Female directors given chance to shine on ‘Project Greenlight’
From Issa Rae’s perspective, there are plenty of talented female filmmakers willing to work. However, she knows most haven’t been afforded the same support as their male counterparts.
Rae felt compelled to create a supportive platform for aspiring women directors through the reboot series “Project Greenlight: A New Generation,” which premiered recently on Max.
She brought back the
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon series that debuted in 2001 on HBO about unproven filmmakers directing a feature-length movie. It was canceled 14 years later after a controversial fourth season, which included a heated discussion between Damon and producer Effie Brown over diversity.
This time, Rae puts a spotlight on the next generation of women who are tasked to direct a fulllength film too.
“The series shows that there are a lot of women out there who are interested. With proper resources and given a chance, they can absolutely deliver,” Rae said in interview held before the actor’s strike.
She serves as a mentor in the series alongside actor Kumail Nanjiani and director Gina Prince-Bythewood.
Rae witnessed Greta Gerwig direct the big budget “Barbie” film. Gerwig shattered the first weekend records for a film directed by a woman. Rae, the “Insecure” co-creator, appeared as President Barbie in the movie.
“I saw it even while promoting ‘Barbie,’ ” Rae said. “I’m working with a director who’s one of six to get a $100 million
budget. Six women. It’s an industrywide issue where there are limitations for the opportunities that women get. I think this series shines a light on a very small area that needs improvement.”
Rae said the idea to revive the series was originally presented to her by Montrel McKay, who is featured in the show and serves as the president of development & production at her Hoorae Media production company.
Rae and company filtered through 10 finalists before selecting Meko Winbush, a writer-director who mostly had experience making trailers and short films. The 10-episode series pulls back the curtain on the entire filmmaking process that shows the challenges each team faces while guiding Winbush, a Black woman, into making a successful film project.
Prince-Bythewood said it was important for the series to specifically highlight female directors, who weren’t hardly featured
— if at all — in the original series.
“I used to love the show. I used to watch every season. And there was such a normalcy to the winners always being ‘white men.’ I don’t even remember a
person of color even being in the running. I don’t remember a woman,” she said. “I didn’t even question it back then, which is crazy. Being a part of it now, this reboot is way more reflective of what the industry is and needs to be.”
Throughout the process, Winbush was under constant pressure and struggled at times to execute her vision. She had less than 20 days to direct the science fiction thriller called “Gray Matter.”
The cameras rolled from pre-production along with casting through principal photography and postproduction.
“Women aren’t given a chance to direct genre movies,” said Rae. “In hindsight, it’s ambitious to try to make a genre movie in 18 days with a very limited budget. But I give props to Meko for doing just that. This is a hard experience to do with a camera in your face. She did it and handled it with grace and was enthusiastic about the process.”
Regardless of how Winbush’s film panned out, Rae said the process was beneficial. She has hopes for a second season to introduce more female directors, including some of color.