Lights! Camera! Action! The cameras are about to start rolling on the new moviemaking competition series “On the Lot,” executive-produced by Mark Burnett and Steven Spielberg. Actress, author and screenwriter Carrie Fisher (“Star Wars,” Postcards From The Edge), as well as directors/producers Brett Ratner (Rush Hour 3, X-Men 3: The Last Stand), Garry Marshall (Georgia Rule, Princess Diaries, Pretty Woman) and Jon Avnet (The Starter Wife, Fried Green Tomatoes, Risky Business), will serve as judges for the series’ two “audition” episodes airing Tuesday, May 22 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) and Thursday, May 24 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on Fox. Judges for additional rounds will be announced at a later date.
After receiving a record-setting 12,000 video submissions on thelot.com from aspiring filmmakers around the globe, Fox has officially entered the summer movie blockbuster race with the new filmmaking competition series “On the Lot” from Mark Burnett, Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks Television. In the audition episodes, the top 50 applicants will discover the magic of moviemaking when they are brought to Los Angeles to visit a real-life film set for the first time. The 50 semifinalists must endure a rigorous “Hollywood Boot Camp,” where they will face the judges for the first time with their personal submission film as well as their attempts at a Hollywood-style “pitch” meeting; a “24-Hour Film Shoot,” where each must shoot and edit a short film in a 24-hour period; as well as a “one-page, one-hour” film shoot, where they will have an hour to film a one-page scene with the help of professional directors of photography, camera and sound operators and actors. The judges will give their ultimate feedback and select the Top 18 Finalists, who will move on to compete in the first “Film Premiere” episode.
A special two-hour “Film Premiere” episode, featuring the first films produced by the 18 finalists, will air Monday, May 28 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on Fox. It will be up to the American public to determine the first finalist to be eliminated from the competition; voting results will be announced the following night on the expanded first “Box Office” results show Tuesday, May 29 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT). “On the Lot’s” weekly “Film Premiere” episodes air in their regular time period beginning Monday, June 4 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT), and the weekly “Box Office” results shows will air on Tuesdays (8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT) starting Tuesday, June 5.
“On the Lot” affords aspiring filmmakers the opportunity of a lifetime: the chance to win a $1-million DreamWorks development deal. Each week, the hopeful filmmaker finalists will produce short films from a chosen genre, running the gamut from comedies to thrillers, personal dramas to romance, sci-fi to horror. They’ll have access to the best resources the industry has to offer professional writers, actors and crew to help create their films.
After the teams have battled time frames, budgets and all the usual chaos that goes along with filmmaking, their films will debut and be critiqued in front of a live audience during the “Film Premiere” episodes.
But the filmmakers ultimately will be judged by the harshest critics of all the public. It will be America whose votes determine which films should be left on the cutting-room floor. On each “Box Office” results show, the director whose feature garners the fewest votes will be sent home.
“On the Lot” is produced by Mark Burnett Productions, DreamWorks Television and Amblin Television. Mark Burnett and Steven Spielberg are creators and executive producers. David Goffin serves as executive producer with Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey and Conrad Riggs co-executive producers.
