Any "Project Greenlight" fans here?

[deutsey]

It's the only "reality TV" show I watch...hell, it's the only new TV show that I go out of my way to watch every week.

It's on Bravo and you can find out more about it at this link:

http://www.bravotv.com/Project_Greenlight/About/

Basically, it starts out as a competition that gives unknown screenwriters and film directors an opportunity to make a movie. The show then follows the winners as they face the realities of actually making a movie.

This season, they're making a low-budget horror movie.

Any fans out there? What do you think of the show? What do you think of last night's episode?

[FormerDittoHead]

1. I TRIED to get a thread started in "media" but no bites...

(very mild / vauge spoiler)

Yes. It was a TOTAL ACCIDENT I found this had moved to Bravo

I haven't watched last night's episode however I REALLY think that the casting director should have been hung out to dry for doing EXACTLY what the director tried to do...

[deutsey]

2. Yeah, I agree

She seems to be symptomatic, however, of those on the "professional" crew who undermine the director every step of the way (EDIT: By casting director, you mean Michelle, right? The one who got her choice for female lead?).

Granted, though, John Gulager (the director) isn't the most commanding presence on the set. Maybe if he came in with a solid vision of what he wants to do the others would fall into line behind him.

Still, I like John and I'm pulling for him. What really intrigues me about this show is the clash between creativity and artistic vision and the cold, bottomline realities of movie-making as a business.

I'm hoping John's artistic sensibilities prevail, but the odds seem stacked against him.

[northzax]

3. oh, let's be honest

are there any PG fans anywhere?

[deutsey]

4. Based on Chris Moore's Blog

apparently not enough.

http://www.bravotv.com/Project_Greenlight/Blogs/moore_6.shtml

"Finally, we need more people to watch the show. If you are reading this then you are probably a fan. Project Greenlight is hurting now. Not because of the movie but because of the ratings of the show. Feast will turn out well but we need more people to watch."

Plenty of dumbasses watch Survivor et al., though. Can't say I'm unhappy to be in the minority.

[Elle Woods]

5. Henry Rollins is in the cast

which is all I need to know, I'll watch that man in anything. :)

[deutsey]

6. Yeah, I was rooting for him during the casting episode

I hope "Feast" ends up being a good flick and that Rollins gets more roles as a result, if that's what he wants.

I'm a fan of his, too. :thumbsup:

[Elle Woods]

7. He's a big supporter

of the West Memphis Three which earned him much respect from me. I hope he gets more roles because of this movie too.

[deutsey]

9. Sidenote:

I can see where something like what happened to the WM3 can happen.

When I was in high school, I was friends with a very talented but very offbeat kid. He was charismatic, good looking, and a good singer/actor/artist, but he was also into drugs (LSD being the strongest) and some things "normal" adults in the community would find strange (Rocky Horror, to name one example). Overall, though, he was harmless.

As a joke, he and some friends formed a faux cult they called The Sunnies (as opposed to the Moonies). It was all a big put on and, in a huge lapse of good sense on their part, they wrote graffiti about The Sunnies on an old abandoned church way out in the country one night and did some minor vandalism to the building. Real stupid on their part, but not anything more.

Well, the story erupted in the newspaper (goaded on the by police) that a bizarre cult had conducted some strange satanic ritual in the church. My friend voluntarily went to the police and told them what really had happened. The detective, however, accused him of being another Charles Manson (his exact words; my friend's mom, who was with her son and the detective, verified it), and was convinced that my friend was the leader of satanic cult.

Fortunately, it all ended up with charges being dropped and my friend and his "followers" agreeing to clean up the church and pay for the damages.

Not as horrific as the WM3, but similar in that the detective was absolutely certain my friend was a satanic maniac, probably because of my friend's offbeat reputation in the community.

[cedahlia]

8. I really like the show

I've seen most of the episodes. At first, I didn't like the director John, but he has grown on me. I think his lack of communication skills are a problem, but hey, they picked him! Now hopefully he will find his way and make a cool movie. It will be interesting to see how it all turns out. I'm finding the whole movie making process to be fascinating, and it makes for much better reality tv than all the other schlock that has somehow found a huge audience (The Bachelor, Joe Millionaire, etc.)

[deutsey]

10. Exactly

That's why I love the show...I'm entertained by it, but I also think I'm getting some glimpse into the realities of making a studio movie.

I know the very fact that a TV camera crew is there recording everything changes these realities to a large extent; but, essentially, the clashes of egos and between artistic and business concerns are very informative. It helps to explain, for me, anyway, how so much crap gets produced by Hollywood, and how difficult it is to create something creative and truly original.

[deutsey]

11. Kick and a suggestion

Give this show a try, if you haven't already.

Thursdays, 10 pm. Bravo

[Butterflies]

12. I felt uncomfortable with John's father trying to defend John

and demanding that the others respect John as the Director.

I missed a couple weeks of the show, so for me it went from John pushing to have his girlfriend and father and niece and cousin (I think?) in the movie, and then I jumped to seeing his girlfriend and father in it. I had thought John was going to get fired for insisting that his family be cast in the movie, but somehow he pulled it off. I think he would've been better off directing non-family members.

I think he's doing a terrible job (though I admit I don't know much about movie-making.)

[deutsey]

13. His father's blow up was very awkward

John (the director) is very erratic. Sometimes he can click with everyone and other times he is introverted and has difficulty getting everyone to see what he wants.

I think the problem is double-edged: John needs to confidently and clearly express his vision and the studio and crew need to trust his personal approach more.

Both are intertwined...perhaps if John had, from the very beginning, been more outspoken and clear, he would have had the solid support of the execs and the crew would follow suit (so to speak).

That's one of the things I found revealing about the process: so much depends upon the force of personality and the extent to which people have faith in and trust that personality.

An introvert like John, however brilliant he might be as an independent filmmaker, really has a much harder time in a system like that, than, say, someone like Quentin Tarantino.