Stolen Summer

Starring:Aidan Quinn, Bonnie Hunt, Kevin Pollak, Brian Dennehy, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Lisa Dodson, Mike Weinberg, Adiel Stein, Peggy Roeder, Martin Hughes (II), Ryan Kelley, Lindsay Light, Will Malnati, Kristie Kelley, Etel Billig, John G. Connolly, John Sierros, Howard Friedland, Amara Balthrop-Lewis, Dana Lynne Gilhooley
Director: Pete Jones
Studio: Miramax
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
It's a great relief--and not just to the filmmakers--that Stolen Summer turned out so well. As winner of the first Project Greenlight contest, aspiring filmmaker Pete Jones was plucked from obscurity to direct his winning screenplay for this touching drama, in which young Catholic Pete O'Malley (Adi Stein) learns that there's more than one route to Heaven. During summer vacation 1976, this earnest second-grader learns from his fireman father (Aidan Quinn) that "Jews can't get into [Catholic] Heaven," and decides to earn his heavenly passage by attempting to convert the young son (Mike Weinberg) of a local rabbi (Kevin Pollak). Interfaith friendships develop, and the situation yields heartfelt humor in Jones's compassionate, tolerantly sentimental screenplay. Quinn, Pollak, and Bonnie Hunt (as Pete's mom) are exceptional in well-drawn roles, and for all his first-time jitters and penchant for pathos, Jones earns the opportunity that talent and good luck gave him: Stolen Summer is the kind of sweetly humanitarian film that Hollywood could use more of. --Jeff Shannon

Average customer rating:

Stolen Summer

Good movie to inspire people

Stolen Summer movie is a must see....

One of the best movies I've ever seen!

Family and Friends - we all need this

Stolen Summer
Starring: Aidan Quinn , Bonnie Hunt , Kevin Pollak , Brian Dennehy , and Eddie Kaye Thomas
Director: Pete Jones
Manufacturer: Miramax
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video
Dennehy, Brian | ( D ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Hunt, Bonnie | ( H ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Pollak, Kevin | ( P ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Quinn, Aidan | ( Q ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Roeder, Peggy | ( R ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
All Titles | Miramax Home Entertainment | Studio Specials | Stores | DVD | Video
Drama | Miramax Home Entertainment | Studio Specials | Stores | DVD | Video
DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B00006ADFQ
Release Date: 2002-09-24

Amazon.com

It's a great relief--and not just to the filmmakers--that Stolen Summer turned out so well. As winner of the first Project Greenlight contest, aspiring filmmaker Pete Jones was plucked from obscurity to direct his winning screenplay for this touching drama, in which young Catholic Pete O'Malley (Adi Stein) learns that there's more than one route to Heaven. During summer vacation 1976, this earnest second-grader learns from his fireman father (Aidan Quinn) that "Jews can't get into [Catholic] Heaven," and decides to earn his heavenly passage by attempting to convert the young son (Mike Weinberg) of a local rabbi (Kevin Pollak). Interfaith friendships develop, and the situation yields heartfelt humor in Jones's compassionate, tolerantly sentimental screenplay. Quinn, Pollak, and Bonnie Hunt (as Pete's mom) are exceptional in well-drawn roles, and for all his first-time jitters and penchant for pathos, Jones earns the opportunity that talent and good luck gave him: Stolen Summer is the kind of sweetly humanitarian film that Hollywood could use more of. --Jeff Shannon

Description

Here's the big screen motion picture that fan's of HBO's hit series PROJECT GREENLIGHT eagerly waited to see! From producers Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Chris Moore, STOLEN SUMMER is the touching story of a young Catholic boy, Peter O'Malley, who's on a quest to help a dying Jewish friend, Danny Jacobsen, get into heaven. On an unforgettable adventure marked by conflict and discovery, Pete and Danny will together learn the true meaning of hope and friendship! With Aidan Quinn (LEGENDS OF THE FALL) and Kevin Pollak (THE USUAL SUSPECTS) portraying the families' patriarchs, this critically acclaimed feature also stars Brian Dennehy (TOMMY BOY), Bonnie Hunt (THE GREEN MILE), and Eddie Kaye Thomas (AMERICAN PIE 1 & 2) in an outstanding all-star cast!

Customer Reviews:

Stolen Summer.......2007-05-26

This film is a fresh, delightfully touching film. I first rented it and liked it so much I had to buy it for my own and then even bought another one to share with friends. The caring friendship the two boys have between them is priceless. Well acted and well directed.

Good movie to inspire people.......2007-05-07

This is a good movie. I was surprised to find out that not many people have watched this movie. This movie is "the must see".

Stolen Summer movie is a must see...........2007-03-16

This is an excellent family movie. Although death is part of the story, it is done in a way young children could also view.
Wonderful example of diversity from a religious perspective.

One of the best movies I've ever seen!.......2006-11-11

I happened to run across this movie on cable one day, and I just loved it! Having attended Catholic elementary school in the 70's, I could totally relate to what Pete was going through, and it made me smile to remember. It is a very cute and touching story.

Family and Friends - we all need this.......2006-06-14

This is an outstanding drama, everyday life with a family of
the Catholic- religion -coming in contact with a jewish family.
Catholic and Jewish 2 familes and how they intertwine because of
their young sons. It is happy,sad,full of emotion,love and
admiration and most important FRIENDSHIP.
A FAMILY MOVIE FOR ALL TO SEE

Project Greenlight (Complete Series Plus Film Stolen Summer)

Average customer rating:

One of most offensive movies ever made
Great for Movie Business Enthusiasts/Aspiring Directors
Project Greenlight 1
Great Behind the Scenes Look at the Movie Biz
All that, a bag of chips and MOORE!!!

Project Greenlight (Complete Series Plus Film Stolen Summer)
Starring: Christina Varotsis , Joseph Middleton , Brian Dennehy , Kent Kubena , and Jonathan Gordon
Director: Pete Jones
Manufacturer: Miramax Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

Documentary | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( P ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B00006AFEP
Release Date: 2002-09-24

Amazon.com

For all of its controversial manipulations of reality, Project Greenlight offers a revealing, pragmatic look at the pressure cooker of film production. Originally broadcast during the HBO 2001 to 2002 season, this 12- part series chronicles the premiere contest--conceived by coproducers Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Chris Moore--that resulted in 30-year-old Pete Jones being plucked from obscurity, out of 10,000 contestants, to direct his winning screenplay, Stolen Summer, as a professionally crewed feature film distributed by Miramax Films (included in this set; see separate review). The series gained notoriety for emphasizing the negative (backstabbing, budgetary battles, onset crises, etc.), but it's also a definitive nuts-and-bolts exposé of the filmmaking process--stripped of glamour, emotionally intense, and daunting to anyone without a steel-plated constitution.

Key personnel emerge as admirably tenacious in their given roles, from the commanding presence of Chris Moore; the frictional yet ultimately cooperative dynamic between executive producer Pat Peach and coproducer Jeff Balis; the rally-the-troops efficiency of 1st Assistant Director Bruce Terris; and many other crucial crew members. Through it all, Jones shows his inexperience but rises to the occasion, earning the respect of those who could easily have dismissed him as a lucky amateur. The series' editorial weaknesses are readily apparent, and the postproduction process (especially the creation of a musical score) is woefully underrepresented, but Project Greenlight is a riveting and altogether encouraging primer for anyone who shares Pete Jones's dream. --Jeff Shannon

Description

Miramax Home Entertainment's Project Greenlight is a 4-Disc collector's series that includes the 12-part HBO hit documentary series, the unveiling of the movie Stolen Summer and more than 6-hours of bonus materials. Project Greenlight began as an Internet competition (staged by Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Chris Moore) held to find a script to produce. Out of more than 10,000 entries, former insurance salesman Pete Jones was selected. Jones not only got to direct the film, but was also given a $1 million budget from Miramax Films and a guaranteed theatrical release. The series chronicled how Jones, a first-time director, had to manage the difficulties involved in making his movie.

Customer Reviews:

One of most offensive movies ever made.......2007-03-16

This was an amateur film competition which produced one of the most offensive films ever made. Let's go over the list.
Ben Affleck, a Catholic from Boston. Pete Jones, a Catholic from Chicago, whose older brother is a Catholic priest working in Catholic-Jewish relations for the Vatican.
What's the subject of Pete's script?
A young Catholic boy decides he has to help a non-Catholic get into heaven, so he announces a plan to go to a synagogue, find a poor Jewish boy who isn't going to heaven, and allow him the good fortune of converting to Catholicism.
That's a great plan - if you're Catholic and don't understand much outside of your own narrow framework of the universe.
If you're Jewish... all you want to do is pretend this film never happened.

Great for Movie Business Enthusiasts/Aspiring Directors.......2006-01-16

This is a worthy series for aspiring movie directors/screenwriters, it shows the in and outs of the business and how much sway some have (Affleck, Damon) and others do not (all involved w/o recognizable faces). It is a crude business and I suppose you have to be crude to play the game, but I found myself often peeved at the winner, Pete, because he was so instantly cocky and self-assured, and maybe he did have to fight to make his "vision" (which ultimately bombed), and I'm thrilled that they would even give the opportunity to someone, but in the end, I wished it wasn't this gentleman who had won such an amazing opportunity.

Project Greenlight 1.......2005-07-24

I saw season two before I saw this one.The movie "Stolen Summer" is actually a superior film to that of "The Battle of Shaker Heights",but the reality series detailing the filmmaking process is strangely lacking.I still would recommend this dvd package for any aspiring filmmakers who want to understand the process of filmmaking, I just thought the second season made better viewing.

Great Behind the Scenes Look at the Movie Biz.......2005-02-26

I think almost anyone would enjoy these DVDs. There is plenty to enjoy in this huge 4 disc set. The episodes are exciting and well edited and leave you wanting them to bring on the next episode. I had not seen any of season 1, but I did see a few episodes of season 2 and hated the directors. The writer/director in this first season was good. The movie was good and the behind the scenes drama was a good time for anyone.

I got these DVDs less than a week ago and someone has already borrowed one of the DVDs. The show is addictive if you have not seen it. It is just a shame that the movie made in season 1 barely made over $100k. Makes you wonder how Miramax can pony up the $1.5 mil for the season 1 movie and the 1.0 mil for the season two movie (which barely made 240k). Season 3 is coming soon on Bravo, so I guess that are making profit somewhere. I suppose DVD sells and the HBO deal made it profitable.

Anyway, definitely think about getting the set slightly used and save a few bucks and enjoy Project Greenlight's best season in my opinion.

All that, a bag of chips and MOORE!!!.......2003-07-21

I must begin by saying that I am addicted to Project Greenlight. I, too, am an aspiring writer and find PGL inspiring. I loved this DVD set.
First, Stolen Summer. It may not win the academy award but it won my heart. Pete Jones tells a story that is so human and so touching with moments of humor as well as sadness. It just felt natural and I think that is why I enjoyed it so much. The little boy who plays the lead role was just amazing, especially being he first time out. I would reccommend this movie to anyone who wants to be entertained and touched.
Second, Project Greenlight, the series. WOW. I was unable to see all of the episodes while it ran last year so you can imagine my elation to find it all together in a DVD set. The whole process fascinates me and I just love Jeff Balis ( I love Balis more season 2) and Chris Moore.
Third, Pete Jones. He was terrific. Yes, he was rough around the edges but heck he had never done anything remotely like this before. I think his rapport with the younger actors is a gift and part of what will eventually make him a great director. The more opportunities Pete is given the better he will hone his craft, I am a fan and wish him all the luck.
Lastly, The Chris Moore Challange was great, Project Redlight was even better. Project Redlight was terrific in that it poked fun at everyone and the whole process and how wonderful is it that people are able to laugh at themselves in such a "self involved" industry!!!

If you are a fan of PGL, buy this, you will love it.

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