Thursday, August 23, 2007

"On the Lot" -- final result

So, evidently very few people were watching "On the Lot." Very few. The final show, when the winner was revealed, attracted an audience of about 2.5 million people. I think there might be reruns of "SportsCenter" that attract a larger audience. (I'm only slightly kidding.)

But the competition ended well, if the final show was very, VERY drawn out. In the end, sentimental favorite Will Bigham won. This is not that much of a surprise -- he is very much like Steven Spielberg, someone who is a strong visual storyteller and whose films wear their hearts on their sleeves.

The end of the episode was pretty anticlimactic. After being announced as the winner, Will Bigham was driven to the front gate at Dreamworks Studios, where he was personally greeted by Steven Spielberg, who handed him the keys to the kingdom (actually a key that was supposed to be for his new office).

And he was never heard from again. Maybe. It's possible because there has been NO news coverage of the result of the show. No promotion. No interviews with the winner. No news releases. It doesn't bode well. But a development deal is still a development deal. Personally, I hope that something comes of it for the young filmmaker.

Friday, August 10, 2007

New Review: Murderball (2005)

Today, there is a new review posted at Cinema Utopia of the 2005 documentary Murderball. This film is fantastically interesting and entertaining as it shows part of the life of members of the US quadriplegic rugby team. This film is very well-crafted and was nominated for an Oscar (Best Documentary, Feature).

Here is a direct link to the review.

And don't forget to visit the blog to vote for which film you'd like to see reviewed in the upcoming weeks.

See you at the movies!
Cinema Utopia
www.cinemautopia.com/index.html

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

"On the Lot" -- The Final Four

And then there were four. The final four contestants on "On the Lot" were announced this evening before they each showed new films. The most recent director voted out was a bit of a surprise -- early favorite Zach (the special effects guy) was voted out after two weaker efforts. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I think he will be hired by someone, perhaps as a special effects guy, though my guess is that he will be given a job as an assistant director on a special effects-laden film. Eventually, I expect to see his name as a feature director, though.

But on to the final four. Each of the films was solid, but one was truly excellent and one was notably weaker than the rest. Based on this, my hunch is that Sam will be voted off because his film seemed like a poor man's 9 to 5.

Otherwise, the film's were inventive, technically strong, and funny. Will (who I think now is the favorite) had his best moment of the competition with his film, a screwball comedy about office politics. Afterwards, all of the judges praised him effusively. But Garry Marshall went farther and gave him a compliment I don't think he'll ever forget -- telling him that when one person in a film is funny, it's because he's funny, but when several people are funny, it's because of the director. You could see in his eyes how much he was struck by the judge's positive compliments.

But the real surprise of the evening was Adam, whose film "Army Man" was inventive, zany, and had a better ending than most studio films. In fact, given that each of the films was about a man who wakes up in a dress, Adam's last line reminded me of Some Like It Hot, which as one of the greatest last lines in movie history.

Anyway, it was another exciting episode. It has been fun and educational to see these young directors develop over the summer. They've been given access to Hollywood level actors and technical people, and their films have gotten more sophisticated as they've learned to use these tools. And, watching the decisions they have to make, makes it easier to appreciate how much skill directors of bad movies must have (I know that I've seen movies that I thought could have been directed by random people on the "behind the scenes" studio tours).

Friday, August 3, 2007

New Review: Becket (1964)

Today, there is a new review posted at Cinema Utopia of the classic 1964 film Becket, starring Richard Burton as Thomas Becket and Peter O'Toole as Henry II. Nominated for 12 Oscars, the film is a strong adaptation of the acclaimed stage play about the struggle between the King and the Archbishop of Canterbury in medieval England.

Here is a direct link to the review.

See you at the movies!
Cinema Utopia
www.cinemautopia.com/index.html