The Chair Trailer Has Two Directors Tackling The Same Script

Two directors. Two films. One script. That's the concept Starz's upcoming movie-making documentary series The Chair is running with. Starz released a new trailer for the series, along with some art that notes the September 6 premiere date.

Chair poster

Starz announced back in April that they were planning to air a new documentary series called The Chair. The new poster illustrates the meaning behind the title, as we see a director's chair being pulled in two different directions by two hands. Different directions is the theme of this series, as the above trailer implies. First-time feature film directors Anna Martemucci and Shane Dawson are competing against one another for a $250,000 prize. The task is to take a screenplay -- titled How Soon is Now -- and turn it into a movie.

One director is likely to have a differing view of a script than the next, which is what makes this competition so interesting. Both directors will be making their own choices as to how they will adapt this story for the big screen. That might include rewrites to the script, casting choices, hiring a crew and even finding a title for the film. In the end, these could be two very different movies, though their source material was (originally) the same.

directors photo

The trailer shows us some of the challenges each director is making and the stress they're experiencing as they consider the outcome of these choices as it relates to the finished product, which could drastically affect their future in the industry. And if you thought you spotted Zachary Quinto in the trailer, you're right. The Star Trek actor is on board to mentor the directors, along with Quinto's producing partners Corey Moosa, Neal Dodson and Sean Akers.

While Starz has The Chair set to air this fall, HBO is bringing Project Greenlight back for Season 4 sometime next year. So aspiring filmmakers looking for an insight look into the process of making a movie from the perspective of people who are relatively new to the industry have a couple of shows to look forward to in the coming months. Check out the teaser for Project Greenlight Season 4 here.

The Chair premieres September 6, 2014 at 11pm ET/PT on STARZ.

Kelly West
Assistant Managing Editor

Kelly joined CinemaBlend as a freelance TV news writer in 2006 and went on to serve as the site’s TV Editor before moving over to other roles on the site. At present, she’s an Assistant Managing Editor who spends much of her time brainstorming and editing feature content on the site. She an expert in all things Harry Potter, books from a variety of genres (sci-fi, mystery, horror, YA, drama, romance -- anything with a great story and interesting characters.), watching Big Brother, frequently rewatching The Office, listening to Taylor Swift, and playing The Sims.