Aspiring screenwriter wins contest, will direct own work

Actor Ben Affleck, right, and Project Greenlight contest winner, Pete Jones, unwind after the big announcement

In this story: Real place, real people 'Go out there and do it' RELATED STORIES, SITES

By Sherri Sylvester CNN Showbiz Today Correspondent

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Until March 1, Pete Jones was like countless other aspiring screenwriters in Los Angeles. He was working as a production assistant in the film industry, writing scripts after hours, trying to make ends meet for his family.

But one recent day, everything changed.

"Stolen Summer," Jones' screenplay, was selected from more than 7,000 works as the winner of Project Greenlight, a "Rocky" style contest for writers. It was created by actors Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, their producing partner Chris Moore and Miramax Films, as a way of finding and promoting unknown talent.

Jones will be given a $1 million budget to direct his script as well as become the subject of a documentary on the making of his film. The documentary will air on HBO, a division of AOL Time Warner, parent company of CNN.

Jones' reaction? Exhilaration, tinged with fear.

"When they told me I had won, I was spent emotionally, and right away I thought, 'You know what? I've got to get out there and make a great movie because ... so many people have put their faith in me,' " he said. "I've got to make a great movie and prove to them that I was the right choice, and I hope I do."

Real place, real people

If his script is any indication, Jones is no stranger to faith. "Stolen Summer" is about a young boy's determination to discover the meaning of life through conversations with a variety of people, including a friendly priest.

Each of the contest's 10 finalists was told to make a three-minute film of a favorite scene, and Jones chose a dialogue between the boy and the priest.

Jones chose well, said Affleck.

"The thing that kept bringing us back to Pete's movie is that it was a story about real people. It (also) had a very specific locale; Chicago is to this movie what Boston was to 'Good Will Hunting,'" said Affleck, referring to the 1997 film that he and Damon co-wrote. "It was enormously heartfelt and, ultimately, nobody could deny being moved by his story."

Jones ran a professional gantlet in getting the nod. The initial 7,300 submissions were winnowed to 250, then 30, then 10 and finally three, with contestants at each level reading other scripts and rating them. Affleck and fellow organizers began judging when 30 scripts were left.

Among other finalists were "Avenue A," a comedy/drama about Manhattan friends by New York ad copywriter Rob Pearlstein; "The Upgrade," a crime drama about two security guards by Virginia corporate compliance operator Matt Burch; and "Speakeasy," a whimsical tale about a magician by Atlanta, Georgia, Web designer Brendan Murphy.

Jones emerged the winner after a marathon, seven-hour session, said Affleck.

"We liked everybody's stuff so much, and it was just very difficult (to make a decision)," he said. "We thought the process of making this movie was going to be so tough that we wanted to put each of these contestants through the wringer a little bit to see whether they were up to ... all these various filmmaking questions."

"It was absolutely crazy," Jones agreed. "They kept asking us all these questions, (and) I was trying to figure out who I have to convince here to make my movie. There's a fine line between staying true to what you wrote and being flexible."

'Go out there and do it'

Jones was inspired to enter the film business after seeing Edward Burns' "The Brothers McMullen" (1995), an independent film Burns wrote, directed and starred in.

"I came out and looked at my wife and said, "That guy did what I want to do,'" the former salesman recalled. "She looked at me and said, 'Stop talking about what you want to do and get some (guts) and go out there and do it.'"

The couple moved to Los Angeles, where, in Jones' words, "I got beat up pretty good. There were days when I was hoping my old boss would call and ask me to come back to Chicago."

Instead, he found himself being welcomed to the set of the "Tonight Show with Jay Leno" as the winner of an extremely close-fought contest.

The hard times aren't over, Affleck cautioned. "Ultimately it's hard (to make a movie), especially with a low budget," said Affleck. "He's not going to see his wife and kid or be able to sleep."

But, Affeck added, "I think he'll do well. He already has the common- sense wisdom and the right instincts to do a good job."

"Stolen Summer" is set to start shooting later this year with a planned 2002 release.

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