Jason Mann reflects on ‘Project Greenlight’
Since returning to television after a 10-year hiatus, HBO’s “Project Greenlight” has created quite a stir, certainly far more than it ever did when Ben Affleck and Matt Damon created it in 2001.
In its fourth season, the show has focused on the conflicts between producer Effie Brown and director Jason Mann, in the process sparking conversations about the way race, gender and class differences play out in the workplace. Through seven episodes of the show, Mann has come across as entitled and even petulant.
“People don’t seem to recognize when they’re watching the show that what we’re trying to do in the making of the movie is make something for an audience and it has nothing to do with what I want for me personally. I’m trying to create something for an audience and really, the only barometer I have is my own personal taste,” Mann said. “I’m trying to make a movie that, if I had nothing to do with it, I would appreciate the choices that were made. That’s such a frustrating thing to see that people feel like that.”
Mann, 30, spoke to The Washington Post by phone about “Project Greenlight” and the making of “The Leisure Class,” his movie that airs at 9 p.m. Monday on HBO.
Q: Have you been watching “Project Greenlight” week to week?
A: I have been watching, mainly because if I didn’t actually see the final cuts and someone were to ask me a question about it, I would be somewhat confused because what becomes the story on the show is very different from what really happened. So it would be confusing to hear someone ask a question about something and I would be like, “What are you talking about?”
Q: Have you been paying attention to what people have been saying about the show online?
A: Not enormously with that. I’ve sort of peripherally seen things and heard about things. Obviously it created some kind of buzz, especially that first episode. It seems like it caused this whole thing. It’s so strange, especially for Matt, who is the kindest person and most inclusive person imaginable I would think to be thrown into the mix of someone who’s getting painted, I think, unfairly in this sort of debacle.
Q: Are you happy with the finished product?
A: I am very happy with the movie. I can’t wait for this very strange and idiosyncratic thing we created to be unleashed on people.
... I’m sure it’s going to be extremely polarizing. It’s not a movie for your grandmother. It’s a movie that’s willing to go places a traditional movie might not necessarily.
This story was originally published October 30, 2015 at 10:20 AM with the headline "Jason Mann reflects on ‘Project Greenlight’."