Project Greenlight: Season Three (merged) - Page 4

It's like last season's directorial pick, holy moley, Ephram and his directing buddy were fun to watch (in a train-wreck fashion), but not all that competent.

Yeah, except Gulager doesn't come across as the conniving-nature of Ephram, etc.

I think there could have been drama created with any of the director finalists. I don't think Gulager was chosen because of that. In fact, I think he has (well, I guess I should say the editors of the show have) shown himself to be more professional and in control than the previous winners. I hope I won't be disappointed, but I think he can pull this off.

/Mike

They should show Gulager washing his pits every episode. It looks like Chris Moore has lost some weight, last season I kid you not he was eating every single shot he was in. Let's not forget when he broke a chair.

Project Greenlight has kinda a Catch-22 situation going. In order to make an interesting television show (in the minds of the producers anyway), it has to be edited to show all the things that go wrong-- all the tension and negativity. However, in the process, they make the viewer (me, for example) less and less excited about seeing the final film.

I rented Stolen Summer and fast-forwarded through Shaker Heights off cable, but I wasn't looking forward to seeing either one.

When I heard they were going to make a genre picture this time around, I thought they were finally on to something. But the first episodes have done nothing but trash the script and the director.

I haven't read the script, but it can't be *THAT* bad, right? Don't all the scripts get voted on to whittle it down to the top three? Enough people reading the script had to like it for it even to be considered, right?

I was also very intrigued by Gulager's short film entry. It looked really neat and I was excited to see what kind of horror movie he'd make. But all they've done is make him look like an incompetent buffoon.

Now, I wouldn't want PG to turn into a thirteen-episode EPK piece, but I think they really should do more to make their core audience excited. I mean, if *WE'RE* not going to want to go see the movie, then what's the point?

I feel like they're editing this to make it look worse than it really is.

My biggest disappointment is that they didn't seem to even go after Bruce Campbell for the role of Hero. He's built a career out of low-budget comedy-horror pictures. The built-in cult audience he brings might even be enough to make back the $3 million (or so) investment. Don't you think?

-Kelly

Basing this purely on the scenes that the actors read during the casting sessions, it seems like the script is just the second half of From Dusk Till Dawn. They've substitued the vampires with monsters. It has all the same elements such as the characters that are mostly stereotypes (in the sense that you have the tough guy, the crazy guy, the funny guy, etc.), the 'badass' style dialogue, and the bar room setting.

Admittedly, that's not a fair judgment since I've heard maybe 5 or 6 scenes from the movie but it sure seems that way so far.

I thought the same thing - all Feast is is From Dusk Till Dawn (already done by Dimension).

The problem with Project Greenlight is that they should air the show -immediately following- the release of the movie to the theater, rather then the other way around.. put some ads into getting it to air at the theater, etc. and then, the week it opens, do a "how'd they do that" type Project Greenlight show.. because the problem with PGL is that, as it's done, it leads to a complete anti-why would a see this feeling rather then eagerness to go to the theater.

Note that on the DVD set for season 1 (I haven't seen the set for season 2), the finished film is disc 1 and the episodes follow on the subsequent discs.

Yeah, I thought that was definitely the case with "Stolen Summer" (I haven't seen "Shaker Heights"). They made the movie out to be some kind of huge, troubled mess. When I finally saw the movie, it was a very enjoyable family drama, easily as good as most other movies out there, and way better than some major theatrical releases. Nothing extraordinary, but a great effort and solid storytelling.

"Feast" seems derivative, but it's all in the details. I wish they would show some more of the creative, positive, cooperative filmmaking effort, than just show the negative, dramatic bits.

/Mike

Today I will be in a meeting with some Dimension people; including 1 exec.. I'm hopeful I get someone who worked on this show.. while we're just supposed to be talking about a Client/Server development of movie promo items (cups, in-theater promos, etc.) if I get the right person, I'll have to at least ask them how this thing really turned out now that it's in Post

Yah, the editing became really apparent in last week's when there was a clock right next to Gulager's head. The edit it to make it a seamless conversation but in reality the time jumped from 7:00 to 7:20 to 7:05 and back and forth. For all we know they were ordering pizza. It makes me wonder how many of the conversations are chopped that way (I suspect all of them). Which if fine when creating a show that highlights their mission statement (whatever that is). When you have Bravo advertise the show as "watch the horror of creating a horror movie" you get what they are aiming for. They are looking at more reality TV model vs. an HGTV/Food Network model which can still be fun but isn't focused on the horror/failings.

Granted, Gulager brought some of this on his head by insisting that everyone he knows being in it...but even that seemed to go on longer than it should have. There was a point a week or two ago where he obviously gave up casting them (tore their pics off the wall) but the story continued on with more trials around that...which is funny, because in the end two larger roles are still filled by his family! Hmmm...

I see this as being the last season of this show. Anyway, it almost redundant, too. So many DVD's have "Making-of" shows already attached, some with the same sorts of drama and fun (as any real shoot will have). Heck, with all the Lord of the Rings DVD's you can practically fill an entire season worth of television viewing on just how they made the things. Still, it is a cool concept. It is fun to see how stupid it is to have to work with so many special interests involved, I guess. But it is pretty frustrating to watch week to week. I really look forward to the actually filming of it.

I didn't see the first shows but are Ben and Matt really out of the picture from now on? Are they there to just introduce the acts with a "Coming up on Project Greenlight" or is simply kicking the ball off the main function they have?

Except for Chris Moore and his underlings, the other producers including Matt and Ben rarely involve themselves much in the show after the first few episodes. Ben is a little more involved normally, Matt has in the previous 2 seasons not done anything after the selection, I believe.

/Mike

While the actors definitely are correct about being upset over coming in and not shooting any footage, I can't feel too bad for someone who does nothing but still gets paid. The people who should be pissed (and are) are the producers who are watching their money be squandered.

It's a matter of professionalism but I still can't shed a tear because Eileen Ryan had to get up at 4 AM

Aaaah...now this is the trainwreck we all wanted to see. Now, can Gulager get it in gear and ramp up the communication gap and get it done, or will the next 4 weeks be just as chaotic and unorganized?

Actually, they were doing fairly well, I'm wondering if this is more then slightly over dramatized. The person I spoke to from Dimension today didn't know much about the TV show, but said the film came out to be pretty good as he's heard, and they think it will be moderately bankable. It was added to their promotion list a week ago, which means they will actively try to market it. It's final budget was close to $6M (5.7 something) so that means someone saw something in it for it's budget to keep going up.

It probably is over dramatized but I love the behind the scenes making of the movie. It was painful watching Jason Mewes washing off all that makeup. I also thought it was funny when he said he needed to go pay his landlord. They guy isn't a huge star but it still surprised me that he needed to take time to pay a landlord.

Personally, from what I saw, I thought John's shot composition was, by and large, intriguing, or at the very least, interesting. On average, his images certainly looked better than they should have considering the film's modest budget. Gulager appears to come off as more of a cinematographer or a DP than a traditional director, though. Perhaps this explains some of the friction between John and his DP. He definitely has a communication problem (especially with his cast) that he needs to overcome if he hopes to be successful over the long haul. Also, he seemed more than a little uncomfortable shooting those action scenes.

I doubt we'll see a making-of on a DVD anytime soon that makes the filmmakers look this crazy!

Aaron, good point. Though the one about the unfinished Gilliam movie (er...what was the doc called? About the Don Quixote movie?) was a "warts and all" documentary by design. I assume all shoots have their stressfulm moments as well as their triumphs and a whole lot of boredom in between. Greenlight stressed the stress while a typical DVD will show the triumphs.

I have really enjoyed watching this on Bravo. I did not have HBO at the time of the first two seasons. Are they as interesting as this one?

You can rent or buy the DVDs for season 1 and 2 of Project Greenlight. I only saw season 2, but that season featured a director team of two with more ego than talent. It was pretty entertaining (still in a trainwreck manner).

Yep. Both first two seasons were kind of a wreck; the only person to make a second film was Pete (first season) who directed/wrote "Outing Riley" (which is, IMHO, also not very good)

I'm sure they must have discussed this issue in parallel with the whole issue of making a bankable movie, but it's not really addressed in the show. I get the distinct impression they desperately want to make a movie that has appeal whether or not you even know of Project Greenlight as a series. This was probably a goal in the previous seasons as well, but I doubt it had as much influence on their choice of scripts.

I have thought about renting or buying the earlier seasons, but only if they were at least as good as the third. I know this is subjective, but which season has been the best (entertaining and insightful)?

I thought both seasons were entertaining but season 2 halfway through the series HBO changed the show from 1hr to 30min. it was weird.

Were the other two series of the show this ruthless towards what is supposed to be a novice director learning the ropes? I do agree that it is trouble when a director changes his mind about a shot after the DP sets up lights and camera, but on the other hand the job of setting up the day falls to more than just the director. That is why there are so many folks there to assist him so he doesn't have to worry about every little detail. And I thought this was a teaching show? It is pretty much a show about how Hollywood is all about money. We barely see John in action, though from what (VERY) little we see of the actual shooting he seems to be a good director. His shots look interesting at any rate.

I think watching the actors get all indignant about being on set with nothing to do is pretty rich. Pretty much every making-of from many movies that I have seen have actors sitting around when things break down, don't work out, go long, etc. It is the nature of not only film but live theatre as well...and as these aren't a-list stars who don't have to do low budget shoots, this honestly can't be the first time a set was like this. Sheesh.

It is sad that for the sake of "drama" they spin the show into a "man, I am glad I don't make movies" sort of show. Especially when, as others have noted, they should at least be gearing folks up for actually wanting to go out and see the final project. Maybe they are saving the good stuff up for the end of the season when "a miracle occurs." I guess a mix of drama, fun, how-to, and so on would make this more than just a reality show like any other.

I think Robert Rodriguez should run a season of this show. He would take the same amount of money...less, probably...and help a novice director and writer team to come up with a cool movie, have fun doing it and make money. Hell, Roger Corman has been making low budget movies for centuries and, as noted on Dinner for Five, he made money on most of them. HE should run this show. Getting people who are used to big budgets with excessive production costs and set up to film a low budget movie that, if anyone else had it, would be shot in a REAL bar that someone knows the owner of with the people they know, etc. Jeepers.

That said...can't...take eyes...off trainwreck...

Lost In La Mancha, IIRC. Of course, that was a standalone documentary, not a DVD extra feature (it even got a 2-disc special edition of its own).

Kinda feel for John. He has a kind of look/feel and when he communicates it to the actors, they seem to get it and the shots look good (all tend to agree on that) but at least three times tonight, he said "this is how I want it to look" and they would say "that's going to mean we take extra time" and they spend 30 minutes arguing over "we don't want to do it that way" which ends up taking as much time as just doing it his way anyway.

John's definitely right, and cut right to the core: hell, f'em, if you've already decided look/feel etc. then what purpose am I? Just film the scene on your own.

The firing of the script supervisor I think was meant to say "yeah, this stalled us down" but it came across through the whole show as that kind of petty bickering had almost nothing to do with John, etc. but made the AD just look like a jerk.

I thought the same thing. And one time they argued about it and then wind up doing what he said anyway.

It seems like John is developing a good repoire with the actors pretty well. I thought he handled the Jenny Wade issue pretty well and one scene I could see Balthazar Getty give John a pat on the back. I must admit that I am rooting for this movie to be successful because John. He is really trying to make the movie interesting.

I did think John's dad was taking things a little personal though. He was trying to defend John but he just made it worse.