Matt and Ben Want to Make Your Movie

Sept. 25, 2000 -- The story of how Wunderkinder Matt Damon and Ben Affleck wrote their own Oscar-winning ticket by penning the Good Will Hunting script is already a Hollywood legend.

Now these golden lads want to extend a helping hand to other up-and-comers by executive-producing one lucky dog’s screenplay. Just submit that script you have burning a hole in your briefcase to Matt and Ben’s Greenlight contest, which kicks off today at www.projectgreenlight.com.

“We know how tough it is to get your foot in the door,”said the Oscared duo in a press release. “We want to be able to help an unknown writer out there make their movie — and at the same time, create an online community for everyone who loves films and filmmaking.”

The winner not only gets his or her screenplay produced by Matt and Ben, but also gets to direct the flick. The glossy-magazine cover boys are mounting the Web-based contest in conjunction with Miramax Films & TV and HBO. The studio will pony up $1 million and the cable network will run a 13-episode, documentary-style TV series about the making of the movie.

[Like Mr. Showbiz, Miramax is owned by the Walt Disney Co.]

The online community, or “tribe”if you’re still stuck in Survivor-think, will consist of the other contestants and anyone else who registers with the site — so even if you can’t write your way out of a paper bag, you can still give a virtual thumbs up or thumbs down to the would-be filmmakers.

Contestants have until Oct. 22 to submit their screenplays. The winner will be announced March 1, 2001. The HBO “making of”series is set to air in January 2002; it will start off with the winner being chosen and follow the filmmaking process up to opening night of the film, tracing “the incredible ups and downs of a first-time director”throughout production.

Yeah, but do you get to party with Matt and Ben afterward?