Question: I watched all of On the Lot's episodes, and I really loved the show. The film directors were surprisingly talented, and I found myself voting for favorites. Not to mention the fact that the prize was huge: $1 mil with Spielberg. Yet you and others have bashed the show, and the ratings were apparently low. I don't get it. What went wrong? I am very disappointed that we won't see another episode.
Answer: The biggest problem I had with the show (which I quickly bailed on) was that, at least in the early stages, we never got a sense of the process of filmmaking. I would sit through a bunch of what looked like student films with no idea of the conflicts and challenges involved in getting them made. The process of creation is part of what makes reality shows like Project Runway and Top Chef so addictive. If On the Lot eventually improved in that aspect as it went on, so be it. It was too late for me. Plus I found the live studio aspect off-putting, and the host was simply ghastly ...
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Question: I realize that Pirate Master was not the greatest show in the world, but I liked it, and, according to the message boards, so did other people. Personalities were coming out, twists were being added, and there were only five episodes left when CBS decided to pull it. Are they really generating more money by airing repeats of 48 Hours? They already invested the time and money in filming, editing, etc, so why pull it? The announcement included a line about the final shows being streamed on the website at 3 in the morning. Oh gee, thanks, CBS, I'm so freakin' grateful. The networks wonder why people are turning to cable channels: Well, one answer is the cablers' loyalty to their viewers. CBS doesn't have that much to offer as it is, so maybe it should quit ticking off its viewers.
Answer: In another summer, I'd probably agree. But this summer, things are so competitive and so crowded on network and cable that I'm not really surprised when a network pulls a flop off the air, even
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Fox's On the Lot welcomes guest judges Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) and Brad Silberling (Lemony Snicket) on July 17 and 24, respectively.... Molly Stanton (Twins, Passions) has inked a talent holding deal with 20th Century Fox TV, to either front a pilot or join an existing series.... Brian McKnight makes his Broadway debut when he steps into the role of Chicago's Billy Flynn starting Oct. 8.... Why is Sarah Michelle Gellar suddenly the paparazzi's favorite poser?.... What fall series has you counting the minutes until its return? Choose from our list and vote here (bottom right).
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Out on DVD today are High School Musical: The Concert and Hannah Montana: Pop Star Profile, while an Aug. 28 release has been set for Bob Saget: That Ain't Right.... Directors Mark Waters (Mean Girls) and Eli Roth (Hostel) guest-judge On the Lot tonight and next Tuesday, respectively.... The June 28 premiere of the USA Network spy drama Burn Notice will air commercial-free, marking the first time anything on the cabler has run sans ads. DIRECTV is the ghost sponsor.... TBS will launch a hi-def channel in September. Tuesday's Today's News was written by Ben Katner.
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Question: Could you please explain to me why Fox (what the **** were they thinking?!) pushed the season finale for House back a week and out of both May sweeps and finale week? Not only did it lose the huge lead-in from American Idol, but they were stuck getting paired with On the Lot instead. House is a pretty solid top-five show now (one of the top three scripted shows on TV), but you'd never know it the way Fox preempts it at every turn. Do you think Fox gave House the coveted post-Super Bowl time slot to make up for these sorts of blunders, or is it just that they didn't have anything else worthy of the honor? Sorry, I know that's two questions.
Answer: Actually, it's more like a question and a gripe. One that I don't particularly sympathize with, but any time Fox messes with its schedule and House or Bones is affected (and during American Idol season, both often are), you never hear the end of it. Still, it's a fact that pushing the House finale back a week made no sense whatsoever.
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Poppy Montgomery and Adam Kaufman by Steve Granitz/WireImage.com
Without a Trace's Poppy Montgomery and boyfriend Adam Kaufman are expecting their first child in November, says People.... Star Trek franchise alums George Takei, Wil Wheaton and Andre Bormanis are teaming with FanLib.com and CBS Interactive to host a "storytelling event" starting today. Go here for more.... On the Lot welcomes Wes Craven as a guest judge next Tuesday — fitting, seeing as the ratings have been a nightmare.... All HBO and Cinemax channels will be made available in hi-def by 2Q 2008. That includes HBO Swahili and MaxMitovich.
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Bones executive producer Stephen Nathan has inked a two-year, seven-figure deal to continue on as second-in-command to Hart Hanson, as well as develop new projects.... Devil Wears Prada director David Frankel guest-judges on this Tuesday's On the Lot.... LeAnn Rimes sings the national anthem before Game 2 of the NBA Finals in San Antonio, Texas.... Miss Potter arrives on DVD June 19.... To celebrate 20 years of Shark Week, Discovery Channel wants you to vote here on your favorite chomps clips.
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Paula Abdul by Vivian Zink/Bravo Photo
Due to poor ratings, Fox has pulled the plug on its Monday night installment of On the Lot. Starting next week, the competition and results will be condensed into one weekly show.... Posh Spice may have to put off U.S. TV stardom. According to People.com, the filming of Victoria Beckham's NBC reality show is in jeopardy because she left Los Angeles a few weeks early in order to be with her husband, soccer player David Beckham, who was recalled to play for the British team... VH1's newest celebreality offering, Scott Baio Is 45... and Single, premieres this summer and features the Happy Days hunk looking for love with the help of his exes and a therapist.... Coming on the heels of Paula Abdul's recent tabloid woes, American Idol's weepiest judge will show fans just how hard it is to be her when Bravo premieres Hey Paula on June 28. — Reporting by Raven Snook
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Question: Have you been watching On the Lot? I have never before seen a show do such an unfortunate 180. What the hell are they thinking? Last week it was a unique and interesting competition with a lot of promise; this week it's an American Idol wannabe: same tedious recaps of the judges' comments, same irritating "after the break" setups, and an even more annoying host. We don't get to see the filmmaking process anymore, and we don't get to know the contestants' personalities. It's like they took all the worst parts of American Idol, changed the "log line" from singing to directing and threw it at the wall to see what would stick. Ugh. I know the ratings have not been very good, so is that why they made these changes? Or was this the direction they'd planned to take the show from the start? I really expected more from Mark Burnett and Steven Spielberg, but then again, this is a Fox show. Do you think there's a chance they might turn it around again? I feel like the victim of a bait ...
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Question: To be fair, you should know that I am cynical of reality shows. While not arguably original (it comes close to plagiarizing HBO's Project Greenlight), I was intrigued by On the Lot, since it could offer the minority of us who embrace independent films a chance to see gifted aspiring directors who can "think outside the box." My complaints are not with the candidates but about the host, Adrianna Costa, who seems to be Ryan Seacrest with some anatomical differences. Her approach to telling the contestants who will be eliminated is eerily similar to Seacrest's. Next and probably even more alarming are the results of the voting. My consternation is not because my selections did not completely concur with them, but because none of the eliminated filmmakers were American. I don't want to believe that that is a result of xenophobia, but the result of not having a "constituent base" in the U.S. What do you think?
Answer: Politics aside, I wasn't surprised by two of the three who were
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