Steven Spielberg has announced that he is to produce, and possible front, a TV talent show looking for the next hot director in an X-Factor/Pop Idol/American Idol style. The show, to be called On the Lot, will screen later this year in the States with the winner getting a deal with Dreamworks.
A search across the US will be made to find 16 finalists who will come to Hollywood, split into teams, and given the task of making one short film each week.
Each weekly project will cover a different genre and contestants will have professional writers and actors at their disposal.
“If the contestants are resourceful enough, they may even be able to land Hollywood celebrities to star in their films,” said a spokesman for Fox.
The overall idea scares me, making and directing movies is not something that can be done week-in week-out on an ongoing basis if you want to produce quality, so the fear is it’ll demean the work directors and other production crew do. Having said that, short deadlines, limited resources and quality input from professionals should make for some interesting output. We’ll also be able to dissect the little flicks they make and see what storytelling, editing, sound, etc worked best. The aspect that excites me the most is the possibility of stars making an appearance. Many of them want to expand their range, for some the possibilitiy of exposure will be alluring and some may just want to try and restart their stalled careers, so we could end up with some serious talent on show.
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