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For Immediate Release
July 13, 2001
PROJECT GREENLIGHT TO DEBUT ON HBO IN DECEMBER 2001; BEN AFFLECK, MATT DAMON AND CHRIS MOORE EXECUTIVE PRODUCE 13-EPISODE DOCUMENTARY SERIES CHRONICLING THE CREATION OF AN INDEPENDENT FEATURE FILM
LOS ANGELES, July 13, 2001 - PROJECT GREENLIGHT, a 13-episode documentary series chronicling the making of an independent feature film, will debut on HBO this December. Presented by HBO, Miramax, and LivePlanet, the series is being produced for the network by Miramax Television, with Miramax Films releasing the feature film, "Stolen Summer," theatrically. LivePlanet co-founders Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Chris Moore are executive producers of both PROJECT GREENLIGHT and "Stolen Summer."
Spanning the entire process of creating a movie, PROJECT GREENLIGHT begins with an episode introducing filmmaking hopefuls who submitted their original scripts to Affleck, Damon and Moore via an Internet competition that was announced in September 2000. Pete Jones, author of the script "Stolen Summer," was ultimately selected from more than 10,000 entrants.
The series takes a revealing, uncensored look at the pressures on a first-time director as he navigates the filmmaking process, from pre-production and casting through principal photography and post-production. Jones, whose only previous film experience was as a production assistant, must learn to cope with pressure from the studio and producers, set politics, and working with a cast of veteran actors, to deliver his vision of the story -- both on time and on budget.
More than 10,000 aspiring filmmakers entered electronically via the PROJECT GREENLIGHT website (www.projectgreenlight.com), with the contestant pool narrowed to the top 250 screenplays. Each remaining contestant or team in the top 250 then submitted a three-minute filmmaker's video, from which the top 30, then the top ten, finalists were selected. Each of the ten finalists received an independent filmmaker's prize package, including a digital video camera and editing software, to help them produce a three-minute scene from their screenplay.
Last Feb. 26, the ten finalists were brought to Los Angeles for a screening of their short films, followed by the selection of the final three contestants, and then the winner. Immediately following Jones' selection, executive producer Ben Affleck introduced him to a national audience on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." Miramax Films committed to provide first-time director Jones with a minimum $1 million budget to produce his screenplay.
"Stolen Summer" stars Aidan Quinn, Bonnie Hunt, Kevin Pollak and Brian Dennehy in a story about life, families and the power of a child's faith. Recently completing its five-week shoot on location in Chicago, the film is scheduled to be released by Miramax Films in spring 2002.
Ben Affleck (executive producer) has appeared in such films as "Pearl Harbor," "Bounce," "Reindeer Games," "Boiler Room," "Dogma," "Forces of Nature," "Shakespeare in Love," "Armageddon," "Chasing Amy," and 1997's "Good Will Hunting," for which he won (with Matt Damon) an Oscar® for Original Screenplay. He will next be seen in "The Sum of All Fears."
Matt Damon (executive producer) has appeared in such films as "All The Pretty Horses," "The Legend of Bagger Vance," "The Talented Mr. Ripley," "Saving Private Ryan," "Dogma," "Rounders," "The Rainmaker," "Courage Under Fire," "School Ties" and "Good Will Hunting," for which he won (with Ben Affleck) an Oscar® for Original Screenplay. Damon also stars in the upcoming films "Ocean's Eleven" and "The Bourne Identity."
In 1998, Affleck and Damon founded Pearl Street Productions, which merged with Fusion Studios (founded by Chris Moore) and HorsePower Entertainment (founded by Sean Bailey) to form LivePlanet, an integrated media entertainment company, in June 2000.
Chris Moore (executive producer) is chief executive officer of LivePlanet. As founder and principal of Fusion Studios, he produced such feature films as "American Pie," "Reindeer Games," "Best Laid Plans," "Pop & Me," "Glory Daze" and "Good Will Hunting." He also produced the upcoming films "Joyride," "American Pie 2" and "The Third Wheel."
Pete Jones' "Stolen Summer" is scheduled to be released theatrically by Miramax in spring 2002. A native of Chicago, Jones worked as a production assistant in Los Angeles for three years before winning the PROJECT GREENLIGHT contest.
PROJECT GREENLIGHT was launched in September 2000 as a joint venture with LivePlanet, Miramax Films and Television, HBO, and Sam Adams. It consists of an online community that holds a screenwriting contest where the winning writer gets to make their film with a guaranteed minimum budget of $1 million and distribution in theaters by Miramax Films, and a television series produced by Miramax Television for HBO. AOL Keyword: Project Greenlight.
Academy Award® and Oscar® are registered trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
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