Plot: What’s it about?
When film stars Ben Affleck and Matt Damon teamed up with producer Chris Moore to create Project Greenlight, the result was over ten thousand entries. What was Project Greenlight? Well, Affleck, Damon, and Moore offered all of those wannabe filmmakers a chance to make their dreams come true, to step behind the camera to create their own motion picture. As I mentioned, over ten thousand hopefuls sent off their screenplays and after ample, careful consideration, just as expected, a bad one was chosen. But while Pete Jones’ Stolen Summer might have been bad, it was the lucky winner and by turn, he was handed a million dollar budget and given the chance to put his vision on the screen. As the production went on, HBO’s cameras were on hand and documented all of the struggles, pratfalls, and general collapse of Jones’ shoot, including visits from special guests with advice. The show became quite popular and had a nice audience base, most of whom wondered how Jones’ screenplay could have been selected, since a small ape with a chisel could churn out better work. Jones’ lack of presence and filmmaking flair made great television however, even if it couldn’t make a decent picture. This is the story of Stolen Summer, as seen on HBO’s terrific Project Greenlight series.
So after the extensive process of going through ten thousand screenplays, the actual production of the film, and the aftermath of the entire ordeal, the finished product stands as Pete Jones’ Stolen Summer. And without a doubt, the Project Greenlight television show proves to be a much more entertaining and worthwhile production, as Stolen Summer is simply bad in almost every respect. Jones was given an adequate budget, a superb cast, and talented producers, but in the end, all those elements are flushed down the drain. I can’t imagine how Stolen Summer was chosen as the best screenplay in the contest, but the others must have been downright abysmal, as Jones’ effort leaves a lot to be desired. I mean, I found myself sometimes wondering if it all wasn’t just a joke, to see if the audience would believe such a bad movie would be the focus of a show, but sadly, it was all too real. The talents of such fine performers as Bonnie Hunt, Kevin Pollak, Brian Dennehy, and Aidan Quinn are wasted scene after scene, thanks to Jones’ bland writing and total lack of directorial flairs. But then again, Stolen Summer will not stand as a movie in the traditional sense, more of an experiment, and a failed one at that. Even so, the show itself is quite amusing and by its merits, this release is more than recommended.
Now you can follow the entire Project Greenlight saga, from the search for the winning screenplay all the way through the completed production of Stolen Summer. While the movie itself turned out to be smellier than hot garbage on a summer afternoon, the series is loaded with humorous moments. In this Collector’s Series release, you’ll find all the episodes of HBO’s acclaimed Project Greenlight television series, an extras laden edition of Stolen Summer, plus a bonus disc topped off with even more supplemental materials. I love this release, because it shows how the movie wasn’t the total focus of the Project Greenlight premise, we have a fun television show in there too and in this case, that proves to be the best element. Plus, no one would purchase Stolen Summer by itself and most folks would simply want the television episodes, so by throwing it all in one neat package, everyone’s interests are served. You can watch the show to laugh, then have an MST3K party for Stolen Summer, jabbing at all the poorly written dialogue, substandard direction, and overall waste of resources. But no matter how bad Stolen Summer is, this four disc edition from Miramax is terrific and warrants a strong look, if you’re interested.
Video: How does it look?
Stolen Summer is presented in a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. As this is set in the 1970s, the visuals have a soft texture to them, which means detail is on the fuzzy side, but that’s intentional. In addition to the soft detail, you’ll find that colors seem a little muted and contrast isn’t as stark & refined as we’re used to. But as this is how the elements were supposed to look, we can’t complain too much. I do wish the image was sharper at times, but given the material, this looks solid and should please fans.
The episodes of Project Greenlight are presented in full frame, as intended. These look as good as they did on television, though perhaps a little sharper, thanks to the added visual potential of our little shiny discs. Of course, this was a television show and not a feature film, so it isn’t all that refined, simply more than adequate. The colors have a bright, natural appearance, while black levels are well balanced throughout. Not a whole lot more to be said here, the episodes just look terrific and leave little room for complaints.
Audio: How does it sound?
Although the television series is presented in a basic, but effective 2.0 soundtrack, Stolen Summer was given a full Dolby Digital 5.1 treatment. The audio is solid, but as the movie is driven by low impact audio and dialogue, you won’t be overly impressed here. The surrounds remain unused through most of the movie, though some light use is evident in a few scenes, so not all is lost in terms of presence. The dialogue is as good as you could want, with clean vocals and no balance issues at all, just sharp dialogue throughout. This disc also includes English subtitles, in case you need those at some point.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This set has some cool supplements, so we’ll start with those that focus on the Project Greenlight television series. You can watch some notable entries into the contest, which prove to be well worth a look, as well as the top ten filmmaker videos and top ten three minute scenes, all fun to watch. A look at Ben Affleck’s call for impersonators of producer Chris Moore is up next, complete with Affleck’s guide to imitating the producer and a rundown of the top twenty-five Moore impersonators. The Project Greenlight Experience is a collection of brief, but sometimes insightful featurettes, such as a look at director Pete Jones at some film festivals, a peek inside a press junket, a post-production tour, and a few other tidbits. Rounding out the television show extras is Project Redlight, a spoof of the show that stars Corey Haim and Corey Feldman, though it isn’t all that entertaining.
As far as Stolen Summer itself goes, a nice array of extras has been included on its disc, starting with an audio commentary session. The track features director Pete Jones, producer Chris Moore, and coproducer Jeff Balis, all of whom seem to have a lot to say, especially in terms of Jones’ shortcomings. I was glad to hear Jones admit his own flaws as a filmmaker, instead of blaming budget limitations or what not, while Moore adds in some good stories also, making this a solid, worthwhile session. You can also view a comparison between a HI-8 scene and the finished product, a selection of deleted scenes, and the film’s theatrical trailer.
