jrusso1202
I'll admit when I saw the first few episodes of Project Greenlight Season 3, I made a snap judgment about Gulagher. I fell victim to a good producer who knew the first and foremost element of a good story: Conflict and Resolution. You have to hand it to them because they edited Gulagher's first interview with Wes Craven, Matt Damon, etc... to give the appearance of stupidity. He even clapped his hands, making music by enlarging and shrinking the opening of his mouth.For all of the aforementioned, and numerous instances of stupidity that they credited to him as he went through the process of making a movie, Gulagher came forward as a bright and shining director/filmmaker. A force to be reckoned with in terms of film-making.Remember folks FEAST was made for a million dollars, with maybe a tad extra to boot. Also, it was Gulagher's first full feature film if I'm not mistaken.It was shortly after I heard Damon give Gulagher a big thumbs up about his film-making prowess at the end of the season when I realized there must be something we're not being told, because based on what I'd seen until then, this guy's a moron.I rented FEAST as soon as I could find it on the rental shelf next to "Dawn of the Living Dead (Now with extra cleavage)." After watching the first five minutes, I could tell Gulagher will make it big. Yeah, not on FEAST because Harvey Weinstein sat on it, but more-so for his overall brilliance and knowledge of story telling."I don't know what I'm looking for, but I'll know it when I see it." John Gulagher
two-robinsons
Okay, after a supposedly rigorous selection process we end up with what is repeatedly referred to as a fantastic script by a talented writer and a team of two 'very capable' directors. A very different scenario to the previous series where writer Pete Jones who had never directed before was given the helm. The result was the appalling 'Stolen Summer' which made about a dollar fifty at the box office. This time things were supposed to be very different. Unfortunately right from the start it becomes glaringly obvious that our two talented and experienced directors are nothing of the kind. At one point, one of them asks if they really need a production designer and wouldn't it be better to just tell the prop master what they want? Things get worse when they upset the leading DP candidate by accusing him of talking over them. As a result, he wisely makes the decision to pull himself out of the running. Through six weeks of preproduction,they sit quietly in script meetings leaving producers,Chris Moore and Jeff Balis come up with ways in which the script could be improved. After a meeting with Sharon Lawrence, where they sit staring off into space, their casting director,Joseph describes them as mutes and admits that as an actor, he would have serious concerns about working with them. Once on set they suddenly discover an interest in the script and begin rewriting scenes the night before shooting upsetting both the writer, who they deliberately exclude from the process, and the the producers. Their lack of preparation leads to them falling behind schedule and alienates their actors when it becomes clear they have no idea what it is they want. Watching the writer, Erica Beeney cringe every time they give their actors directions that run contrary to the intentions of the script and story is painful to say the least. In truth, I don't blame the directors , even though they are intensely unlikeable characters. It was the job of the producers to put the project into the hands of the very best candidates and they patently failed to do so. I can only guess that the reason these two were picked is because it was decided that having two directors would make for more entertaining television.At the beginning of each episode, we are told that the intention of the project is to identify talented individuals and help them to launch their careers but in the case of Kyle Rankin, Efram Potelle and Pete Jones this clearly has not been the case. Like 'Stolen Summer', 'The Battle of Shaker Heights' went on to gross about two dollars fifty before sinking without trace. Although Pete Jones has managed to sell an idea to the Farrelly brothers, none of the directors have persuaded anyone to let them anywhere near a film set. Not surprisingly after the third series, Chris Moore declared Project Greenlight to over and then took himself off to become a director. To be honest it should never have begun.
kmscb-1
I watched the first episode of PGL-3......and that did it.I stayed with the whole concept of a competition to offer amateur screenwriters and directors a chance at making their movie all the way through PGL-1 and PGL-2. I mean, I loved the idea; and I really wanted it to work, to be an honest attempt at leveling the playing field a little...just a little.Yes, I groaned at Pete Jones winning for a script I found borderline offensive in PGL-1, but then I recalled there was a great movie about children and death that I saw years ago in college (it was French and made just after WW2..."something Garden"...but I can't remember the name of it) that sounded foul and turned out to be brilliant, so I accepted it as one of those "Maybe this could work" moments. It didn't.Then came 2, and I liked the script for "Battle of Shaker Heights" but the panel seemed to almost deliberately choose the worst two directors to make it, a pair of guys who wouldn't know sensitive unless it slapped them up side the head. But I convinced myself it could be seen as an experiment in trying something different, a collision of Yin and Yang to see if we get fusion (though it took a LOT of convincing). The directors ruined that script.And now...now we have a series where the studio (which I refuse to name because I now despise it) forces the worst script to be the winner of the "competition" (and Matt and Ben roll over like a nice pair of...well, you know whats) and then the middle-aged son of an actor who was in Craven's "Nightmare On Elm Street 2" is chosen to direct, despite him having no vision, no passion, no communication abilities, no concept of the creature, no nothing to show for himself except a pair of fairly decent shorts. It was then I had to admit to myself this show was never about giving amateurs a chance to make a movie, it was just about making another "reality" TV show that is scripted to within an inch of its existence. (Could the set-up be more obvious? The old Lincoln that won't start and with the tape on the seats; the credit cards that don't work; the "Eyeore" personality.) I actually screamed at the TV when I saw it.Yes, I was angry at the suggestion that the viewers are so stupid they can't see through this three-card-Monte nonsense. But even more, I was hurt. I really thought Ben and Matt , considering the breaks they've received (and made very good use of), meant it when they set up Project Greenlight. Well, to paraphrase a too-well known saying, "What fools we mortals be." Blind fools willing to believe anything we're told if we want to, badly enough.So if you want to see how movies get made in Hollywood, go ahead and watch this "reality series". You'll learn it's not what you know or how good you are that gets you ahead, it's who you know and whether or not they like the initial concept. And maybe that's the ultimate message.As for me, I'm still fool enough to hope the movie turns out well. But I won't watch anymore of this thing. All it will remind me of is promises broken.
CoenHead
I've never seen anything like this before - where the making of a movie is unmasked from start to finish. We see it all - warts, nose hair, the works, all the interesting behind-the-scenes stuff which you really don't get a taste of otherwise unless you are actually in the production side of the movie business, and HBO and the Project Greenlight staff deserve a great deal of credit for putting this together.The movie involved in this documentary, "Stolen Summer" appears to be a train wreck from hell, with a childish script, a novice, completely untalented director (Pete Jones), and a faux artiste director of photography. It is perfect for a behind-the-scenes expose because there are so many engaging conflicts in its production. Let's start with the "auteur" - Pete Jones, who wrote what from all appearances seems to be a wholly inadequate screenplay and who was selected to direct this for reasons unknown. He is passive-aggressive, clearly hasn't a clue how movies are really made and doesn't have the first idea how to manage the production crew at his disposal. It is hilarious to see how stupidly he directs this movie - throwing his lot behind a director of photography who is clearly only interested in his own self-interest. Further, Mr. Jones doesn't have the first clue how to frame shots or how to obtain good performances from good actors, let alone untrained kids. Then there is the illustrious Mr. Jones pontificating on how he has a "track record" after three weeks of shooting - classic !!!! He truly has no understanding of how lucky he was to have been given this chance to direct a movie and how many other, far more talented writers and directors would have done a far better job on the film. I can't wait for Stolen Summer to be released just so I can see how bad it truly is - I'm thinking it might just be the worst movie of 2002 !!Now let's deal with the director of photography - who apparently feels that the most important thing in moviemaking is delay, delay, delay - who couldn't set up a shot quickly if his mother was on fire and he had to get the shot in to go put the flames out. His artistic pretensions in full bloom, he spouts off reverently of his "European" orientation, blah blah blah....and Pete Jones trusts this guy??? Please !!!
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