Project Greenlight Season 3, Episode 1: Box Office or Bust

The Joy of Pre-Production

The group finds out from Dimension that they're not going have an easy time making their movie. They're told that the script's flawed, that the studio has reservations over the director's ability to pull it all together, and that they'll have to rewrite the script in order to make in with the $2 million budget. They then work 12 hour shifts fixing the script by eliminating scenes and combining characters. The director also stubbornly insists that his family members be cast in the lead roles, which causes frustrations the casting director.

60 min

Bridging the Gap

Only nine weeks are left in pre-production. Ideas for the film are coming together and the director is finally starting to take charge. The group gets permission from Dimension to look for gap financing from another investor willing to put money into the production. They get an idea from a radio show to hit up the Maloof family for money. Their call into a radio program fails but they arrange a formal meeting through the Maloof family's office. The crew is assembling but the director still butts heads with the others over his insistence that his family be cast in the main roles.

60 min

Cast Apart

Gulager says he's going to film a test screen of his family and take it directly to Bob Weinstein. Chris Moore puts a stop to it and threatens to fire the director. Casting gets under way. It proves difficult to find a suitable actor and actress to play the Hero and Heroine. Michelle want Navi Rawat cast in a role and submits her name directly to Dimension. The company thinks it's a good choice but the others are upset that Michelle went behind their backs. Actors are found for the lesser roles and additional financing for the 25-day shoot is secured from the Maloof family. The writers are hired to write the new Highlander film. And the monster designs are comining along nicely. At the first read-through of the script with the actors a bomb scare forces their evacuation and postpones the meeting.

60 min

Lights, Camera, Inaction

Filming is finally ready to begin. Issues with the script, budget, and casting have been settled, so now all eyes are on first-time director Gulager. He has a free-wheeling shooting style and makes too many last-minute adjustments, which get on the DP's nerves. The actors start feeling somewhat lost without proper rehersals and compositions. Studio execs and the producer step in to tell Gulager to communicate better.

60 min

Mutiny on the Bar Set

Gulager finally schedules an early rehearsal time before the day's shooting. The mood lightens but the good will is short-lived, as the 1st A.D. and the script supervisor let their dislike for each other spill over. Since he has the producers on his side, the 1 A.D. gets the script supervisor fired. Shooting is continually rocky, frustrating the director and many of the others.

60 min

One Week to Rap

Its the final week of production and a lot of movie left to be shot. John starts to feel the pressure when he is found with two camera crews shooting two different scenes of the movie on opposite sides of the studio. John has to run back and forth from both sets to do the directing. Plus they find out that there is a big corporate issue between Disney and Miramax, and feast might get caught in the middle of the battle. To Help motivate everyone on the crew, John sets up a movie short of Feast so that they can get an understanding of what they all have been working so hard.

60 min

Redemption

Production is finally over, now comes the actual making of the movie - Post Production. This episode, John just starts the editing and already everyone wants to get a piece of what it looks like. So John sets up screenings for all the major players of the movies future. The majority of them seem to like what they see with just a few improvements needed. The whole group seems really excited to get this thing done and can't wait to see the final film.

60 min

It's a Wrap

60 min