On the Lot

[KennyLuv]

Sad to see cute Zach go. But he did fail to impress the last two weeks. Bad story choice. But he is a good filmmaker.

This week's best was "Army Man" by Adam. It was indeed very creative, funny and cute. At first, I did not quite get that the characters were toys. Once I saw the kids fighting over the Army Man's dress, it all came together and I went "Ohhhhhh... that's very good!".

The "Yes Men" was good mainly because of strong characters and really good actors.

Sam's film may have been a derivative. But I thought that it was well made. The way the boss treated the women at first was so comical. The revenge of the women wasn't funny. But the boss slapping the male subordiante in the end was funny. I think the judges are trying to get rid of Sam. They put him down very cruelly.

Jason's highschool mates revenge story has been done so many times. Nothing new. It was also homophobic. The judges overpraised Jason to keep him in the competition.

Jason or Sam may be gone next week.

[Google]

 

[JR.]

I didn't think it was possible to screw this show up even more, but they managed to do it again last night. It would've made more sense to have the 3 remaining directors each make a 10 minute film so things don't feel so rushed, or have them all use the same script so they wouldn't be tied down with the writing. That way we could see the differences in their directing, since that is what the show is supposed to be about. But no, we basically get a recap.

What a disaster this turned out to be. I won't be surprised if Spielberg comes out with a bag over his head next week.

[KennyLuv]

I totally agree JR. What a disappointing evening! Especially for the live audience who had to sit there and watch the old films. Three new long short films would have been great. Looks like they decided to save time and money and wrap it up. Can't blame them either. The viewership must have dropped drastically. It is kind of sad that the movie-loving American audience does not have the attention span to appreciate a show about movie-making. Or may be something about the show turned off people. I don't know.

My guess is either Jason or Adam will be the winner next week. Obviously the judges tried to influence again yesterday by choosing Jason and Will. My personal choice is Adam.

Kenny was on for a second or two in a clip. That made my evening.

[ManySkills]

I actually got home too late and missed the episode, which turns out to have been no loss apparently. I'm not sure I can predict who will be the big winner.

I hope many of these directors benefit from the exposure and become involved in the filmmaking industry over the next few years.

Will and Zach especially, in my opinion, have a recognisable 'voice', and I look forward to seeing their work in the future.

And lastly, my 'pitch' to the producers, if you are listening ...
- I think there is an audience which truly enjoys this peek into the process of filmmaking
- I believe the format just needs some tweaking
- the show needs a bit more marketing - Not a single person at my work even heard of the show!


I hope you will be back next year.

[JR.]

Originally Posted by KennyLuv

Or may be something about the show turned off people. I don't know.

The biggest complaint I've seen is about the format changes in the first few weeks. It was almost like a new show every week. Add that to the fact they changed hosts, skipped an episode and didn't mention it, and didn't really show us much of what a director actually does.

I'm thinking Jason wins, the 15 people voting seem to really like him for some reason.

It's a shame, this show should've been so much better.

[lopevian]

Originally Posted by JR.

I'm thinking Jason wins, the 15 people voting seem to really like him for some reason.

I agree about the format changes, schedule changes and host changes spoiling the show. They should have had the final three make at the least a five minute film, instead of the rerun they gave us. Overall though, I throughly enjoyed every frame of On The Lot, even when it was excruciating (which was often).

[Goalwatcher]

Well, I was disappointed that Will won. I found it predictable, though. I hated his "Lucky Penny" film and several others after that, and was surprised each week when he was so verily lauded. There were only two of his films that I actually liked. I guess I felt all along that he was chosen at the beginning, which was a shame, really, since Adam and Zach would have fit in so nicely at Dreamworks.

I picture Jason working on a Spike Lee joint sometime.

I'd like to see a season where people are vying for a spot at Pixar.


(so many "I's" in this post -- starting to sound like Jen from BB!)

[ManySkills]

Well I for one was glad to see Will win, though I always thought Zach had this thing wrapped up almost from the first episode. Will has this gentle quality. Just watch - his first film will be this cruel Tarantino-esque bloody action film.

Not.

Wasn't it nice to see a few of the better, non-finalist, films again? Reminded us that there was some talent floating out there.

Wasn't that meeting between Spielberg and Will a little stiff? I guess Mr. S. is not good at delivering his lines. Heh.

I wonder, now, if they will come back with this next year. I like the Pixar idea - move it around, rustle up some other patronage.

[r2maybs]

That was an awful finale, boring.....and the wrong winner was chosen. It should have been Zach or Jason

[JR.]

They couldn't even get the finale right, but again, it's to be expected. The whole show seemed disjointed, and why did they make Jason & Will go sit down before the winner was revealed? That made no sense. The meeting with Spielberg was really awkward, it felt like it was pre-taped. Why wasn't he at the theater to meet the winner on stage?

I was surprised Will won, most of his films bored me and I was tired of hearing about his kids. I was hoping for Adam, as I liked more of his stuff.

Since this failed so miserably, I doubt we'll get another season. It's a great concept, but I don't know how they screwed it up so bad. If (and that's a huge if) this show comes back, it needs major changes.