Stolen Summer (2002)

Even the most casual viewer of ''Project Greenlight'' -- the HBO show that follows contest winner Jones as he stumbles through his debut feature -- knows that his 25-day shoot was rife with problems. But Jones and his cast insist the series accentuated the negative: ''There was a lot of laughter, and we did make mistakes, but we really enjoyed ourselves,'' he says. ''They don't show that.'' What they do show is Jones, whose previous on-set experience included gofer work on ''Primary Colors,'' filming the story of two Chicago kids -- one Jewish, one Catholic -- trying to make sense of their religions during the summer of '76. Though Miramax budgeted the film at $1 million, Jones and producers Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Chris Moore pushed for more -- and got another $500,000. Jones says that at Sundance, studio co-chief Harvey Weinstein told him, '''I can't believe you were a baby on the million dollars I gave you!' And he put his arm around me and said, 'Good job. That's what good directors do. They fight for everything.''' But would Quinn -- who plays a fireman dad -- fight to take part again? ''If it was a role as good as this,'' he says. ''And if they paid me for a change.''