Matt Damon and Ben Affleck bring back "Project Greenlight"

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are bringing back "Project Greenlight."

The stars served as executive producers of the documentary series, which ran for two seasons in 2001 and 2003 on HBO.

Now the real-life friends are bringing it back to HBO for a new season that will chronicle the challenges facing a first-time director. The show will kick off with a digital contest, before following the documentary winner from pre-production and casting through principal photography and post-production.

"'Project Greenlight' was ahead of its time," said Affleck. "Now that technology has caught up to the concept, we thought it was a perfect time to bring it back. A whole new generation of filmmakers has grown up sharing everything, and the next big director could be just an upload away."

Damon added, "'Project Greenlight' works -- careers have been launched and sustained as a direct result of this contest. Pete Jones, John Gulager, Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan are just a few of the PGL alums who've gone on to do great things in Hollywood, and Ben and I are really proud of that."

The new season is being produced for HBO by Adaptive Studios, Affleck and Damon's Pearl Street Films and Miramax.