Project Greenlight
Encyclopedia
Project Greenlight was a contest and 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
Eli Holzman is a creator–developer, writer, and producer best known for creating or serving as Executive Producer on a number of blockbuster reality-based television series, such as Project Runway, Project Greenlight, Beauty and the Geek, Models of the Runway, and Undercover Boss...

 and produced by Ben Affleck
Ben Affleck
Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt , better known as Ben Affleck, is an American actor, film director, writer, and producer. He became known with his performances in Kevin Smith's films such as Mallrats and Chasing Amy...

, Matt Damon
Matt Damon
Matthew Paige "Matt" Damon is an American actor, screenwriter, and philanthropist whose career was launched following the success of the film Good Will Hunting , from a screenplay he co-wrote with friend Ben Affleck...

, Sean Bailey, and Chris Moore through their production company LivePlanet
LivePlanet
LivePlanet is a production company that invests in content for television and new media platforms. It was founded in 2000.-History:The company was started by Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Chris Moore and Sean Bailey...

, along with Miramax Films
Miramax Films
Miramax Films is an American entertainment company known for distributing independent and foreign films. For its first 14 years the company was privately owned by its founders, Bob and Harvey Weinstein...

. Project Greenlight first aired on HBO for two seasons before moving to Bravo for season three.

Season one (2001)

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
Stolen Summer is a 2002 drama film about a Catholic boy who befriends a terminally ill Jewish boy and tries to convert him, believing it is the only way he will get to Heaven...

, which he then filmed on location in his hometown of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 during the summer of 2001. The first season of Project Greenlight, chronicling the selection of Jones's script and the filming of the movie, aired on HBO from late 2001 through early 2002. Stolen Summer
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 it is the only way he will get to Heaven...

premiered at the Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...

 in January 2002, then went on to a limited theatrical release which brought in just under $140,000.

Season two (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 Battle of Shaker Heights
The Battle of Shaker Heights is a 2003 comedy-drama film co-directed by Efram Potelle and Kyle Rankin. It starred Shia La Beouf, Elden Henson, Kathleen Quinlan, Amy Smart, and Shiri Appleby...

, and Kyle Rankin
Kyle Rankin
Kyle Rankin is a filmmaker.-Early life:Kyle Rankin went to school at the University of Maine in Orono where he founded the University's Film and Video Club...

 and Efram Potelle
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.-Filmography:*Hellholes *Insex...

 won the directing contest. The film stars Shia LaBeouf
Shia LaBeouf
Shia Saide LaBeouf is an American actor who became known among younger audiences for his part in the Disney Channel series Even Stevens and made his film debut in Holes . In 2007, he starred as the leads in Disturbia and Transformers...

, Elden Henson
Elden Henson
Elden Henson is an American actor. He is best known for playing Fulton Reed in the Mighty Ducks trilogy with Emilio Estevez, and playing Lenny Kagan in The Butterfly Effect....

, Amy Smart
Amy Smart
Amy Lysle Smart is an American television and film actress and former fashion model.-Early life:Smart was born in Topanga, California. Her mother, Judy Lysle , worked at a museum, and her father, John Boden Smart, was a salesman...

 and William Sadler
William Sadler (actor)
William Thomas Sadler is an American actor who works in film and television. His television and motion picture roles have included Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller in The Pacific, Luther Sloan in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Sheriff Jim Valenti in Roswell, convict Heywood in The Shawshank Redemption,...

. The series aired in the summer of 2003, detailing the production of the film in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

. 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 three (2005)

Script submission began and ended during February 2004. After two seasons on HBO, the series moved to Bravo and season three began airing on March 15, 2005.

The selected screenplay was a horror script entitled Feast
Feast (film)
Feast is a 2005 black comedy horror film, a result of Project Greenlights third season, the amateur filmmaking documentary series and contest. The winning team was composed of writers Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton, and director John Gulager...

written by Marcus Dunstan
Marcus Dunstan
Marcus Dunstan is an American screenplay writer and director.-Life and career:Dunstan was born in Macomb, Illinois...

 and Patrick Melton
Patrick Melton
Patrick Melton is an American screenwriter.-Early life:Melton was born in Champaign, Illinois. He attended Evanston Township High School, and graduated from the University of Iowa with a Bachelor's Degree in Communication Studies...

. The director was John Gulager
John Gulager
John Thompson Gulager is an actor, cinematographer and film director.-Acting career:The production and filming of Feast was the main focus of season three of Project Greenlight. The film, made for Miramax, had a limited theatrical release. The DVD version was released on October 17, 2006. He was...

. The film stars Balthazar Getty
Balthazar Getty
Balthazar Getty is an American film actor and member of the band Ringside. He is known for the roles of Thomas Grace on the American action drama Alias and Tommy Walker on the ABC drama Brothers & Sisters.-Early life:...

, Krista Allen
Krista Allen
Krista Allen is an American actress. She is best known for her work in the television series Days of Our Lives, Baywatch Hawaii, and What About Brian; and in the Hollywood films Liar Liar, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Anger Management, and The Final Destination...

, Jason Mewes
Jason Mewes
Jason Edward Mewes is an American television, film actor, and internet radio show host best known for playing Jay, the vocal half of the duo Jay and Silent Bob, in longtime friend Kevin Smith's films.-Early life:...

, and Eric Dane
Eric Dane
Eric Dane is an American actor. After appearing in television roles throughout the 1990s and 2000s, he became known for playing Dr...

 and was produced by Dimension Films
Dimension Films
Dimension Films is a motion picture unit currently a part of The Weinstein Company. It was formerly used as Bob Weinstein's label within Miramax Films, to produce and release genre films...

 and Neo Art & Logic
Neo Art & Logic
Neo Art & Logic is a Los Angeles-based film and television production company. Founded by producers Joel Soisson, W.K. Border and Michael Leahy, the company has an ongoing relationship with Miramax and Dimension Films.-Neo Art & Logic films:...

.

The film ran for a special late night showing on September 22- September 23, 2006, almost a year after its premiere. The DVD was released on October 17, 2006, earning just under $690,000 during its box office run. The film spawned two sequels: Feast 2: Sloppy Seconds
Feast 2: Sloppy Seconds
Feast 2: Sloppy Seconds is a direct-to-DVD 2008 horror - black comedy film and sequel to the 2005 film Feast. The film was directed by John Gulager and written by Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton....

and Feast 3: The Happy Finish
Feast 3: The Happy Finish
Feast 3: Happy Finish is the third entry in the Feast trilogy. The film was released, direct to DVD, on February 17, 2009.-Plot:The film picks up where the previous film left off. Honey Pie is mauled and beheaded by a monster. Lightning survived the explosion near him and stumbles off...


Australia

According to the Weekend Australian, Affleck and Damon have "always talked about exporting the concept" of Greenlight to other countries, with the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 lined up as possible destinations. In 2005, Project Greenlight Australia was launched with Pay-TV
Foxtel
Foxtel is an Australian pay television company, operating cable, direct broadcast satellite television and IPTV services. It was formed in 1995 through a joint venture established between Telstra and News Corporation....

 Movie Network
Movie Network
Movie Network Channels is an Australian premium television movie service that consists of five original channels , two SD timeshifts and three HD simulcasts...

 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
Morgan O'Neill is an Australian television and film actor, writer, director, and producer. He is also a singer and has his own band. O'Neill is best-known for his continuing role as Lieutenant Darryl Smith on Australia's hit drama, Sea Patrol...

. Comedian and filmmaker Paul McDermott
Paul McDermott (comedian)
Paul McDermott is an Australian comedian, actor, writer, director, singer, artist and television host. He currently hosts the satirical news-based 'Good News World' a follow up to quiz show Good News Week which airs in Australia on Network Ten...

 hosted the series in 2006 for one season.

Awards and nominations

  • Primetime Emmy Award
    Primetime Emmy Award
    The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...

    • 2002
      54th Primetime Emmy Awards
      The 54th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were held Sunday, September 22, 2002. Nominations were announced July 22, 2002. The awards show was hosted by Conan O'Brien and was broadcast on NBC...

      : Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Program
      Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Program
      Outstanding Reality Program is a Primetime Emmy Award handed out annually at the Primetime Emmy telecast.-2000s:-2010s:...

      : Season 1: Nominated
    • 2004
      56th Primetime Emmy Awards
      The 56th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were held Sunday, September 19, 2004. The awards show was hosted by Garry Shandling and was broadcast on ABC...

      : Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Program
      Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Program
      Outstanding Reality Program is a Primetime Emmy Award handed out annually at the Primetime Emmy telecast.-2000s:-2010s:...

      : Season 2: Nominated
    • 2005
      57th Primetime Emmy Awards
      The 57th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were held on September 18, 2005, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. The 2005 Primetime Emmy Awards show was broadcast on CBS....

      : Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Program
      Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Program
      Outstanding Reality Program is a Primetime Emmy Award handed out annually at the Primetime Emmy telecast.-2000s:-2010s:...

      : Season 3: Nominated

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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