BuzzSugar

"On the Lot" Recap: Six Short Comedies

BuzzSugar — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 11:03:50 PDT

Sadly, my local Fox affiliate showed baseball last night instead of "On the Lot," so I didn't get to see Mark Waters judging after all. (And the home team didn't even win. Thanks a lot, Giants.) I've done my best to catch up with the clips available on the show's official site, but if I missed anything big, please tell me.

Here's what I gather about the early part of the show: 1) Adriana and Garry visited the directors' house to tell Jess that her horror film from a tree's perspective hadn't flown with America and she'd be going home, and 2) Adriana wore even less clothing than usual. As for the films:

Shalini started things off with Dr. In-Law, about a guy who takes his non-English-speaking father-in-law to a doctor's appointment and spitefully leads him to be examined in a particularly unpleasant way. You know, if I were to have made a list of contestants I thought could get through this competition without making a butt joke, Shalini would have been at the top of my list. But no.
Adam came next with Discovering the Wheels, about cavemen who suddenly have a car appear in the middle of their community and take it for a test drive, only to end up being zapped back and forth in time. I'm sorry, was that just one big car commercial? Plus, in the battle of "On the Lot" caveman references, I still prefer Sam's Replication Theory.

To see my thoughts on the other four,

I really thought Will was going to attempt a film with dialogue this time, but Nerve Endings was another essentially silent film, this one about a surgeon who realizes that by pressing down on different parts of a guy's brain during surgery, he can make the patient kick and dance. It was a little gross but still cute and well-made, with a strong directorial voice. On the other hand, though, it's also starting to feel like I've seen all of Will's tricks.
Hillary made Under the Gun, about a woman who decides to rob a sperm bank at gunpoint (sperm bank, get it?). I keep thinking I expect more from Hilary, but I don't really know why, since it's not like any of her other films have been so impressive. This was my favorite of hers so far, but it still was really over-the-top and didn't make me laugh aloud.
David brought us How to Have a Girl, about a couple that discovers that having sex in certain positions will determine the gender of their child. The gag is that the man wants a boy, and the woman wants a girl, so there's a lot of uncomfortable struggling and rolling around. I thought it was a mess - first too much build-up with too little explanation of what was going on, then too much poorly simulated sex. Eh.
Zach closed out the night with Die Hardly Working, about coworkers who start a make-believe war in their cubicles. I thought this was the best of the night, in large part because of his actors, who really sold their pantomimed gunfire. Still, Zach seems more like the one to beat every week.

So, whose films did you like? What did I miss? Did Garry say anything coherent? Photo courtesy of Fox

"On the Lot": A Night of Weird Movies

BuzzSugar — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 10:29:10 PDT

Well, "On the Lot" just keeps those changes comin': This week, instead of making us wait till the end of the evening to see which of last week's directors would be kicked off, Adriana cut the suspense and just told us Marty was going home. Which means Kenny's still in, of course, but given that two of my least-favorite directors were in the same group, losing one was the best that could happen.

On to this week's films. The guest judge was Wes Craven (shouldn't they have saved him for horror film week?), who mainly served to make Adriana squeak and squeal at the mere thought of Scream. He wasn't my favorite guest judge of the season (that honor still goes to Michael Bay), but he seemed to take his task seriously and provided some good notes for the contestants. As for the films themselves:

Will started things off with Glass Eye, about a guy who loses his glass eye but figures out he can still see through it, which becomes interesting when his dog eats it. Will is so sweet, totally my sentimental favorite to win, and this movie made me smile, despite some slow pacing and a poo joke. Carrie said it was sweet, but Will should make a movie with dialogue next time. Wes thought it was good overall, though he would have changed a few specific things about the direction. Garry said he couldn't be sympathetic to the main character because if a guy wears a wifebeater, clearly he's a wife-beater. Thanks, Garry.
Jason went next, leading into his film by saying he's a Christian guy who just wants to make positive films. Like the ones making fun of the mentally challenged? Anyway, his movie this time around was Blood Born, about a troubled kid who finds out his blood can heal the terminally ill. It was full of saturated colors, tricksy visual effects, and heavy moralizing - and did anyone else hear the audience start laughing when the main character got a gun pulled on him? Ouch. Carrie and Wes said they both were unclear on what the lesson was supposed to be, and Garry said an uplifting ending might have worked better.

To see how the other three fared,

Zach said he wanted to do something without so many special effects this time, so he came out with Sunshine Girl, about a little girl who's afraid of the dark and decides to capture the sun, inadvertently plunging the rest of the world into darkness. It was technically beautiful and restrained, though I thought it was a little too Hallmark-card saccharine. Carrie said it wasn't as good as his other stuff, but she still liked it; Wes called Zach a true filmmaker; Garry rambled something about England.
Mateen made a film called Lost, and I'd love to tell you more about it, but I honestly stopped paying attention about halfway through, because I was about to fall asleep. Basically, it was one long dialogue scene between ex-lovers, where the woman revealed she'd gotten married just before the guy could propose. Carrie said the dialogue was good but Mateen should have given it a third act; Wes didn't understand the woman's motivations; Garry said it looked a little too much like a soap opera.
Jessica finished off the night with The Orchard, "a horror film from a tree's perspective." If that sounds like some wacky, experimental student-film nonsense to you, well, you're exactly right. Carrie said, and I quote: "That was my least favorite thing next to adolescence and being left by a man for a man." Wes said it would be great for an audience of trees, but it totally wouldn't fly with people. Garry said he wanted the tree to fight back.

All three judges picked Sunshine Girl as their favorite. For me, it was a close call between that one and Glass Eye. As for who I'd send home: Jessica, in a heartbeat. What about you? Are you backing Zach? Did you think Marty deserved to go? Anyone else think Carrie said some surprisingly awesome things this week? Care to speculate on where Adriana Costa's microphone went after the opening shot? Fire away! Photo courtesy of Fox

"On The Lot": Finally Getting It Right

Molly — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 16:17:42 PDT

"On The Lot" totally heard BuzzSugar's pleas! Not only was Michael Bay, the guest judge in the house to promote Transformers (heard of it? It's a little indie film coming out sometime this summer), surprisingly helpful and critical, but I think they've finally found a format that works!

So, the next three episodes will each feature films from 5 of the final 15 directors. At the beginning of each episode, they will kick off one of the directors from the week before. I was confused at first, but I think this is the best possible way to have it work as a once a week thing with no official elimination show, at least while there are still so many directors in the competition. Does that all make sense? Good.

For some reason Costa tried to make it all suspenseful as to which directors were presenting last night. Why? I do not know, because I'm pretty sure all the directors knew beforehand and only those 5 made movies this week.

First up was Sam, who we learned was responsible for briefly popular viral video "Lazy Monday" (a response to SNL's "Lazy Sunday" sketch) which oddly enough starred fellow OTL finalist Adam. Sam's movie was called Broken Pipe Dreams and was about a guy who drops the engagement ring (that is is presumably meant for a girlfriend, but we never get that far) in the toilet and is forced to confront some toilet-based demons. It was alright, Carrie Fisher loved it, Bay thought it needed tighter editing, Garry Marshall rambled something about the bathroom. My favorite part was the dog.
Next up was Trevor, whose cuteness Adrianna Costa can't stop talking about. His movie, Teri (Blind Date), was about a blind date. Thrilling stuff. Carrie hated it. At this point I was forced to admit to myself that I kind of appreciated Michael Bay's presence. I never thought I would say that. He didn't much like the story, or the photography. Garry Marshall was, clearly, in another world and rambled something.

To hear about the rest of the movies, and my prediction for who will get the boot just

Hilary's movie The First Time I Met the Finkelsteins was crass, but I thought mediocre. Carrie Fisher thought the camera angles were too tight. Michael Bay called it a "groaner" (laughing at her instead of with her)...yikes. Garry Marshall didn't like the camera work either, but appreciated the line about "Kelly straddling a brisket." Of course he did.
Next up was Adam, whose movie Dough: The Musical was utterly fabulous. He pulled off a musical, and a funny one at that. Carrie gushed. Micheal Bay liked it but didn't think it was eye-catching enough. I'm not sure Garry Marshall understood it.
Last up was Shalini, who made a short documentary called Laughing Out Loud: A Comic Journey about a gay Indian comedian in NYC. Carrie loved it. Michael Bay was surprisingly impressed and thought she had the best directing skills of the bunch. Garry Marshall blathered about not really needing a beginning, middle and end.

I think it's between Hilary and Trevor as to who is getting the boot and my money is on Hilary. Garry Marshall will surely mourn the loss of another of the competition's female filmmakers. Also, Adrianna Costa totally had less face time. Good. So what did you guys think? Any stand-out films? As surprised as I was by Michael Bay's totally cocky but kinda necessary criticisms?

Miranda Kerr Shows Off Her $2.5 Million Bra Prior to Tonight's VS Runway Show

Katie Henry — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:16:19 PST

Miranda Kerr surprised shoppers at South Coast Plaza Mall in Costa Mesa, CA this morning when she made an appearance at a newly remodeled Victoria's Secret store. She was on hand along with the $2.5 million Fantasy Treasure Bra she wears in the Victoria's Secret holiday special. Miranda, Alessandra Ambrosio, Adriana Lima, and the rest of the Angels taped the sexy lingerie runway show earlier this month. You can see their lavish wings and skimpy outfits sashay down the runway to the music of Maroon 5, Kanye West, Jay-Z, and Nicki Minaj tonight on CBS at 10 p.m. EST.

Miranda's been on the West Coast promoting the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show and stopped by Chelsea Lately recently to chat about her workout routine, natural childbirth, and her hip-hop loving baby, Flynn Bloom.