HBO Bringing Back Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's 'Project Greenlight'

Around the time reality TV was just starting to take over, HBO launched one of its own in Project Greenlight. The show was produced by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, and it took audiences behind the scenes of a feature film's production. The competition aspect was to find a first-time director and writer to spearhead the film all the way to completion. It was a fascinating show for its three-season run, and now after more than a decade away HBO is bringing it back.

THR reports that Project Greenlight has been revived, although there aren't any specifics as to when it will debut. Affleck and Damon, who will return as exec-producers, had this to say...

Affleck: “Project Greenlight was ahead of its time. Now that technology has caught up to the concept, we thought it was a perfect time to bring it back. A whole new generation of filmmakers has grown up sharing everything, and the next big director could be just an upload away. It is really great having Project Greenlight back at HBO.”

Damon: “Project Greenlight works — careers have been launched and sustained as a direct result of this contest. Pete Jones, John Gulager, Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan are just a few of the PGL alums who’ve gone on to do great things in Hollywood, and Ben and I are really proud of that. 

Jones was the first season winner with his film, Stolen Summer, and Jones' battles with oft-angry producer Chris Moore gave the show most of its spark. Unfortunately there's nothing in this news about Moore and if he'll be a part of this new version of Project Greenlight.

Shia LaBeouf's first feature lead role was in the second season film, The Battle of Shaker Heights, which co-starred Amy Smart. I remember racing off to the one theater in DC that was showing it and walking out thinking it was the worst movie ever. It's still pretty horrible.

The low budget horror Feast was arguably the show's most successful film. Not only did it launch an entire trilogy of creature features, but it sparked the careers of director John Gulager (Piranha 3DD), and writers Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton, known for the Saw movies.