Project Greenlight

This is the rare DVD whose supplemental features are of more interest than the actual movie--Stolen Summer, the first film produced by Project Greenlight, an Internet contest for aspiring filmmakers launched by Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and producer Chris Moore. The PG-rated film is the heartfelt stuff of ABC After School Specials, about a Catholic boy who tries to convert his Jewish friend in order to assure himself a place in heaven, but much more fascinating is how Stolen Summer got made, a process HBO chronicled, from the contest launch to the triumphant premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. This four-disc set contains the entire 12-episode miniseries, which offers a fascinating glimpse of the filmmaking process, in which a clearly overwhelmed director tries to preserve his vision amidst the incompetence, bad luck, creative differences and ego clashes that can plague a movie set. The series made a breakout star out of the volcanic tempered Moore, and a villain out of actor Aidan Quinn (he has subsequently called himself a victim of manipulative editing). Among the supplemental features are the video submissions of the top ten Project Greenlight finalists, as well as the winning entries for an "Imitate Chris Moore" contest, and a Project Redlight spoof starring Corey Haim and Corey Feldman. Recommended. (K. Lee Benson)