Media Releases

Paul McDermott signs on for Project Greenlight's $1million filmmaking contest   Author: Movie Network | Jul 21, 2006, 12:22

MOVIE EXTRA today announced that the multi-talented Paul McDermott will host its revamped filmmaking competition television series, Project Greenlight.

Paul, best known for programs such as Good News Week and Strictly Dancing, will supervise the battle between 8 emerging filmmakers, who will fight it out in the exciting new interactive series to see who has the talent to win $1million film funding prize.

In each episode, the Project Greenlight finalists will be asked to prove their “movie-making” abilities by producing short films - under tight deadlines and the pressure of being judged against their peers. At the same time they will continue to polish and refine their feature film scripts. Viewers at home, as well as celebrity guest judges and industry experts, will then all have a say in who is selected as the ultimate winner.

"Project Greenlight is a wonderful initiative by MOVIE EXTRA. It gives first time filmmakers a unique opportunity to side step the usual drawn out process of getting a feature film funded and in production.” said Paul.

Paul has experienced first hand the challenges involved in filmmaking. The actor-comic recently made his directorial debut, with the short film, The Scree, at the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival and then opened the Brisbane International Film Festival.

Chris Berry, Project Greenlight’s Executive Producer said "We're really excited to have Paul onboard. His experience in hosting live television will obviously bring enormous energy to the series. In addition to that, Paul's own filmmaking experience will bring tremendous credibility to his hosting role. Paul knows from the inside just how tough the film industry is so he will be able to relay on his own experiences to the contestants as well as to the viewers at home. “

MOVIE EXTRA and Screentime producers are currently in the process of reading scripts submitted by over 700 hopeful filmmakers. The Top 100 feature film script entries were announced on the MOVIE EXTRA website www.movieextra.com.au on Monday 17th July. Expert script assessors are now evaluating who should make it to the Top 50.

Last year’s winning feature film, SOLO, is currently screening nationally and has garnered much critical and audience acclaim. SOLO is eligible for this year’s AFI Awards.

Project Greenlight, which is part of the Ben Affleck and Matt Damon “unearthing movie-making talent” franchise, begins on MOVIE EXTRA on 14th September at 8:30pm EST.

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