The third installment of this "hey kids, let's make a movie!" reality TV series...executive produced by Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Chris Moore, and, in this edition, Wes Craven...makes a good case to add movies to the list of things...like laws and sausages...that we might be better off not seeing being made.
But, that said, it does make for grand television (if often in a decidedly "watching a train wreck" kinda way :-)
Feast, the movie they're making this time (after losing money on the first two movies to come out of this series, the producers wanted to make something that might actually turn a profit so they've chosen to make a horror movie), is nothing that I personally buy a ticket for (not a big fan of the genre) but watching the tumultuous making of the film is fascinating stuff.
Hollywood cliches abound...profane bullying producer, exasperated crew members who believe that nobody on the set knows what they're doing (except for them, of course), disgruntled actors waiting around impatiently for their closeups, would-be starlet affecting the diva attitude without having paid her dues, novice screenwriters already "taking meetings" on bigger projects despite the fact that this movie is their big break (having won the Project Greenlight internet contest)...and it's all a hoot.
And at the center of it all is John Gulager, the director (also a winner of the contest), a passive-aggressive fellow with low self-esteem, delusions of grandeur, paranoid tendencies, and serious issues when it comes to having personal interactions with people (which, of course, are all great traits for a would-be movie director to have :-). I have no idea if Gulager...who at one point wanted to cast his friends and family as the lead actors in the movie so that he would be able to deal with people he was already comfortable with...will ever be a good movie director (it seems unlikely to me but then I don't really know how Hollywood works so I could be wrong) but he makes one hell of a reality TV character.
With Survivor and American Idol limping through mediocre seasons, it's good to see that our pals at Bravo have stepped up to the plate with goofy reality TV fun like Project Greenlight (and the wondrously weird Showdog Moms and Dads :-)
3 comments:
Great review. I will probably rent this now. I like your reviews and posts. Very informative.
I saw the first project greenlight movie, i thought it was cute. People dont like cute anymore. Well done for a fat guy with a wife and kids!
Showdog Moms & Dads has caught my eye as well. These people are so wacky they make for interesting TV.
Project Runway was another one of those train wreck shows that I couldn't stop watching week after week.
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