PROJECT FINAL CUT: An interview with Stolen Summer director Pete Jones By Warren Curry 3/21/02 Part 2 of 2

What about your depiction in the documentary series? It wasn't particularly flattering of a lot of people. Did you feel that you had to pay a certain price to get anything accomplished in this world?

PJ: It was funny -- when I was at Sundance, and I'm not trying to name drop here, but one of the heads of Blockbuster said, "We hear you're not exactly happy with the show. We'd love to have you edit a version of it and put it on DVD." Well, you know, the version I edit would be so far from the truth compared to what they did. They had a tough time. What the documentary does really well is it shows how tough it is to make a movie, how many opinions are out there and how hard it is to stay focused on making a movie. Unfortunately, I think they inverted the failure to success ratio. I think the reason they did it is because it makes for really good TV. I remember sitting there -- they had given me the tapes before it aired on HBO -- and I'm watching it and one part of me is thinking, "This is great, interesting TV." The other side of me is saying, "I'm getting my butt kicked." It's not exactly the way it happened. Things are taken out of context, obviously. Making a movie is a lot of fun and it's rewarding, but it's also boring. If you've been on a set before then you know it's 4-hour setups and you're sitting around trying to stay interested. That doesn't make for good TV. The backstabbing and all that stuff makes for really good TV. Directing a movie is as much managing personalities as it is staying focused to a vision. It's a lot like any other job; I was shocked that the office politics of the insurance world are pretty similar to the office politics of movies. They capitalized on that, and I wish they would've shown the people I worked with the way I saw them -- as hard-working, opinionated, passionate people trying to do their best job.

What about the marketing? Obviously the marketing is accentuating the material on the series, but the movie is a gentle, family-oriented film.

PJ: When it comes to marketing, who am I to tell Miramax how to market something? That's they're idea. That's what they think is going to get the most people in to see the movie. In a perfect world the movie could stand on its own and just be its own, but I'm realistic too. People are going to be showing up to this movie because of the HBO series.

But do you worry at the same time about people who didn't watch the HBO show? The poster makes it look like a gritty, hard-edged movie. There are probably millions of people out there who've never heard of Project Greenlight.

PJ: Unfortunately, when it comes to marketing a movie, it's about trying to maximize profit. What they're looking at is that they want to get the people who've watched the TV show into the movie, and hopefully word-of-mouth or reviews will get everyone else. So, that's what they're going for. I don't think marketing a movie is about the quality of the movie. It's about trying to get people off their ass to go see a movie. There is a clear distinction between marketing and the product itself. Like we talked about earlier, it's a story about kids and religion, and people aren't clamoring for that.

Do you feel that the movie has more resonance post 9/11?

PJ: Yeah, I think people are searching for a little more meaning in their lives, and I think 9/11 really has something to do with that. The movie was written and filmed before that. I think first and foremost you have to be entertaining. You don't want to be this "message" movie, but if people take away a message about tolerance that's not a bad thing.

Do you fear a backlash to the film because of Project Greenlight? There are probably a lot of people, namely other aspiring writers and directors, who think that you're just a manufactured filmmaker as opposed to an organic talent.

PJ: That was my fear, which I stated on the TV show. A fear of being just a manufactured "boy band creation." That's not what this is about for me. There's some fame you get from it and people recognize me, but that's not what I was in it for. I was in it for writing and directing; really writing and I got the opportunity to direct. Hopefully, when all this stuff fades away, that's what I'll still be able to do.

How did you go about your research and making the film so real?

PJ: Well, that's why I didn't want to make this movie a "religious movie." It's a religious movie by the way I look at it -- my version of religion growing up as a kid. My oldest brother is a priest, so I sent it his way and he sent me notes. I asked him and I asked my parish priest. The other end was what I was most nervous about. I'm fascinated by the Jewish side, but I don't know what really makes up Judaism. I interviewed 3 Rabbis, including Adi Stein's (who plays Pete in the film) father. I hired the actor and got the Rabbi for free, which was nice. Everyone talks about the differences between the two religions, but I'm fascinated by the similarities.

Did you do have anything to do with the casting?

PJ: I had everything to do with the casting. Miramax gave me the opportunity, which is a rare opportunity and probably untrue of most Hollywood movies, to cast without box office mattering. I wasn't grabbing actors because the studio said, "You have to have this actor, because this actor means X amount of money." They told me to find the best actors that would say yes.

Talk more about the doors that have been opened for you. Do you have a development deal somewhere?

PJ: When I say that I signed a 3-picture deal with Miramax, with this counting as one of them, it sounds a lot cooler than it is. What it comes down to is that the next script I write, Miramax has first look at it. I'm about halfway through it.

Can you tell us anything about it?

PJ: It's again a story from Chicago about a group of 4 buddies, who have been friends their whole lives. They're in their mid to late 20's, and at that point in their life where they're trying to figure out if there's something tangible about being an adult. Is there a moment when you go from being high school buddies or college buddies to being an adult? Each of the four has different views about what makes the person an adult. It sounds serious, but in tone it's more like Diner. I'm going to fall short of Diner, because that's one of the best movies ever.

If you had your choice would you work with the documentary process again?

PJ: If I had my choice to do it again for a second time? No! (laughs) It was the opportunity I was given, and for me to bitch about it is -- it was the greatest opportunity I've ever been given. I would love to be able to write and direct a movie without it. I'm thankful for that opportunity, but I hope to be able to do things without the camera catching every mistake. I'm still going to make the mistakes, but it's just not as much fun having it on Sunday nights where everyone in the world can rip on me.

Click on for an Interview with Stolen Summer star Bonnie Hunt

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