On The Lot - Season One Thread (1 Viewer)

[Parker Clack]

My favorite so far is Zach. I see him winning the whole thing.

I agree the first two episodes where horrible and I hope that future seasons will just start with the director and the films. Not every "reality" show has to start off with a how they got here bit. They could just give you the 18 or so people they want you to vote on and show you the films.

Parker

 

[Brent M]

Yeah, it's pretty obvious from the get go that this guy has unlimited talent. I will be shocked if he doesn't at least make it to the very end of the competition. Even if by some fluke he gets knocked out, though, I don't think he'll have any problems getting a job with a company like ILM as I'm sure they're always looking for someone with that kind of ability.

 

[Scott-S]

I can't understand how Zack can pull this stuff off with no budget. "Danger Zone" had green screen which is tough, but doable with the right software and skill. But it also had Pyros and Stunts. That was pretty cool. He had to have access to this sort of stuff somehow. Not everyone has squibs and flame suits sitting around.

 

[Chris Lockwood]

I liked this format much better than last week's episodes. At least we get to see the entire films. Hopefully when the group gets smaller we'll start seeing more of the making of the films, too.


> Thank goodness they wised up and got rid of Chelsea Handler and Brett Ratner

I don't get the hate for Ratner. He IS one of the more successful directors right now- certainly qualified to be on a show like this. But they did say there would be a guest judge each week, so they didn't "get rid" of him.


> I voted for dancing man, lucky penny, the airport security, the one-take disaster, and the replication theory.

Those are pretty much my favorites, too.


> I only found three of the films to be head scratchingly bad: Wack Alley Cab, ...To Screw in a Lightbulb and The Big Bad Heist.

Same here. A couple of the directors seemed to think their task was to make a trailer, not a short film. Either they don't know the difference (scary) or took the easy way out, since I think it would be easier to make a trailer than a complete story in one minute.


> I didn't like "Soft" at all. First of all, the director pulled out the race card from the start. Then, he says he is from the inner city etc. He was working on Wall Street for god sakes!!.

I don't recall race being mentioned at all in the film. It was about a guy who decided to commit a crime to try to look cool and just happened to pick the wrong victim. I didn't see where race was a factor. Was he only supposed to use white actors?

So are you saying someone from the inner city can't rise to work on Wall Street? I don't think the director is the one playing the race card here!

 

[Mary M S]

This appeared out of left field for me. Just ran into it last night channel surfing, - and for the first time found something which will ruin my record of 'not' subscribing to the reality show glut. You would think with my proclivity for LOST, I would have watched some of the SURVIVER seasons (never).
American Idol I detest all the early episodic "makes me feel slimed" cull-out-tryouts, so I never watch. Humiliation on video never my preference for entertainment.
And it shames me to think, (lions stalking people in a colosseum) that people relish that sort of pastime, ever in the annuals of human history.
I Tivoed part of a season of that "Dance" thing, just to watch in utter amazement that Emmet Smith via sheer willpower could school a body, not at all lithesome, into a semblance of BR dance.

Kudos to the judges!
With humor and a light yet telling touch, painting feedback.
That (never Idol) is what I rate constructive criticism!

Carrie Fisher - (I can relate ) has trouble spitting her thoughts out, but managed (for me as an audience) to hit the nail on the head. An intelligence not fully articulate, yet refreshening in method amongst the two males. Contrast Fisher to Paula Abduls (dare I say) hint-of-stank aura. Fisher is light years and galaxies ahead of Abdul's unfathomable suitability for any task.
??? Who was the third? Did not spot him listed on the site I just visited? - generally in tandem with Carrie he targeted the issues very well.
Gary Marshall - a dream. Funny, direct, pertinent, relevant, class.
Everything Simon Cowell is not, thank the producers which be!!!!

Have only viewed this latest episode, and now curious over the body of work each filmmaker has already produced for the show in eposides missed.

I'm not going to look up names. For me.
"Getta Rhoom", was great, and appeared to generate a lot of appeal for the audience. I think the judges were a little tough on the PC topic, and should have spent seconds discussing what part of the whole, did work. Focusing feedback on more than just the topic, confusion about the lead's identity.

Standout for the night:
"Replication Theory."
Proves a good filmmaker can 'make' an unpalatable topic.
Loved the way the judges had to backtrack their 'don't go for the cheap laugh' position after that clip.

Liked the delivery of:
"Spaced Out"
"Please Hold"
"Danger Zone"

Want to see more from the filmmakers of:
"A Golf Story" (perfectly executed but for the lack of a miniature related site-gag insert. IMO)
"Lucky Penny"

A Mess, in subject (or execution WAC):
"Bus #1
"Blind Date"
"To Screw in A Lightbulb"
"Wack Alley Cab"

Concerned that I did not spot credits for more than two episodes for Fisher and Marshal? (Marshal is a gem in role of adviser, critic!) IMO, the panel of three seated last night would be excellent regulars...if schedules allowed.

This is going into my Season Pass.
I hope Fox gives it breathing room, for word of mouth and public awareness to hit.
With time, I feel, this will grow and (hopefully) eclipse even the heyday of the now slowing and mean-spirited American Idol juggernaut.

 

[Scott-S]

Chris, I mentioned the "race card" because during his interview before showing the short, he said something about how he had to represent the inner city or something along those lines. It just seemed like he was trying to use his "inner city"-ness to get votes. That might just be how I took it. I could be wrong.

It seems to me if he wants to be the voice of the inner city, he needs to not make his characters stereotypes. It just didn't feel right to me that the first thing the protagonist thought of doing to prove he wasnt "soft" was to rob an old lady.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Glad the show's online -- add it to the list of "stuff Aaron forgot to watch over a long holiday weekend."

Interesting that they got rid of Chelsea Handler so quickly -- I was kinda surprised that she was the host in the first place.

Adrianna Costa is the Hollywood reporter for Robin & Company, the weekday morning show on CNN Headline News. So her general mood is very, very peppy and enthusiastic. And I agree with the Scarlett Johansson comparison.

 

[Jonny P]

I thought that guy's vid was funny and cleverly done.

"Dumb and Dumber" was about two characters who were a couple quarts short of a gallon, and it was funny.

I think the panel was being too politically correct -- overly so.

 

[Jason Harbaugh]

Too bad she is the type of filmmaker I hate. "I went to filmschool, and know what a dutch angle is, yada yada yada, I did I mention I just got out of film school?" From the look of her film, I think she needs to go back.

I think they need to open up voting alittle longer than they did. I DVR'd the show and started watching it right when it finished. Got online about 2 hours after the show ended in realtime and the voting was already over. They should at least go for 3-4 hours. Was Idol that short?

I'm betting that the 3 that go are:
Peeing on a bus
Wacky cab
Screw in lightbulb

 

[Jason_V]

I could be wrong and I'll double check when I get home, but I swear I saw "writer" or some variation thereof in the credits last night. To go from concept to scripting to filming, post production, music, effects and stunts in a week? Sure, it was one minute, but something had to give.

 

[AnthonyC]

I loved the first two episodes and was really looking forward to seeing them shoot their scenes in an hour. Instead, it's now an American Idol rip-off. I knew it would come to that, but I didn't think we'd have a host whose sole purpose seems to be making the old host seem better and it would be so cheesy.

I really wanted to see more of the behind-the-scenes stuff. Wish they'd at least told us they were changing the format so rapidly.

 

[Scott-S]

Anthony, I think the reason we didn't get much behind the scenes was due to the fact that there are a lot of contestants remaining. They didn't have time. I think that when the number of contestants gets smaller, they will start to fill up the time with more behind the scene stuff. At least I hope that is what happens.

It looks like the ratings are not good. I only hope this show is able to complete its full run so we can find out.

 

[Elizabeth S]

That was D.J. Caruso, director of "Disturbia", "The Salton Sea", "Taking Lives".

I was trying to vote online last night and it was messed up. It tells you to wait for a verification e-mail and click it, or your vote won't count. Well, as of this morning, I still didn't get the e-mail.

 

[Keith Paynter]

Ron, I have to give you props for using upscale and Fox in the same sentence!

Like many, I am put off by jokes involving bodily functions, however I did enjoy Spaced Out and Lucky Penny (although the latter to me was derivative of "One Froggy Evening"). The Big Bad Heist has the best elements of Steven Soderbergh, but it would have worked better if it wasn't a "trailer", but I like the way it was put together, and I would probably want to see that "film".

I DVR'ed the program, watching the director clips, films and critiques, and skipping the rest. Hopefully the draw of the panel is enough to keep some of the casual people interested.

 

[Jason_V]

I was voting literally two minutes after the credits rolled. I didn't get my confirm e-mail until this morning when I got into work. Verified everything and said vote was counted. I would have thought it would be instantaneous.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Hahahaha.

What I meant by that statement was that On The Lot won't
appeal to the teeny-bopper Idol crowd. This is really a show for
enthusiasts who appreciate creative filmmaking.

Hope I'm getting that point across correctly.

 

[Chris Lockwood]

> Loved the way the judges had to backtrack their 'don't go for the cheap laugh' position after that clip.

They didn't backtrack. The earlier films used farting itself as the joke, while the one they liked was about people trying to cover up their flatulence. Big difference.


> Instead, it's now an American Idol rip-off.

You mean the way the directors all come out and sing, then a British judge insults some of them? Did Carrie Fisher really have to call everyone "dawg"?

 

[Jason Harbaugh]

LOL, someone needs to do an "On the American Idol Lot" spoof.

 

[Phil Taylor]

I loved Garry Marshall's comments - he had me laughing out loud several times.

The new host reminds me of a more bubbly Eva Longoria -- yum...

Liked -
Barfing aliens
Can't talk dancing guy
Fart sound-a-like
Un-safety lab
Airport screening sex fantasy

Didn't like -
Cell phone obsessed delivery
Lonely dateless girl
Stupid obnoxious taxi
To screw a light bulb
Spike Clone's un-racial hood

Looking forward to tonight's result show....

 

[Jon Martin]

I think Kenny Luby (WACK ALLEY CAB) will become the next Sanjaya.