HBO Is Reviving Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s Project Greenlight
Well, look who’s back at it again. Matt and Ben, the dream team, the dynamic duo, my favorite people on the planet, etc.
The Hollywood Reporter reported yesterday that HBO is bringing back Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s Project Greenlight after more than 10 years.
The show, which was executive-produced by the duo, documented a hardcore search for a first-time director. Greenlight offered a behind-the-scenes look at the grand scheme of filmmaking and included lots of notable people in the industry along with Damon and Affleck involved the search. HBO aired the first two seasons of the show from 2001 to 2003 before it moved to Bravo in 2005. The network, though it confirmed the revival of the series, did not give specifics on when.
Also returning as executive producers are Marc Joubert, T.J. Barrack, Perrin Chiles, and Marshall Lewy of Adaptive Studios, and Zanne Devine of Miramax.
In the past, Project Greenlight began with a digital competition that follows the winner from preproduction, to shooting, through post-production. The aspiring director then gets thrown into the dynamics of trying to accommodate the producers’ needs combined with the maintenance of cast, crew, budget, and schedule. The first season’s winner was Pete Jones’s Stolen Summer, which premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. The Battle of Shaker Heights by Erica Beeney won in its second season and ended up starring Shia LaBeouf and Amy Smart.
“Project Greenlight was ahead of its time,” Affleck told THR. “Now that technology has caught up to the concept, we thought it was a perfect time to bring it back.”
Damon added, “Pete Jones, John Gulager, Patrick Melton, and Marcus Dunstan are just a few of the PGL alums who’ve gone on to do great things in Hollywood, and Ben and I are really proud of that.”
Aside from the resurrection of Project Greenlight, Damon and Affleck’s comedy pilot, More Time with the Family, was also ordered by CBS earlier this year.
Here’s a throwback video of Project Greenlight in its third season:
