Greenlit (2010) Reviews

• Greening Hollywood

  Winston122011-09-29

  In an ever-present debate regarding the impact humans have on the environment; 'Greenlit' puts the previously overlooked film industry under an eco-friendly microscope. Director Miranda Bailey sets forth on a journey to turn a film production into a green, environmentally friendly operation, attempting to answer the question of what it means to be "green" on a film set and if it a feasible goal for Hollywood to trade in the old ways for the new. Bailey is a quirky, entertaining host who guides the documentary through a crew who is less-than-enthusiastic about the additional steps it requires to stay environmentally friendly in the eyes of the eco-warrior Lauren Selman, the sets environmental consultant. Facing internal sabotage and self-doubt, Selman and Bailey make a valiant effort to create a more aware crew and confront the looming low-budget woes which cause film crews to disregard their environment impact. The documentary sheds light on an issue previously not discussed and uses interviews with cast, crew and members of the community to illustrate an inconvenient truth; it's not easy being green. The film is thoughtful, unique and a must-see for any filmmakers attempting to minimize their carbon footprint.

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• Greenlit Review

  zfox21122014-10-15

  Greenlit subverts the eco-documentary by venturing into new territory: the film industry. Ever since An Inconvenient Truth, most films under the eco-documentary umbrella have focused on the devastating, yet broad focus of global warming and how we as humans are accelerating that devastation through our day-to-day lives. Greenlit is a microcosm of the genre, narrowing its gaze upon the environmental threat posed by the film and television business, far and away an unusual suspect when it comes to eco-docs. Greenlit centers on the "green production" of an independent film, and the benefits and challenges that accompany this mode of production. Through the viewpoints of the cast and crew, a number of diversified opinions are delivered on the practicality, viability, and likelihood that Hollywood would adopt "green productions" as an industry standard. Altogether, the differing perspectives, as well as the insightful footage taken from the film set make for an objective analysis of the environmental impact of what is an otherwise overlooked institution of the contemporary environmental debate.

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• A Fun and Insightful Look at the Environmental Impact of the Film Industry.

  K_Billy2014-08-21

  Greenlit is a great little documentary about the impact the film industry has on the environment. The movie chronicles the filmmaker herself, Miranda Bailey, during the making of a movie called "The River Why". The filmmakers hire an outside company to come in and help make their movie "Green" which ends up being quite the process. The green consultant who comes in helps the cast and crew of the movie recycle and implement different techniques to make the set more eco-friendly. Through this narrative, the movie manages to be both engaging and informative at the same time. This is what's great about the movie; that it is both a well made film as well as being an educational documentary. The movie definitely stays with you, showing the negative impact that things as seemingly insignificant as discarded plastic bottles have on the environment. It definitely makes you think twice about some of your bad habits. For film enthusiasts and people in the industry, it strikes an even deeper chord, showing how much energy and material is wasted across film sets every day. Most of the techniques used by the green consultant for the film shoot aren't that difficult to do, most as simple as separating trash from recycling. However, the movie is keen to show that just one individual's mistake can ruin the entire process. The film does an excellent job at reminding us that the biggest impact on the environment comes from the smallest of personal habits.

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• Thought-provoking

  a6536942014-08-14

  This was recommended to me by a friend. I am a fairly well-known actor (username is fake obviously haha). On my last movie, I noticed how much trash was created by crafty and how much stuff really just goes to waste. i'm glad someone else also thought about this! Miranda approached it the right way but the green consultant girl did not. you have to understand that people on the set have jobs to do and those giant plastic water bottles are a HUGE pain in the ass, especially when you're shooting all day and no one wants to trust the jug water that's been sitting out since 6 a.m. there are BUGS in there. Other than that the producer's efforts to reduce trash seemed genuine, I just wish the green girl had been on another set previous to this one and could see how everything works before trying to change it and disrupt people's routines.

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• Super cool!!!

  a6523282014-08-14

  I decided to watch this doc after dabbling in a little recycling program of my own. I'm a junior in high school. This year, my friends and I started the Greenzo Recycling Club (inspired by the character of Greenzo in 30 Rock). Our goal was to be so energetic and zealous that people just HAD to recycle whether they liked it or not and it WORKED!! I totally feel the struggle of getting people to use less bottles. Everyone at school was like "this fountain water is gross" and I was like "no dude you're saving the environment, suck it up," and they did. It probably helped that I wore a green man suit to school. I give this an 8 instead of a 10 because I would have liked to see more of haters' bad vibes and then a strong counter-argument, but overall it's pretty cool. Def recommend watching.

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