Making a scene

HOLLYWOOD STARS Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, who collected the best-screenplay Oscar for Good Will Hunting in 1997, know what it's like to be on the outside of the film industry looking in. The pair had been pitching screenplays to studios and agents for years before they came up with Good Will Hunting, more often than not getting turned away at the front door.

So when their ship finally came in, they decided to try to make things a little easier for the next person. Together with producer Chris Moore, and with the help of Miramax TV and HBO, they came up with the concept, Project Greenlight. Would-be screenwriters were asked to submit screenplays to a Web site and when the best script was chosen (out of an eventual field of 10,000 entries), the winner would receive US$1 million (HK$7.8 million) to produce the winning script. But, as always, there was a catch - a 'reality' television series would be shot around the film set.

'This is not about a bunch of people stabbing each other for $1 million or getting naked or doing some weird stuff. This is a documentary, but hopefully showing people what it's really like to make a movie,' Affleck said at the time.

Pete Jones' script, Stolen Summer, won the competition and the former insurance salesman decided to direct the film himself. It tells the story of an eight-year-old Irish boy who befriends a dying seven-year-old Jewish boy. The film was shot in Chicago last year, the final production was well-received at this year's Sundance Film Festival, and it went on to a limited cinema release in the United States.

But the television series - Project Greenlight, which begins screening on Cable TV's Cinemax channel tonight at 8pm - is about more than just the making of a movie. When it screened in the US last year it became one of the hottest shows on TV - and on Friday it was nominated for an Emmy award for outstanding non-fiction programme (Reality). The film set is plagued by disaster from the start; terrible weather delays shooting, there are constant clashes between crew members, all while first-time director Jones is still trying to find his feet.

Also along for the ride is co-producer Jeff Balis. The 27-year-old has been in Hollywood for five years since he made his way across country from Tampa, Florida. He took on Project Greenlight after working for Moore and, whether he likes it or not, he provides some of the TV series' most compelling moments.

Balis 'shares' his duties with line producer Pat Peach and it starts off as a match made in hell. There's a battle of wills from the very beginning as both men try to mark their territory. And the fights flow thick and fast. It must have had Damon and Affleck blushing, but 'reality' television doesn't come much better than this.