08.22.07
“On the Lot” Goes Out With a Bang!
Just kidding, folks… This show most definitely went out with a whimper. At least Spielberg took time out from shooting Indy 4 to show up. Sorta. But we’ll get to that later…
Sorry, but I just had to post one more time about this show that nobody watched. It mercifully ended last night with my two friends, Adam and Sam (whom I mentioned in an earlier post), coming in 3rd and 4th place, respectively. Bummer they didn’t win (Tommy Boy and I did our part burning up the phones and interweb with votes), but it probably shouldn’t matter too much. I haven’t spoken to either of them yet, but I’d assume that some doors will have been opened just by being on the show and doing so well.
Yes, the show was an epic failure, at least ratings-wise. Okay, it was pretty much a creative failure as well, but it seems like that can at least be partially attributed to the ratings. Fox saw that it had a dog on its hands early on and went all Mike Vick on it (too soon?), obviously trimming expenses as much as possible. This was pretty obvious when they not only magically reduced the number of contestants from 24 to 18 (sans on-air explanation), but then also aired the contestants’ submission films, which the filmmakers had paid for themselves. Then, upon getting to the final 3 filmmakers, they don’t give them money to make a final film! (Mad props (do the kids still say that?) to Adam for subtly pointing that out multiple times during part 1 of the finale). They simply padded the last two episodes with filler and films that had already been shown. It was pretty ridiculous.
It’s really a shame, because I know for a fact that two of contestants (Sam and Adam, obviously) are very talented and have put a crazy amount of time and effort into filmmaking. I can only assume the rest of the contestants are similarly committed, but none of them were given the opportunity to truly showcase what they can do. The show needed to give them more than 2 minutes (especially when you get to the top 10) and to pair them up with real writers. Maybe give every director the same script to shoot. Then “America” would have much better criterion upon which to judge who can truly direct the “best.”
It’s possible that all of these things were supposed to come to pass on the show, but we’ll never know. Fox and the producers were far too ambitious in the beginning, expecting an American Idol-sized audience and starting right up with one of their patented filler audition shows. It didn’t work and it alienated the audience right from the start. They were seemingly forced to make changes on the fly and the show ultimately became unbearable to watch (except for when the host, Adrianna Costa, wore a low cut dress, which was quite often. Thanks, Adrianna. It was much appreciated).
Despite all this, Spielberg did make an appearance. I was under the assumption that he was in Hawaii shooting the new Indiana Jones movie, but I guess it’s possible that he flew all the way back just for the finale… (I said it’s possible, okay? Stop laughing). Ol’ Stevie did not actually come to the studio for the show, but instead, the winner was immediately ushered from the studio in a limousine to the gates of Dreamworks to meet him. So here’s my question: When was this part actually shot? The finale was supposedly “live.” However, Will was supposed to get to from the studio to Dreamworks in the span of a single commercial break, which, as anyone who has ever driven ANYWHERE in Los Angeles knows, is utterly impossible. Not to mention the fact that the limo ride and meeting was edited like crazy. So my question is, when did they actually shoot the Spielberg meeting? Did they shoot it the night before with all 3 final contestants? I guess I’ll find out the next time I talk to Adam or Sam…
And that meeting between Spielberg and Will Bigham, the winner? Awkward doesn’t really describe it. Let’s just hope Will wasn’t welcomed to Dreamworks with a nice severance package and a note to clean out his desk.
Well, I’ve already wasted too much time writing about a show I would have stopped watching months ago had I not had friends on it.
I’m out (like a minority contestant on On the Lot)…