What Is On The Lot Reality Show

What exactly is the concept of On the Lot?

Sixteen aspiring filmmakers will be competing essentially to become the next big Hollywood director. In the end, the winner will sign a development deal with DreamWorks. Your other shows -- The Apprentice and Survivor -- are full of dramatic conflict.

Will this show have all of that?

Sure -- like the genres of film the filmmakers will be working with, we'll have comedy, horror, drama, and action. [Laughter] I'm sure you can imagine the pressures and the conflicts in a short amount of time of trying to prove yourself good enough to work for Dreamworks, and then to build up the nerve of showing the world your film in the end.

What was the inspiration for this show?

Steven Spielberg first came to me and opened my eyes to the talent that's out there, and it's proven so true. We are seeing phenomenal work being sent in. Some of these films are shot for as little as 100 dollars, but some are amazing quality. The real costs are the challenges in getting the freebies -- from borrowing cameras, to getting their friends to be in it, finding clever ways to get free film stock and people to edit the film. Steven and I are really so excited about the level of talent submitting to the show.

Is there an underlying goal to this show, a feel-good element you hope to get out of it?

Beyond making a good TV show, we hope it inspires young viewers all over the world to make more and more films. Right now, it is so lucky that we have the MySpaces and YouTubes in the universe. They are only going to get more and more important, and the talent is out there.

How involved with Spielberg be with On the Lot?

Steven will be involved in the series mainly in the end when he gives the prize, but he's very, very hands on. He loves film, it's his life. I'm very hands on as well, and this is a very important series to us. Let's face it -- we all fancy ourselves as armchair critics and Monday morning quarterbacks. We all talk about films, and people will be talking about this show the next day around the water cooler.

Was it difficult to get Spielberg to collaborate on this project?

I've known Steven and his work for awhile. DreamWorks and Mark Burnett Productions are partners on The Contender, and Steven would come to fights, and I'm close with DreamWorks and Katzenberg. Steven loves all kinds of entertainment, trust me. He loves American Idol and Survivor, and we got to talking about it many times. And it came out as how to find, nurture, and celebrate the young talent that's out there. Imagine if we had tried to do this show five years ago -- I don't know if it would work. They tried with Project Greenlight. That was the earliest TV catalyst for bringing awareness to young filmmakers, for sure.

What challenges will these young filmmakers have to endure?

It's a talent contest, and we'll be judging the talent week in and week out. This is where young filmmakers have a week to make their film, then they get on stage, clear their throat, and present their film. The curtains open, and they either take it on the chin or they get applauded. Is there anything particular that you're looking for in the submissions? You can tell right away if it's good or not good. We can't specify on a technical level, because not everyone has access to the same things, but some people have the heart and soul and understand storytelling. Going back to the caveman days, not every caveman and cavewoman were a good storyteller. Some people make you yawn and bore you to death; other people are energetic and you like their storytelling. The director is a visionary who has to be a general on the set, keep everyone working together, and also have a vision for storytelling.

How has the response been? Did you receive a lot of entries?

We got...  1,000 submissions in just the last two days -- 1,000 films! And we're accepting 5,000. Looking back at the start of my career, Eco Challenge and Survivor casting was all done on VHS tapes. Now we're casting by uploading digitally to a Web site. It is absolutely amazing! Apprentice has Trump Plaza, Survivor is on an island.

Where are these contestants going to live, the FOX lot?

They will be living on a small lot, and the winner will move onto "the Lot." Since FOX is producing this show, will it be on the FOX lot in Century City? I can't say, but it's not the FOX lot. They'll be living on another lot in the [San Fernando] Valley.

Might some of these young hopefuls might have a chance of seeing their ideas made into a TV show if they don't get them made into a film?

Who knows? Some of these might be the next pilots. I estimate we'll make about 55 films during the series. Some may become features. But really, if a few take off with the public's imagination like wildfire, they very well may develop into long-form features. FOX certainly has grabs for any TV series. You said there are 16 contestants, but you just said the show would produce about 55 films.

Will the filmmakers be making more than one film?

Great question -- yes. They are all broken up into groups of four. Each group of four directors will each make a film a week. The films will be three to five minutes, and then get longer as the series goes on. So now you have everyone working on the team who wants their film to be the best, and they will either be helping or hindering one another. There will be drama in thinking, "If you're going to screw me over on my film this week, don't expect me to help you with yours next week."

A director is a singular artist, so will being in the group mentality mess up their brains by possibly being influenced by other people's ideas -- will it screw up your vision?

It's going to be a struggle. You'll learn a lot about the people on the show. The final 16, when they come to us -- everyone will have the same resources, the same equipment, the same pool of actors, the same DPs , the same scripts. For the first time, these young filmmakers will have access to things on a real movie lot. This is exciting for them, and you'll feel for them. It's a real passion to want to be a filmmaker, it's not an easy thing. You're baring your heart and soul to the world. On the Lot