While HBO is not moving forward with the docu-reality series about filmmaking, Damon is hopeful the show will find a new home.
Project Greenlight has been given the pink slip.
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s docu-reality series about first-time filmmakers directing a feature-length movie was canceled on Tuesday. The news comes ahead of Damon’s return to the Bourne film franchise with Jason Bourne debuting in theaters on Friday, July 29.
“When we picked up a new season in 2014, we imagined a one season revival and decided in early 2016 another season did not make sense for us,” HBO confirmed to ET. “We are proud of the show and were pleased with its run throughout the years.”
Project Greenlight, which ran for four seasons, first debuted on HBO in 2002. After two seasons, the series moved to Bravo. After a decade, HBO revived the series, bringing back Damon and Affleck as executive producers and mentors to Jason Mann, who was chosen to direct a film for the network.
Season four proved to be controversial, when Damon and producer Effie Brown disagreed over the issue of diversity early on the show. When Brown lobbied for more diversity behind the camera, Damon cut her off, saying that's “what you do in the casting of the movie, not the casting of the show.”
The Oscar-winning actor later clarified his remarks in an interview with The New York Times, explaining that “the idea that I would say that there didn't need to be diversity behind the camera, it's not only complete anathema to what I believe in my heart and always have, but it's not something that I think anybody would ever say with a camera on.”
Despite the controversy, Damon is still committed to the series and hopeful it’ll find a new home. “I really liked it and thought that the show went great,” he told the Associated Press, revealing that they’ll shop it around to streaming networks like Amazon and Netflix. “There are places where I think we could do really well.”
RELATED CONTENT:
