Last year, HBO broughtProject Greenlightback to life, much to the delight of fans who enjoyed getting a behind-the-scenes look at the filmmaking process through the reality series produced byMatt DamonandBen Affleck. But the world today is not the same world whenGreenlightfirst started back in 2001, and while the show’s fourth season marked a return to HBO after the pay cable network shoved off the series for Season 3, it now appears that HBO is once again cold on the prospect of making moreProject Greenlight.
Damon tells theAPthat he was “shocked” that HBO has decided not to move forward withProject GreenlightSeason 5, but he added that they’re going to start shopping it around again soon with hopes that a streaming service like Netflix or Amazon will pick it up. Indeed, while this new season ofProject Greenlightmaybe didn’t have that “fresh” quality of earlier seasons—there’ssomuch content nowadays it’s hard to keep up—it was fascinating nonetheless.
However, the interest inProject Greenlightis rarely focused on the film that’s actually being made, and more about the personalities who are working to make it. This year’s season saw the release ofThe Leisure Classon HBO to poor reviews and little fanfare, so perhaps the network felt it wasn’t worth the investment to move forward with a new season.
But Season 4 turned out to be quite possibly the most entertaining and most fascinating season yet, as we saw veteran indie producerEffie Brownworking to collaborate with directorJason Mann, who put on an air ofDavid Fincher-esque steadfastness without the talent to back it up.Project Greenlightat its best shines a light on how the filmmaking worldactuallyexists, and seeing Brown navigate not only the rigors of producing a film within budget constraints, but also working to diversify the crew and cast as much as possible was a delight. This was the reason to tune in week after week.
So as someone who immensely enjoyed the revitalizedProject GreenlightI’m hoping it lives on at a new home. What about you folks? Did you bother tuning in this time around? Sound off in the comments below.
