Fox Butchers “On the Lot”
Fox has now cut down airings of On the Lot by half due to less than stellar ratings. It now airs one episode per week. Has anyone seen this show? It has a great premise of whittling down filmmakers reality-show style until the “best” one is left with a directing contract with Dreamworks.
On the Lot started off as airing two episodes per week: the first covering the directors during pre-production, production, post production, and exhibition in front of a live studio audience; the second episode showed interviews with the directors, screened the films, and allowed the judges to comment on each one. One of the problems is the show’s American Idol format: the majority of the air time is spent on cheesy “suspenseful” elimination rounds, and hardly anything on the actual films.
Now that fewer people have tuned in than expected, the only episode per week is the second phase. The most interesting and entertaining parts of the actual film production have been cut! What is the point of On the Lot now? I thought it was to show what directors do, how they work, and their results. I can tune in to the Independent Film Channel to view similar films, or watch any myriad of reality shows to vote contestants off. What a disappointment…
