My Description: Project Greenlight is a project initiated by Ben and Matt to give amateur screen writers the chance to make a feature film. Thousands of writers submitted screenplays via the website and then they went through a filtering process until thirty were left (out of an original count of more than 10,000). Then, Ben, Matt and others read those to narrow it down to ten. Finally, they picked the final "one:" a guy named Pete. They originally announced it when Ben was on the Tonight Show. The contest is incorporating several different forms of media in an unprecedented fashion: film, the internet and author's writings.
From the website (because they can explain the concept the best):
Executive Producers Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, in association with Chris Moore (co-producer of Good Will Hunting & producer of American Pie), Miramax Films and HBO, have all joined together to call upon the amateur screenwriters and filmmakers of the United States to submit their original screenplays online. The winning Contestant(s) will become eligible to direct their original screenplay into a Miramax-distributed feature film, and the entire production of the film will be covered in an HBO documentary-style television series. The series will focus on the plight and adventure of this first-time writer/director Contestant, taking the reins of his or her own feature film.
What I think: This is why Ben and Matt are so neat. They won an Oscar for their screenplay and they wanted to give this opportunity to someone else. It's rare that people in "the business" are so committed to getting people who aren't quite in the business involved and helping them out. Many careers are all about building a support system of professionals and film-making should be that way too. Giving back to your profession is so valuable and Ben and Matt know this. They're real idealists and I respect them so much for that.