Television addicts will have to wait another year to discover the newborn of Reality TV shows: On the Lot. The idea is to gather wannabee movie-directors, assign them the mission of shooting a short film, and have it criticized by a panel of judges. The winner will obtain a contract with Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks to actually direct a movie. (DreamWorks was bought by Paramount last year.) Spielberg said that throughout his entire carrier, he has tried to discover and launch new talents. Therefore, this new project will be an enormous chance for aspiring movie makers. The show will air in the beginning of 2007 two nights a week on the Fox network.
After a nationwide search, applicants will be winnowed to a group of 16 undiscovered talents. The finalists will be brought to Hollywood, where they will be divided into several teams and will begin the hopeful journey toward their "big break." As the competition begins, each team will produce a short film from that week's genre, running the gamut from comedies to thrillers, personal dramas to romance, sci-fi to horror. With one member selected as the team's director and other members helping produce, they'll have access to the best resources the industry has to offer. A pool of professional writers, cast and crew will be made available, and if the contestants are resourceful enough, they may even be able to land Hollywood celebrities to star in their films. With the clock ticking, however, and other teams working with the same genre, premise or unique challenge, they'll all need to match their vision with decisiveness, execution and flexibility.
It sounds pretty entertaining. Right now, who can resist the idea of reality TV in TV programming? Candidates writing scripts on an unscripted TV show, what could be more fascinating? After love, fashion, business, music, cooking, inventing, etc., cinema is following the trend. What's next? America's most talented writer may be in the works: no, too boring. American painter: good idea...I'd say next year. America's strongest lumberjack: I am not kidding. American President: it already exists.
