, you can just look up the films entry at the IMDB.

The actors I recognise are

So do you think that Emma Thompson turned down the script because she really didn't want to work, or did she just think the script bit the big one?

Brian

Another actor I recognized was

Loved the Kevin Smith part. I think Emma Passed probably because she didn't like the material and another possiblity being the overall hype surrounding the project. Just my take.

i don't see why they won't up the budget, the film will easily make profit even if they up the budget to 2 or 3 million, the movie is getting alot of hype from the show and it will probably do 2-3 million opening weekend atleast with the advertising it is getting from this show no matter how bad it turns out, not to mention the money it will make on vhs and dvd when it comes out on those formats, miramax is being cheap

I wonder if they're going to get another Million.

Why should they? From the begining the whole point was to write a script that could be made for 1 million dollars. I think Miramax should be getting thanked by this Pete guy for giving him a chance.

I can't wait to see Affleck get into it with the Studio next week!

The point is that the film can be made for less than a million, but Pete seems to think money flows like water. Here are the big money points that Pete refuses to see.

Period Setting: Making it look like 1976 is expensive. about $60 grand according to the line producer. Why does the film have to take place in '76? Is the plot centered around the bi-centennial?

Location: Pete -has- to shoot in Chicago? Another $40 grand(probably more). Unless they need the climax to take place on Mayor Daly's lawn, shoot it on a soundstage in LA.

Young Actors: Kids on the set. Gotta love those child labor laws. Cut the shooting day in half. Double the time of production.

Old Actors: Emma Thompson? Sean Penn? They don't work for cheap, even if they love the script(and Stolen Summer aint exactly Good Will Hunting). Notice how Damon and Affleck arent offering to play a role. Get one semi-big name to play a supporting role and fill the rest with unknown, but good actors.

Advice: Pete has a LOT of experienced people trying to give him some great advice and he's fighting them every step of the way. He doesn't take notes, he doesn't want to change his script, he complains about the people giving him a million for a film.... etc etc.

Listening: Pete's never directed anything before and he's going off about over selling scenes and crap. He doesn't understand why 'Call him Danny' might be offensive to Jewish people. He actually used the phrase 'over my dead body' in a production meeting. If he refuses to listen to those around him, it'll end up costing the film a lot time and money in the end.

D

This guy is a major pain in the *** already. This show will continue to be entertaining, if only to watch him never work in Hollywood again.

As Kevin Smith said, maybe you could act like this on your second picture.

He should still be thanking his lucky stars for even giving him this opportunity.

60 grand is nothing. Especially when you're trying to lose almost a million out of a budget.

I'm afraid this might be part of the "created" drama of this show. LA is the second most expensive (NY 1st) place to shoot anything. The unions, the rentals, the actors, everything is more expensive in LA. Chicago has plenty of sound stages and post facilities. Movies and television has been shooting there for years.

A-list actors will always take "scale" (minimum wage) for the right film. I'm sure Miramax had Pete start with names like this to get a taste of rejection. Conflict = drama. Trust me, if they liked the script enough, or if they wanted to do Harvey a favor, big name actors would do a project like this.

Again, I'll wait a while longer before making judgements. The way this thing was cut it was obvious that they (the PG producers) were trying to create as much conflict as possible. We saw Pete complain about a couple of specific things. They were probably dozens of notes that were discussed.

My favorite part was how Pete exposed that Co-Producer: "Your notes are eerily similar to Miramax's."
Now folks will see what a joke a "Co-Producer" is.

The first week, they showed two episodes. They're all 30 minutes. I was discussing this in the other thread, because I'd like to see hour long shows of this and Tough Enough.

das

I've been watching this show from the start, and although I've missed one episode, it's on my must-watch list with one other show, 24. ANyone else tune in?

I'd watch static if it were on HBO's Sunday night, so yeah, I watch it. It's quite good. Their movie is going to suck, but the documentary is very well done. Glad to see Jeff gets to hang around a bit longer. Aidan Quinn and Kevin Pollack look ready to kill someone.

das

Their movie looks like it will suck heartily, but at sundance where it premiered, it was the crowd favorite and ebert actually liked it too. I really can't imagine that because from the little clips I've seen, and what I have seen on the show, it kinda blows. Though I do like Bonnie Hunt and another actor who is gonna sign on, but I don't wanna spoil it in case no one knows yet.
Good show, my only question:
Are Chris Moore and Ben Affleck in any way related? To me they look a lot alike, they even act/sound so much alike. I dunno. You guys should read the PGL forum...pat peach was really getting reamed on the show, but his supporters are backing him up on the boards. Lots of people still don't like him. Of course what is always said is "They edited me to be like that", but didn't he know that would happen when it all started?

Neitzl

I'm going to see it or buy it when available, not because I think I'm going to love it, but to support Miramax to doing this. CM and BA have some of the same mannerisms and frat-boy speech definitely. Pat does seem like a back-stabbing yes-man and the 1st 1st Asst Dir seems like a real jerk-off, but he is someone that I'd want working for me.

In regards to PROJECT GREENLIGHT,

Chris Moore, the producer and business partner of Affleck/Damon, is looking to be a real power-tripping a-hole.

Pat Peach looks like a real typical, dishonest, back-stabbing Hollywood scumbag.


And Pete Jones, bless his heart, looks like he's going to crap a brick every time he confronts Aidan Quinn or Kevin Pollack.

The thing is... a "Co-Producer" on a feature (like Jeff) means sh*t. The job doesn't exist, they have no responsibility. People are given the CP credit as a gift - just like Chris gave it to his buddy (yes, they were friends long before PG).

Pat Peach is a Line Producer. That's a real job. His job, regardless of the drama needed for the series, was to get this movie made on time, on budget and as creatively as possible. Things that usually never add up. It is a really hard job. Jeff, on the other hand, has no job at all, other than to be Moore's "boy."

A lot of the drama on this series was "created" simply for the series. The passive-aggresive things Moore has done were simply to stir the pot, to give the audience some reality-show-type drama to watch. It is not a completely realistic reflection of a feature production.

It also wouldn't surprise me if Miramax went to Peach and had him "play the bad guy" on the series. They certainly must like something about him because he has line produced 2 films for them since Stoeln Summer was wrapped.