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Project Greenlight

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Watching you go up against the Hollywood system, it seemed like there were a lot of opportunities for disillusionment.
The dream is working on your script, and working with actors, and actually seeing it come to life. And there's so much more to moviemaking that isn't part of the original dream. There's politics involved; there's a lot of extracurricular activities that have nothing to do with setting up your shot and working with the actors. I wouldn't say it's disillusioning, but that part makes it more of a job.

When you were desperately trying to get more money for your budget, how come Matt Damon and Ben Affleck didn't just open their pockets?
[Laughs] Uh, good question. It's Miramax's movie; they're not looking to take on any partners. I would assume that's the answer, but there were backroom meetings that I don't know anything about.

When the cameras weren't on, how involved were Damon and Affleck?
They were really involved in pre-production and post-production. During the actual shooting of the movie, they were both on location shooting their own movies. I didn't have any contact with them during the shooting of the movie, but they had a lot of notes before and after. In editing, they brought fresh eyes. Both of them are really students of film, and they'd have ideas about how to fix things. And obviously, they're really keen on actors' performances -- how to get the most out of them through editing.

Are you worried people will see you as the O-Town of filmmaking?
Oh, God. The one thing that I usually love about Hollywood: If someone becomes successful, it's because they did something really well. Showing the documentary is kind of like putting the horse behind the cart. I just want to be a good writer/director. I hope that the movie stands up by itself, and people don't judge me by this documentary. It gave me an opportunity, but I don't want to be a boy-band creation.