THE PLOT THUS FAR
“The Chair”, created by Project Greenlight executive producer Chris Moore. The competition documentary series follows two directors through the process of bringing their first feature to the screen. The up-and-coming directors, Shane Dawson and Anna Martemucci, are provided with an identical screenplay How Soon Is Now, which they must craft as their own film using the same budget and filming in the same city. The series documents the creation, marketing and theatrical release of both adaptations, which will also air on Starz.
WHAT WE THOUGHT
“The Chair” is a second attempt that capture the magic that was “Project Greenlight”. Affleck and Damon had better things to do this time, so the efforts fall onto Chris Moore. I like this show’s approach, but there’s only so much you can do for the subject matter. Setting up shots can be hard and there are always issues with location shooting. Is that enough to sustain a full season?
Reality TV involving filmmaking doesn’t happen that often. Mainly because it keeps getting called a documentary series, even though it’s depicting the real world creation process of low budget cinema. I appreciate getting to see the two feature films created from the show, as I missed them when their aired on Starz. Life happens sometimes, but you manage to find a way around it. Out of the two, I’ve got to say that Hollidaysburg worked more for me. However, there wasn’t much to set it apart from any generic R rated comedy in the market.
The DVD comes with both feature films as the special features. The A/V Quality is on par for most recent standard definition documentary releases. The transfer isn’t amazing, but it works. The same goes for the Dolby 5.1 audio track. In the end, I’d recommend a purchase to the curious.
RELEASE DATE: 02/17/2015