Affleck searches for 'Greenlight' home

Have the brakes been put on "Project Greenlight" for good?

That may be the case, which upsets executive producer Ben Affleck, who confirms that HBO has pulled the plug on the popular show that provides a boost to young filmmakers and gives viewers a behind-the- screams idea of how movies are made.

Why not go for a third season? "It's an interesting story," Affleck tells GLARE. "The real deciding factor is that Chris Moore [another exec producer and series star] didn't want to do the show anymore."

Recall that Moore would be brought in to set the young filmmakers straight when they messed up. Sometimes he did that in a very strong way.

"Chris didn't want to be the Simon Cowell of [the show]. He didn't want to be a TV villain," Affleck says. "It got nasty. People would come up and say unpleasant things to him and he hated it. He hated being in front of the camera."

Affleck says that HBO "was afraid to go forward without Chris because they felt it would hurt the story. HBO also thought that if Chris left then they'd have a harder time getting Matt or I to participate -- which is totally not true. I called HBO and said that Matt and I were still in. I told them very plainly, 'We understand Chris' decision, but we're still in.' "

And now? HBO is still out and so is Moore. "I understand Chris' decision. He wants to go back to producing movies. God bless Chris. But I still want to keep Greenlight going. It's a great show," Affleck says.

Affleck's currently in negotiations with the Bravo network for a new "Greenlight" season. "We're also trying to see if we can get some extra sponsorship money to augment the Bravo money." He's even thinking of cutting costs. "We always had a lot of camera crews around all the time for 'Greenlight.' If we reduce the number, we reduce the cost. But we're also afraid if we shoot less, then we won't get the great stuff. With a documentary, you've got to be everywhere just to see what you get."

Will he get a green light for another "Greenlight"?

Stay tuned.

Big Picture News, Inc.