Lee: Well, you learn from your mistakes; I
think they realized that communication is
key from the get-go. It seemed like they
didn’t consider themselves as directors
from the start – more so like they were
waiting for the studio and producers to
tell them what to do. Chris Moore said
something like that – Kyle and Efram
didn’t realize how much authority they
held.Stephen: Yeah I know.
Lee: And then Efram asks for a car...
Stephen: Yeah, classic Efram.
Lee: Despite being showcased as an
idiot occasionally, I thought he was kind
of funny.
Stephen: See those were the things that
got to me in the early episodes, with
those directors.
Lee: I think one of the mistakes made
in season 1 was showing Jeff Balis as the
guy who never knew what was going on.
Whenever he was on-screen, he'd usually be
getting yelled at for not doing things
right as co-producer. It made it seem like
anybody could be producer. This time
around, they showed the knowledgeable
Balis.
Stephen: Balis was one of my favorite
people this season – he and Moore.
Lee: Balis isn't as down to earth as
Moore, but he has signs of greatness – he
did in fact persuade over Moore near the
end of this season, saving the movie.
Stephen: They weren't shown as jerks as
they were in the first season. PGL seemed
kind of anti-studio last season because of
those types of things, and Miramax's dark
hand always swooping in. This season it
seems more collaborative between the film
and Miramax; there was more communication,
and seemingly more interest.
Lee: I think Season 1 in general
showcased too much of the negative
shooting aspects, and then when the movie
was released, everyone had a very iffy
look on the flick, which is why barely
anyone saw it. Now with Shaker, they gave
more of a universal spin to the season, at
least in what we were shown.
Stephen: Then again, "Stolen Summer"
was a much more restricting film in
general.
Lee: And with Shaker Heights' $10,000
per-screen average opening weekend, I
think it worked compared to the $4,500
average of Stolen Summer. I saw Shaker
Heights with probably three times the
amount of people that were at Stolen
Summer, and Summer was also in its first
weekend.
Stephen: Plus, you had Shia in "Shaker"
as opposed to the two weak child actors
from "Stolen."
Lee: Stolen Summer wasn't very
marketable to young viewers. In the
pre-production stages one of the Miramax
executives even asked, "What's the
audience for this movie?" and Affleck
replied, "People with a heart."
Stephen: August has been an incredibly
boring, dry, and lifeless month this year.
Its biggest hit ("S.W.A.T.") was all of
those things. Then comes along "The Battle
of Shaker Heights" halfway through the
month, and it may capture interest.
Lee: Stolen Summer was actually quite a
mixed bag of a marketing product, because
you're not going after a set group of
people. I myself don't even know who it
was aimed for. Shaker is more of like a 16
– 30 crowd – it’s more defined.
Stephen: True. Sadly, Miramax wasn't
bold enough to open it in wide release --
leaving me cold, outside a major city --
because it could have earned my $8.
Lee: I don't know, I'm not sure how
successful it would've done in wide
release at first. As popular as the show
is, I'm not so sure a lot of people would
show up. If it was wide, it might've
averaged the same as Stolen Summer, if
that.
Stephen: Maybe, but Shaker seems to be
like a film that can capture good word of
mouth.
Lee: Not everyone knows what Project
Greenlight is. I had to explain it to the
friend I was with.
Stephen: Yeah, but still, it has mass
appeal. Maybe not "mass" appeal, but more
than what the release gives it.
Lee: Shaker is more of a crowd pleaser.
There was one sequence that almost got the
crowd clapping; they seemed to really
enjoy it - a lot of "that was pretty good"
comments afterwards.
Stephen: Understandable. And without
that three-way hug...
Lee: Yeah some of the scenes were gone.
Strategically, though, they improved the
season. Not just with the season ending
with the movie release, but they showed
more of the process - like with casting
and test screenings, which for the latter,
a lot of people aren't aware of it.
Stephen: However much I want to make
the analogy, no one really knew what "My
Big Fat Greek Wedding" was before it grew
an audience.
Lee: They pulled a daring move for
Shaker in revealing the test screening on
the show, since the movie scored average
at first before going back to editing it, but it's
at least informing people to how much
stress there is before the movie is
released. With Stolen Summer, they just
showed the Sundance footage.
Stephen: "The Battle of Shaker Heights"
already has PGL fans and other film
enthusiasts' interest, and if it's good
enough, the film could succeed; I know I'd
take a group of friends to see it. "Shaker" may not be the usual
teenage movie, but there have been films
that succeed being coming-of-age dramedies.
Lee: The audience at my screening in general looked
sort of PGL-ish.
Stephen: How's that? The people that
were in that theater most likely were in
your boat. Not everyone was dying to see
how "The Battle of Shaker Heights" turned
out; most people may still be waiting for
their friend to rave about it until they
go to the theater to see it.
Lee: Well, usually with audiences that
are in tune to who the filmmakers are, the
enthusiasm in the room can be a little
stronger than just the norm crowd just
there for a movie. It seemed like people
were responding to the movie partly
because they knew of the show – it was
more personal.
Stephen: Yeah, but as I said, the
people that rushed to see "Shaker" most
likely were PGL fans, and with continued
recommendations from moviegoers, others
may soon follow in stride.
Project Greenlight 2 Chat Continued
>>