On the Lot

I love my movies. I come out of the cinema with lots of opinions and theories (some good - some bad) and my friends tell me to shut up already.

Here we have a bunch of aspiring producers (some good - some bad) having their short films completely taken apart by well known directors each week.

What more can I ask for? Can wait each week to see what new ideas there are. Even the bad ones aren't that bad because they end in 2 minutes.

I pity those that are around me when I'm watching this - like my friends and family say "shut up already and watch the show!"

50 amateur filmmakers are brought to Hollywood to compete for a million dollar contract at Dreamworks. Garry Marshall, Carrie Fisher, Brett Radner, and others are the judges over its run. The first episode has the contestants making pitches. The remaining 36 split into groups of 3 to make a short film. 12 are eliminated but the next challenge for the remaining 24 was not aired. Episodes 3 and 4 show and judge one minute shorts by the final 18. The rest of the episodes has the show reduced and cheapened to burn off the remainder once a week.

This tries to be a sincere competition show like Project Runway for movie directors. The first episode is problematic because it's not fun. There are too many people and few of them draw in the audience. Pitch meetings are not cinematic and do not provide great reality TV material. The first episode is a complete bust. The second episode is better and Zach Lipovsky's special effects wizardry is really the highlight. The whining and fighting do not always work. The show struggles to figure out the formula. It's a lot of hit and miss. A few shorts are actually interesting and wonderful but there is a lot of crap to dig through. The show kept losing viewers and it's slow grinding TV death.

I'm not completely blown away with this new Reality Series. However, I do like watching the films these new film makers come out with. Some of these guys really have talent. The films have been entertaining & obviously a lot of work has gone into them. The only thing holding this series back is... #1 the host - she's terrible. She brings nothing to the series & most of the time is flat. She is no Ryan Seacrest. #2 the judges - Carrie Fisher is most of the time... irritating.. She has gotten better toward the end of the series but for God's sake - please come up with better criticism then... I like you I think your talented I just didn't like the film. Then there is Garry Marshall - he definitely has the background but if I hear one more "It was _______ who said" Good grief man, do your kids roll their eyes every time? The guest judges have been the best part. Especially the ones who offer real criticism. Try this type of shot or rework the script because this line didn't work or your filming too close etc. Carri & Garry both need to listen to them more. On the whole I think this works. However, if they do another - get rid of the hostess & replace Garry or Carrie.

I vehemently abhor reality TV, but was lured into "On the Lot" with the promise of seeing filmmakers at work. What I was treated to, however, was a slow-motion trainwreck that seemed to get worse with each passing episode... so of course, I found myself captivated by it! In the first episode, there was clearly potential in the show as filmmakers paired up and were forced to work together on a short film. However, I don't think the short they were working on was ever aired...

The following week, "On the Lot" became a horrendous knock-off of "American Idol," and seemed to be retooled on an episode-to-episode basis. The new format was that filmmakers would make a short film each week (it was later leaked that the shorts were made before the show debuted), and get voted off by viewers. Although it seemed like the focus was supposed to be on the films they made, the show followed the standard reality TV format of making the contestants out to be heroes (visionary Adam Stein, family man Will Bigham, underdog Jason Epperson) and villains (tempermental Marty Martin) -- anyone who didn't get lumped into such a category stood no chance. Initial host Chelsea Handler was instantly replaced with charmless, clueless eye candy Adriana Costa, who emceed the show with all of the wit and charisma of an uncooked potato. Judge Carrie Fisher was there simply to be crazy, judge Gary Marshall came off like a sexist buffoon, and each week a different Hollywood director would sit in as guest judge -- most were obviously VERY embarrassed to be there. When ratings plummeted, the show was knocked down from two episodes a week to one, meaning viewers had to wait a full week to see who was voted off (though it was clear almost from the start who the three finalists would be).

What's sad is there was obviously talent involved, and the shorts themselves were generally entertaining (I'd love to see all the shorts collected and released on DVD). The problem was that everything about the show EXCEPT the shorts was ill-conceived. And the biggest travesty is that most of the directors haven't done anything notable since the show left the air -- finalist Adam Stein, in particular, routinely turned out creative and entertaining films, yet he has no further IMDb credits.

All in all, the show's most notable for being an unsightly pimple on the face of not only Hollywood, but also reality TV, which is a shame, 'cause it could've been so much more.

There is plenty good about this show and a little bad along the way that spoils the fun. Besides being formulaic in the reality show talent contest format ala Idol, there's a decent show with true content each week. While the demographic to which this appeals to is fairly small I believe it'll survive the dearth of summer original programming and do OK for Fox during the bland summer months.

The directors are varied and each have a particular take, though their own efforts are hampered by frequently mediocre acting. Also at issue is the minimal information that is given about the constraints they work under, so it's hard to judge them objectively.

Example "What is the theme?" "How long do their movies have to be" "What funds/equipment/time are they alloted"... it is hard for the audience to formulate an opinion when these facts are never discussed.

The production values are OK but the judges are a mixed bag. No one, at home or on the show, respects Carrie Fisher's opinion, and if I have to hear the old dirty man tell another 'sweetheart' contestant how 'we need more female directors' and that while her movie sucked he 'likes her smile' I'll puke.

Tune in each week for the surprisingly famous guest judge (who Fox can't ever seem to promote in advance and capitalize on) who is invariably promoting his next big flick and providing the only intelligible commentary and this show should be worth you money on Tuesday nights.