Project Greenlight
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Project Greenlight
January 19, 2002
BROOKE GLADSTONE: Ben Affleck and Matt Damon established themselves as big Hollywood stars in 1997 when they shared the Best Screenplay Oscar for Good Will Hunting. Dozens of movies and millions of dollars later, the lads and their producer partner Chris Moore decided that they should give a little back. Thus was born Project Greenlight whereby an unknown director would compete for the chance to turn his script into a movie and Matt, Ben and Chris would turn the ordeal of making the movie into a documentary TV series. That documentary has been airing on HBO over the past few weeks and viewers have learned to fear the bombastic executive producer Chris Moore, pity the over-matched producer Jeff Balis, and loathe the devious line producer Pat Peach. Here, the devious one counsels the over-matched one.
MAN: I'm going to alert him about the beach. I'm going to alert him that the day might lose [...?...] point. [BOTH SPEAK AT ONCE]
MAN: I know.
MAN: But--
MAN: I think his point was--
MAN: You call Chris Moore, you're going to cause a problem. If they - you say there's a problem, Chris Moore wants to solve it.
MAN: It might not change!
MAN: He doesn't want [...?...].
MAN: It's not going to change! What if it doesn't change? You've wasted your time?
MAN: Dude--
MAN: Stirring up the pot unnecessarily-- [BOTH SPEAK AT ONCE]
MAN: All I'm doing, all I'm doing is wasting my time.
BROOKE GLADSTONE: Naivete, thy name is Jeff.
MAN: Hello?
MAN: Yeah, I'm here.
MAN: How are you?
MAN: I'm not too good, Jeff.
MAN ON SPEAKER: We're not communicating well, man. And I was pretty let down that you guys made a big decision to switch the whole weekend that you were going to shoot the beach at a different time without anybody talking to me, so I've been sitting here trying to figure out how can I effect some change in this process? You know this [...?...] answer.
MAN: Very hard for me to say what I'm about to say, but-- I want you to come back to the [...?...].
BROOKE GLADSTONE: It's enough to make viewers glad they work in less backbiting professions like, say, lion tamer, grifter, member of the Italian Parliament. The movie we see made in Project Greenlight is called Stolen Summer which premiered at Sundance this week. A star of Project Greenlight and the guileless of Stolen Summer, Jeff Balis, joins me now as does the executive producer of Stolen Summer and the "heavy" of Project Greenlight, Chris Moore. So Chris, was Project Greenlight a true reflection of the process of moviemaking? Is this really how the sausage is made?
CHRIS MOORE: I think yes. I do think this is how sausage is made. I think having the camera on it maybe made it special kind of sausage, but I still think it's sausage, and you know a lot of the power struggles and the logistical struggles and the sort of who's in control and who gets to make decision-struggles that you see on the show are exactly what happens at least on the 10, 11 movies that I've produced, so either I really am a bad producer, or that's sort of how it plays out.
BROOKE GLADSTONE: And Jeff Balis, what do you think?
JEFF BALIS: Is it sausage to some degree, though-- things did go a little bit more smoothly than you might see on the show.
BROOKE GLADSTONE: How do you both feel you were portrayed in the series, Jeff?
JEFF BALIS:Well right now I'm-- [LAUGHS] I, I, I think I look pretty incompetent, you know -- like a moron pretty much, but-- you know I'm - have been forced to kind of look at it as a character - and I realize that my character has an arc and-- fortunately I think I'm, I'm okay with the end result of the series and--
BROOKE GLADSTONE: Cause right now on the series you're pretty much Charlie Brown.
JEFF BALIS: I'm the goat right now; definitely.
BROOKE GLADSTONE: [LAUGHS] Chris -- how do you think you were portrayed, and did you have any role in actually editing the series?
CHRIS MOORE: Well unfortunately, yes, I did have a role in editing the series, so I, I take-- [BOTH SPEAK AT ONCE]
BROOKE GLADSTONE: So you like looking like a hard person.
CHRIS MOORE:Well no actually Ben and Matt and I had made an agreement that we wouldn't comment on our own portrayal unless we thought it was absolutely false. So-- am I happy? I'm not happy; I'm embarrassed, but the truth of the matter is I'm more embarrassed by my behavior than I am by how I was portrayed. You know, I did lose my temper. I did get caught up in certain power struggles that I shouldn't have and I did create drama that probably wasn't necessary. On the flip side, that first day I arrived on set it was the most disorganized movie set I've ever been on, and that's embarrassing to me, because I've produced 10 movies and I know how to produce an organized movie set.
BROOKE GLADSTONE:Well at the premiere of the film at Sundance, Stolen Summer's director, Pete Jones is quoted as saying unfortunately they decided to go with the reality TV version of what went on; it's all drama for TV! So-- was it?
CHRIS MOORE: I unfortunately have a weird position which is I'm a producer of all the aspects of this project, so you know ProjectGreenlight.com I also am a producer on; the show I was a producer on and the movie I'm a producer on --so I have a much more middle of the road stance which is certainly on the television show we wanted to make a good television show. Certainly we played with time; we played with interviews; we played with which obstacles Pete and the people making the movie had to overcome. But the set and sort of how it was running --all the things that happened did happen.
BROOKE GLADSTONE:Well let me ask you this -- you as executive producer hired the production staff of Stolen Summer. Where the characters of Project Greenlight cast the same way the characters of the real world are cast? Were people picked in part because they were likely to cause or run into conflict? Did you stir the pot thinking well even if it's a lousy movie, at least we'll have a r-- kick ass TV show?
CHRIS MOORE: Absolutely not. Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and I got into this because we wanted to find young filmmakers. You know I'm sad that this question's even being asked, but we certainly did not do anything to try and make the television show better -- in fact the people working on the TV show are arguing for more things next year, because they were so upset with all the things we didn't do that would have made it a great television show.
BROOKE GLADSTONE:What about line producer Pat Peach? I mean by last Sunday's episode, he had clearly become the Iago of Project Greenlight, whispering and scheming and complaining -- so far it appears that he doublecrossed Jeff into getting fired. Chris -- did you watch the dailies on this thing? Did you see what he was doing?!
CHRIS MOORE: No! We made one deal -- Matt, Ben and I --with the television show which is we wouldn't give notes on our own portrayals - like I - as I said earlier. The other note was-- I would not watch footage of it until the movie was finished shooting, so that none of my judgment - none of the things that I was going to do as producer on the movie would be affected or caused by what the documentary captured, so that I wasn't like calling Pat and saying Pat, yesterday in dailies on the show I saw you do this. Right? We didn't want that to happen, because then slowly and slowly nobody was going to do anything in front of the documentary cameras. [LAUGHS] You know? The other thing is Pat hired all the crew. I didn't go to Chicago and hire anybody. And Pat certainly doesn't have any role in the television show as, as you've pointed out; [LAUGHS] he's not coming across too well. I think the hard thing for Pat is he did that stuff! We didn't make that up! We didn't put that dialogue in there! He did it!
BROOKE GLADSTONE: We're actually going to be speaking to Pat. Is there anything you want me to ask him? [LAUGHS]
JEFF BALIS: I have a question.
BROOKE GLADSTONE: Okay, Jeff.
JEFF BALIS: Why?
BROOKE GLADSTONE: Pat-- why?!?
PAT PEACH: Why-- why what?
BROOKE GLADSTONE: Why did you say that stuff if you knew the camera was rolling on you?
PAT PEACH:[LAUGHS] Well before we get carried away here, you know, the movie and the television show are two completely different entities. As far as the television show, of course I knew [LAUGHS] that when I was hired I would be portrayed as a silly TV villain. I mean-- I knew Chris Moore's role was going to be the savior, [LAUGHS] and I knew Jeff Balis's role would be the foil. And I knew that Pete Jones would be the guy that is cast as the upstart who-- at the end of the day, hopefully, learns something.
BROOKE GLADSTONE: But did you know that that's how you would be cast?
PAT PEACH:Well, not exactly. You know I'd asked Liz Bronstein, the executive producer on the very first day I was hired, I said come on -- you know I'm going to be portrayed as the villain; she said oh, no, no, no, no, no. But you know when you put on the television cameras, it's a-- a whole different thing. The magic of reality television -- it happens in the editing room. Everything about it. The whole portrayal is created and fabricated to look as though I'm snaking him behind his back and everything, which is not the truth.
BROOKE GLADSTONE: Well if you knew that at the beginning, really knew that, why did you participate?
PAT PEACH:Well to be honest with you I didn't actually think that they would do anything that would go that far down the line, because it's complete false portrayal -- but-- I participated because it was a really exciting-- idea.
BROOKE GLADSTONE: Do you really feel that you were portrayed falsely, because I mean you did say those things.
PAT PEACH:[LAUGHS] Well - the magic is all in the editing -- with music - and leaving out other sides of conversations and the lead in -- no one does not vent about their co-workers; they just don't have cameras on them.
BROOKE GLADSTONE: Do you have any regrets?
PAT PEACH:I - you know I wish I had have gone in a little bit stronger in terms of-- what my character was going to be on the TV series, cause it would have been more fun for me. I was way too focused on making a good film. Unlike, you know, I think some of the other people involved.
BROOKE GLADSTONE: Well thank you very much.
PAT PEACH: Thank you.
BROOKE GLADSTONE:Pat Peach was the line producer on the film Stolen Summer. Earlier we heard from executive producer Chris Moore and co-producer Jeff Balis. All three have starring roles in HBO's documentary series about making that movie called Project Greenlight.
January 19, 2002
BROOKE GLADSTONE: Ben Affleck and Matt Damon established themselves as big Hollywood stars in 1997 when they shared the Best Screenplay Oscar for Good Will Hunting. Dozens of movies and millions of dollars later, the lads and their producer partner Chris Moore decided that they should give a little back. Thus was born Project Greenlight whereby an unknown director would compete for the chance to turn his script into a movie and Matt, Ben and Chris would turn the ordeal of making the movie into a documentary TV series. That documentary has been airing on HBO over the past few weeks and viewers have learned to fear the bombastic executive producer Chris Moore, pity the over-matched producer Jeff Balis, and loathe the devious line producer Pat Peach. Here, the devious one counsels the over-matched one.
MAN: I'm going to alert him about the beach. I'm going to alert him that the day might lose [...?...] point. [BOTH SPEAK AT ONCE]
MAN: I know.
MAN: But--
MAN: I think his point was--
MAN: You call Chris Moore, you're going to cause a problem. If they - you say there's a problem, Chris Moore wants to solve it.
MAN: It might not change!
MAN: He doesn't want [...?...].
MAN: It's not going to change! What if it doesn't change? You've wasted your time?
MAN: Dude--
MAN: Stirring up the pot unnecessarily-- [BOTH SPEAK AT ONCE]
MAN: All I'm doing, all I'm doing is wasting my time.
BROOKE GLADSTONE: Naivete, thy name is Jeff.
MAN: Hello?
MAN: Yeah, I'm here.
MAN: How are you?
MAN: I'm not too good, Jeff.
MAN ON SPEAKER: We're not communicating well, man. And I was pretty let down that you guys made a big decision to switch the whole weekend that you were going to shoot the beach at a different time without anybody talking to me, so I've been sitting here trying to figure out how can I effect some change in this process? You know this [...?...] answer.
MAN: Very hard for me to say what I'm about to say, but-- I want you to come back to the [...?...].
BROOKE GLADSTONE: It's enough to make viewers glad they work in less backbiting professions like, say, lion tamer, grifter, member of the Italian Parliament. The movie we see made in Project Greenlight is called Stolen Summer which premiered at Sundance this week. A star of Project Greenlight and the guileless of Stolen Summer, Jeff Balis, joins me now as does the executive producer of Stolen Summer and the "heavy" of Project Greenlight, Chris Moore. So Chris, was Project Greenlight a true reflection of the process of moviemaking? Is this really how the sausage is made?
CHRIS MOORE: I think yes. I do think this is how sausage is made. I think having the camera on it maybe made it special kind of sausage, but I still think it's sausage, and you know a lot of the power struggles and the logistical struggles and the sort of who's in control and who gets to make decision-struggles that you see on the show are exactly what happens at least on the 10, 11 movies that I've produced, so either I really am a bad producer, or that's sort of how it plays out.
BROOKE GLADSTONE: And Jeff Balis, what do you think?
JEFF BALIS: Is it sausage to some degree, though-- things did go a little bit more smoothly than you might see on the show.
BROOKE GLADSTONE: How do you both feel you were portrayed in the series, Jeff?
JEFF BALIS:Well right now I'm-- [LAUGHS] I, I, I think I look pretty incompetent, you know -- like a moron pretty much, but-- you know I'm - have been forced to kind of look at it as a character - and I realize that my character has an arc and-- fortunately I think I'm, I'm okay with the end result of the series and--
BROOKE GLADSTONE: Cause right now on the series you're pretty much Charlie Brown.
JEFF BALIS: I'm the goat right now; definitely.
BROOKE GLADSTONE: [LAUGHS] Chris -- how do you think you were portrayed, and did you have any role in actually editing the series?
CHRIS MOORE: Well unfortunately, yes, I did have a role in editing the series, so I, I take-- [BOTH SPEAK AT ONCE]
BROOKE GLADSTONE: So you like looking like a hard person.
CHRIS MOORE:Well no actually Ben and Matt and I had made an agreement that we wouldn't comment on our own portrayal unless we thought it was absolutely false. So-- am I happy? I'm not happy; I'm embarrassed, but the truth of the matter is I'm more embarrassed by my behavior than I am by how I was portrayed. You know, I did lose my temper. I did get caught up in certain power struggles that I shouldn't have and I did create drama that probably wasn't necessary. On the flip side, that first day I arrived on set it was the most disorganized movie set I've ever been on, and that's embarrassing to me, because I've produced 10 movies and I know how to produce an organized movie set.
BROOKE GLADSTONE:Well at the premiere of the film at Sundance, Stolen Summer's director, Pete Jones is quoted as saying unfortunately they decided to go with the reality TV version of what went on; it's all drama for TV! So-- was it?
CHRIS MOORE: I unfortunately have a weird position which is I'm a producer of all the aspects of this project, so you know ProjectGreenlight.com I also am a producer on; the show I was a producer on and the movie I'm a producer on --so I have a much more middle of the road stance which is certainly on the television show we wanted to make a good television show. Certainly we played with time; we played with interviews; we played with which obstacles Pete and the people making the movie had to overcome. But the set and sort of how it was running --all the things that happened did happen.
BROOKE GLADSTONE:Well let me ask you this -- you as executive producer hired the production staff of Stolen Summer. Where the characters of Project Greenlight cast the same way the characters of the real world are cast? Were people picked in part because they were likely to cause or run into conflict? Did you stir the pot thinking well even if it's a lousy movie, at least we'll have a r-- kick ass TV show?
CHRIS MOORE: Absolutely not. Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and I got into this because we wanted to find young filmmakers. You know I'm sad that this question's even being asked, but we certainly did not do anything to try and make the television show better -- in fact the people working on the TV show are arguing for more things next year, because they were so upset with all the things we didn't do that would have made it a great television show.
BROOKE GLADSTONE:What about line producer Pat Peach? I mean by last Sunday's episode, he had clearly become the Iago of Project Greenlight, whispering and scheming and complaining -- so far it appears that he doublecrossed Jeff into getting fired. Chris -- did you watch the dailies on this thing? Did you see what he was doing?!
CHRIS MOORE: No! We made one deal -- Matt, Ben and I --with the television show which is we wouldn't give notes on our own portrayals - like I - as I said earlier. The other note was-- I would not watch footage of it until the movie was finished shooting, so that none of my judgment - none of the things that I was going to do as producer on the movie would be affected or caused by what the documentary captured, so that I wasn't like calling Pat and saying Pat, yesterday in dailies on the show I saw you do this. Right? We didn't want that to happen, because then slowly and slowly nobody was going to do anything in front of the documentary cameras. [LAUGHS] You know? The other thing is Pat hired all the crew. I didn't go to Chicago and hire anybody. And Pat certainly doesn't have any role in the television show as, as you've pointed out; [LAUGHS] he's not coming across too well. I think the hard thing for Pat is he did that stuff! We didn't make that up! We didn't put that dialogue in there! He did it!
BROOKE GLADSTONE: We're actually going to be speaking to Pat. Is there anything you want me to ask him? [LAUGHS]
JEFF BALIS: I have a question.
BROOKE GLADSTONE: Okay, Jeff.
JEFF BALIS: Why?
BROOKE GLADSTONE: Pat-- why?!?
PAT PEACH: Why-- why what?
BROOKE GLADSTONE: Why did you say that stuff if you knew the camera was rolling on you?
PAT PEACH:[LAUGHS] Well before we get carried away here, you know, the movie and the television show are two completely different entities. As far as the television show, of course I knew [LAUGHS] that when I was hired I would be portrayed as a silly TV villain. I mean-- I knew Chris Moore's role was going to be the savior, [LAUGHS] and I knew Jeff Balis's role would be the foil. And I knew that Pete Jones would be the guy that is cast as the upstart who-- at the end of the day, hopefully, learns something.
BROOKE GLADSTONE: But did you know that that's how you would be cast?
PAT PEACH:Well, not exactly. You know I'd asked Liz Bronstein, the executive producer on the very first day I was hired, I said come on -- you know I'm going to be portrayed as the villain; she said oh, no, no, no, no, no. But you know when you put on the television cameras, it's a-- a whole different thing. The magic of reality television -- it happens in the editing room. Everything about it. The whole portrayal is created and fabricated to look as though I'm snaking him behind his back and everything, which is not the truth.
BROOKE GLADSTONE: Well if you knew that at the beginning, really knew that, why did you participate?
PAT PEACH:Well to be honest with you I didn't actually think that they would do anything that would go that far down the line, because it's complete false portrayal -- but-- I participated because it was a really exciting-- idea.
BROOKE GLADSTONE: Do you really feel that you were portrayed falsely, because I mean you did say those things.
PAT PEACH:[LAUGHS] Well - the magic is all in the editing -- with music - and leaving out other sides of conversations and the lead in -- no one does not vent about their co-workers; they just don't have cameras on them.
BROOKE GLADSTONE: Do you have any regrets?
PAT PEACH:I - you know I wish I had have gone in a little bit stronger in terms of-- what my character was going to be on the TV series, cause it would have been more fun for me. I was way too focused on making a good film. Unlike, you know, I think some of the other people involved.
BROOKE GLADSTONE: Well thank you very much.
PAT PEACH: Thank you.
BROOKE GLADSTONE:Pat Peach was the line producer on the film Stolen Summer. Earlier we heard from executive producer Chris Moore and co-producer Jeff Balis. All three have starring roles in HBO's documentary series about making that movie called Project Greenlight.
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