BuzzSugar

Buzz News Roundup, 11/19

BuzzSugar — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 12:39:06 -0800

Whenever the TV season picks up again, Dirty Sexy Money will be around for all of it, writes Zap2it.
Hollywood Reporter has news that Kathy Bates will join Ashton Kutcher and Michelle Pfeiffer in the dramatic love story Personal Effects.
Couldn't get tickets for this weekend's Saturday Night Live show? The New York Times writes about the event.
ComingSoon reports that production on the sequel to The Da Vinci Code will be pushed back due to the writers strike.
Olympians and Omarosa are among the contestants for Celebrity Apprentice, which will premiere in January; details are at The Futon Critic.
NBC is bringing the Web series Quarterlife to TV, Broadcasting & Cable reports.
According to Reuters, Gus Van Sant's biopic about gay San Francisco city councilman Harvey Milk (which will star Sean Penn) will be made before Bryan Singer's version.
Hey, you 10 people who watched On the Lot: Variety has a story about what winner Will Bigham is up to.

"On the Lot": Well, At Least Something Good Happened

BuzzSugar — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 10:34:24 -0700

"On the Lot," the stinker of a series for which I once had such high hopes, finally limped to its finish last night. But at least something good came out of the whole sorry mess: Will Bigham, the sentimental favorite and one of the few directors who deserved to win, came away with the $1 million deal with Dreamworks. And despite my expectations that he'd find some way to worm his way out of appearing, Steven Spielberg did actually show his face to meet Will and welcome him to Dreamworks - though he seemed less than enthused to be there.

Other than that, the final show was - like far too many of the episodes this season - kind of a waste of time. A few amusing things did happen, though:

The vote total was up 60 percent over the previous record for the series - though Adrianna still didn't give any numbers. Also, apparently the Internet voting system went down for the finale. How appropriate.
It was nice to see all of the finalists (except Carolina and Claudia, who were off making films somewhere) back on stage. Each of the final three got to pick one film from another director to screen on stage, so Zach, Mateen and Hilary got an encore.
The shout-out to the actors who were in the films each week made me wonder, yet again, why we never learned more about how the films were put together. For a show about directors, we sure didn't see very much directing.
I think Carrie Fisher's amazing put-down of Jess's horror film about a tree might be the best thing to come out of this series: "That was my least favorite thing next to adolescence and being left by a man for a man." Zing!

In the end, I'm glad Will has this deal, though I'm curious what one can actually do with a $1 million development contract in Hollywood these days. For those of you who stuck it out to the end: Was it a worthy finish?

Photo courtesy of Fox

Do You Vote for Contestants on Reality Shows?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 13:35:49 -0700

When you watch shows like "On the Lot" - which awards its top prize tonight - or "So You Think You Can Dance," where voters at home pick the winner, do you actually dial in or head online to vote? Or do you just watch?

Photo courtesy of Fox

"On the Lot" Recap: Now, This is Just Insulting

BuzzSugar — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 10:31:01 -0700

"On the Lot" has been quite the slog this summer, it's true, but this week's episode was the one that I figured would make it all worthwhile. Three not-that-bad directors were going to pull out all the stops to make the best final films they could, Garry Marshall was going to utter more crazy talk, and Adrianna Costa was going to barely wear clothing. Right?

Wrong. Well, the last two were true, but instead of getting three new films, we got what was essentially a recap. The final three - Jason, Will and Adam - were asked to pick their two favorite films from the season. And then we watched them. Again. With absolutely nothing new except for Adrianna's blabber in between.

I shouldn't be surprised; it's my fault for getting my hopes up about anything having to do with "On the Lot." After all, my whole experience of watching this show has been a lesson in setting my expectations lower. But "rewarding" the, I dunno, 25 of us who are still watching with a finale filled with films we'd already seen is just offensive. All I can figure is that the show ran out of money.

Enough venting. To read about what actually happened and see my pick to win, read more

Will picked Glass Eye and The Yes Men (both were fine, but if I were him, I'd have picked Lucky Penny and Unplugged). Jason went with Eternal Waters and Sweet, the only film of his I've actually liked (and at least I didn't have to watch Getta Rhoom again). And Adam picked Dough: The Musical and Army Guy, which were not only my two favorite films of his but also two of my favorites of this whole sorry season. I'm rooting for Will, but if I were choosing based on last night alone, I'd have to give it to Adam.

What did you think? Was anyone else as insulted as I was? And how excited are you to see Spielberg show up - tail between his legs, I hope, ashamed for what a wreck this show turned out to be - next week?

Photos courtesy of Fox

"On the Lot": The Logline Challenge

BuzzSugar — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 09:30:00 -0700

This week's episode of "On the Lot" started with a somewhat shocking elimination: Zach, the director who honestly seemed most likely to win from the very first week of the competition, was eliminated after last week's vote. Yes, I said his movie last week was one of my least-favorites, and I think Zach made a strategic mistake by making a not-great sequel to an even worse original film. On the other hand, I think he's one of only a couple of the "On the Lot" contestants who I think could actually have a career in Hollywood, and it's unfortunate that he won't be there at the end.

The remaining four guys were tasked with making a film based on a logline submitted through the logline challenge the show has been running all season: a guy wakes up wearing a dress with no memory of the night before. I was pleasantly surprised at the variety of films that came from the logline; I think all four directors realized they needed to move beyond "hey, it's a dude in a dress!" and actually give us a story. The guest judge, by the way, was F. Gary Gray of Friday and The Italian Job. As for the contestants' films:

Will started off the night with The Yes Men. He said he wanted to focus more on the people around the man in the dress and go for something Coen Brothers-esque. I did get a little Hudsucker Proxy out of it, and there definitely was a man in a dress, but he really didn't deal with the second part of the challenge (about the guy not remembering what happened the night before) at all. Still, it had a cool screwball feeling to it. Carrie liked the dialogue and the fact that Will didn't feminize the man in the dress; F. Gary said it was well-designed and funny but he wanted a little more punch at the end; Garry said everyone was funny, from the lead to the supporting players, and that's a compliment to the director.
Sam followed up with Dress for Success. His interpretation featured a bunch of women getting revenge on their sexist, sexually harassing boss by making him wear a dress and heels while performing menial office tasks and, for some reason, walking on a treadmill while getting smacked on the butt. He emerges having been taught a lesson ... except then he suddenly starts sexually harassing guys instead. Something just felt off about the film, whether it was the pace or the tone, and I think he tried to hard for his big punchline at the end. Carrie said it wasn't original enough to separate it from other office films; F. Gary said the torture scenes and office scenes felt like two different movies, and Garry liked it fine but said it probably needed to be a bit better at this stage of the competition.

Two more films, so read more

Adam's film, Army Guy, involved stunt doubles, an actor and an actress playing multiple characters, and a fight scene that included literally taking someone's head off, as well as some baffling dialogue and an odd penis joke. I was completely confused until the big reveal at the end that the film's actual conceit was kids playing with a dollhouse; then, the film started to seem strangely brilliant, and I actually rewound to watch it again. Carrie said it was the most innovative film of the competition; F. Gary called it Fellini-esque but wished the audience had gotten a little more something to hold onto; Garry got to use the word "crotchsicle."
Jason finished off the show with Oh, Boy, about a guy who gets revenge on his high school nemesis by putting him in a dress, strapping a bomb to him and ordering him to do various embarrassing things - except it's not the nemesis after all. It had the trademark Jason cringe moment for me (this time a sex joke), but I have to give Jason credit for managing to tell a complete story, even when it's not a story I particularly relate to. Carrie and Garry both said that Jason is good at capturing his particular world; F. Gary said the movie seemed a little safe, but Jason has definitely improved.

Judges' favorites:
Carrie: Army Guy
F. Gary: Army Guy
Garry: Army Guy

I actually have to agree with them, though I don't think I was as in love with Army Guy as they all were; Will's film would be a relatively close second for me. My least favorite on the night was Sam's, and given that he was the only one to get truly negative feedback, I'd say he should be worried about going home.

And that's (almost) a wrap - next week is the final competition round! Who's excited? Who's still watching? And which contestants do you think will be there at the end?

"On the Lot": Five Ford Commercials ... Er, Road Films

BuzzSugar — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 09:33:42 -0700

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that this week's "On the Lot" was sponsored even more generously than usual by Ford. The five remaining directors all made films about the wonders of the open road - and, it would seem, the wonder of driving Ford vehicles on it. At one point, Adrianna Costa even stood like a showroom model next to one giant SUV, just in case we weren't getting the message.

Before we could get to the "road films," we had to see who was going to be eliminated after last week's comedies. Adrianna told the gang that Zach and Andrew had the fewest votes, but Zach just barely nosed ahead out to stay in the competition. Jason, meanwhile, won the box office tally again; as a reward, he got to work with Jerry O'Connell this week. Hmmm ... blessing or curse?

This week's guest judge was Gary Ross of Seabiscuit. The other Garry was mysteriously absent, but his sister Penny filled in instead, showing that babbling runs in the family. As for the five new films:

Adam started off the night with Driving Under the Influence, about a car stereo that makes people dance against their will. I think Adam's really at his best when he does things with dancing, for whatever reason, though I thought the ending was ridiculous. Carrie agreed that Adam rocks at the dancing, Gary thought it worked, and Penny was about as coherent as Garry typically is.
Sam came next with Backseat Driving Test, about a young man whose mother is an insufferable backseat driver. She gets sent to backseat driving rehab, which seems to consist mostly of being driven around a course at high speed with dust flying everywhere. It was a lot of driving effects and not a lot else, in my opinion. Carrie said it was Sam's best movie, while Gary was impressed with the effects and Penny smiled a lot.

Three more, so read more

Zach apparently wants to get kicked off, because he came back from his near-elimination with a sequel to the film that almost did him in, Bonus Feature 2. It did have something more of a story than last week's, it's true, but I also would never classify it as a "road movie," thus putting him into some dangerous Marty Martin-esque territory. Carrie said it was better than last week's and babbled some stuff about Zach being extraordinary, Gary thought it was good storytelling, and Penny said Zach took the notes from last week and came back with a better film.
Jason got the prize of putting Jerry O'Connell in his film, The Move. I'm kind of confused; it was either about a guy moving or about a prank Jerry O'Connell's character played on a friend, and I'm honestly not sure which. Carrie was confused too, Gary said it was well shot but the big reveal at the end made no sense, and Penny may or may not have made a racist comment about Asian people(?).
Will finished things off with Road Rage 101, about a guy who beats up on his car while he's stuck in traffic - until the car starts to fight back. Fox is clearly hammering on Will being the sentimental favorite, as his intro package again mentioned that this is Will's last chance in film, but this was not one of his best. Carrie mostly praised Will's earlier work, Gary was impressed with some of the technical stuff but wished we'd learned more about the character of the car, and Penny said she didn't understand why the guy was so mad at the car in the first place.

Judges' favorites: Gary and Carrie picked Adam's, while Penny picked Sam's.

As for me, I'd put Adam at the top of my list, while Jason and Zach were my least favorites. I would think Jason would be the one heading home, but whichever cross-section of America still watches this show seems to love him. Thoughts?

Photo courtesy of Fox

"On the Lot" Recap: Six More Comedies

BuzzSugar — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 11:27:38 -0700

Did anybody else notice how many times Adrianna Costa mentioned during this week's "On the Lot" that the winner would be crowned "in just three weeks"? Three weeks! Almost done!

We now know two more people who won't be walking away with the $1 million development deal: Mateen and Kenny, just as I'd suspected. All six remaining directors showed their films tonight, which once again were short comedies. (I guess we're not doing drama on this show?) Joining the judges was Brad Silberling, director of City of Angels, Moonlight Mile and the Lemony Snicket movie. As for this week's crop of movies:

Zach was up first with The Bonus Feature, about a guy who buys a car with a DVD player that transports him an dhis girlfriend into various scenes from classic movies. Basically, it's the plot of the animated "No Time for Nuts" short, mixed with a Disney ride and a healthy dose of Spielberg. Carrie and Brad thought it needed more story; Garry said Zach might have sucked up too much Spielberg but he should be able to continue in the competition.
Adam followed that up with Girl Trouble, about a highly unusual one-night stand. And by "unusual," I mean "cross-dressing." The plot basically centered on one guy trying to convince his roommate that the "date" he'd brought home was gorgeous, and the roommate had none of it - the kicker being that the roommate's fiance was also a cross-dressing guy. Sound funny? Yeah, exactly. Also, it ripped off both American Beauty and The Graduate. Carrie and Garry liked it, but Brad thought it was too over-the-top and didn't really kill.

Four more, so read more

Will made me love him a little more with Unplugged, a love story between two desk lamps. I've thought for a long time that Will needs to get a deal with Pixar after this, and Unplugged really sealed the deal - couldn't you picture Luxo Jr. being one of those lamps? Carrie loved it but complained again about the lack of dialogue; Brad thought it was brilliant; Garry said ... something about lamps necking.
Andrew made the highly stylized Keep Off Grass, a superhero film with two antiheroes having an argument on a perfectly manicured lawn. The film ends with passionate, tornado-like sex that tears up a lawn, unbeknownst to the clueless gardener. It bugged me that the superheroes didn't destroy anything during the fight, and that was the main complaint the judges had with it too - except for Garry, who just loved it.
Sam made American Hoe, about a couple fighting over the stamps for their wedding invitation after the guy brought home the national farming series stamps (including one that says "the American hoe") instead of the love ones. And ... that's about it. Carrie said there wasn't enough to it, Brad said the characters had nowhere to go, and Garry said the two characters shouldn't have been getting married in the first place.
Jason finished out the night with Old Home Boyz, about a group of aging gangstas who get together for a 50-year reunion and end up having a dance-off to see who will end up with the girl they've both apparently always wanted to sleep with. I must have been watching a different movie from the judges, because I found it nearly unwatchable, but all three of them thought it was fantastic - and, in the case of Garry, even romantic.

When Adrianna asked the judges at the end of the night, Carrie liked Adam's film the most, Brad liked Jason's, and Garry was torn between Will's and Andrew's. Interesting.

Only one director will go home next week, and if I were choosing, I'd send home Sam, with Adam and Jason fighting for the next spot on my chopping block. By the way, if I heard correctly, the person with the most votes this week will get the (somewhat dubious) honor of having Jerry O'Connell star in his next film. Um, great. What did you think? Anyone still out there?

Photo courtesy of Fox

"On The Lot" Recap: Action Movies! Bang!

Molly — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 14:41:43 -0700

In the continued effort by Fox to get "On The Lot" off the air as soon as humanly possible, last night's episode started off by kicking off two contestants. Now, we knew the double boot was coming and I assume its here to stay (until the final two, obviously) meaning that we are a mere four weeks until this nonsense is over and, as I'm sure Fox hopes, forgotten. That being said, last night's Action movies didn't make me embarrassed for the filmmakers! Progress!

As Buzz hoped and predicted, Shalini and Hilary were eliminated, leaving us with only men in the final six. Gary must be so heart broken, and lord knows how Adrianna will dress now that she's the only woman in town. Sigh.

The guest judge was director Antione Fuqua (Shooter, Training Day), who clearly knows how to make an action movie, but isn't so good at criticism. To be fair though, that is still more than I can say for Carrie and Gary.

First up was Sam with Key Witness, which stylistically reminded me of Marty Martin's work, and not in a good way. There was a plot, though not much of one - something about a bounty hunter and a key witness. Carrie rightfully said that the action overwhelmed the story and that he should be used to dealing with a short amount of time. Antione said it was style over substance and cliched. Gary said it kept him on the edge of the seat.
Jason, who I admit I've held a grudge against since his first film, made a surprisingly endearing movie called Sweet about a guy's journey to buy a last minute anniversary present for his wife. I'm loathe to admit it, but he's really improved. Carrie loved it. Antione appreciated that "action doesn't have to be violence." Gary rambled something about the flowers in the film not being nice enough.

To hear about the other four action films for the night and my elimination predictions just read more

Andrew's Zero to Sixty was about a car salesmen who inadvertently becomes involved in a high speed car chase while still trying to make the sale. Carrie liked it. Antione thought there was too much "squealing." Gary suggested that Andrew switch hats with Jason (literally).
Kenny, who has never ever made a worthwhile film in the competition continued his streak with The Losers about a dad who tries to avenge his son's honor by taking on a cool kid in a downhill skateboard race. Seriously. Carrie likes his eye but not his ear. Antione didn't love. Gary was bewildered by the presence of the rubber lizard, but thought it was "wild" and "unique." To be fair, that lizard was weird.
Last up was Mateen with Catch in which a man tried to save the day by catching the thief of a pretty street performer's donations. Carrie thought it was his most "relatable" film. Antione said he liked it and made cryptic comment about "the first time he saw the movie" (so the judges see them beforehand?). Gary made a somewhat off-color remark about stealing a hat full of money being a big deal "in the Bronx" but not elsewhere. Yikes.

My guess is that we are (and should be) saying goodbye to Kenny and Mateen. Though, Andrew could very well get the axe, too. For better or for worse, it looks like Jason is here to stay. So which movie did you like best? Are you sad that all the women are out so soon? Is anyone still watching?

"On the Lot" Recap: "When Two Worlds Collide"

BuzzSugar — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 09:30:27 -0700

Wow, how quickly does Fox want "On the Lot" to be over? This week, not one but two directors will be eliminated, letting this black hole of ratings suckage limp off the air a bit sooner. Sigh. Remember when I thought this show would be good?

First off this week (which aired on Monday because of baseball's All-Star Game tonight), Adrianna - whom Mateen described as "a harbinger of bad news," and isn't that the truth - showed up at the directors' house to tell Shira-Lee that she was going home. I didn't think her horror film was the worst of last week, but I also don't think it's a bad call to send her home.

This week's five directors had the assignment to make a film based on the trite concept "when two worlds collide" for Carrie, Garry and guest judge Luke Greenfield of The Girl Next Door. To be honest, I thought this was the least-bad week so far, though none of the films had me jumping up and down either. Here's how it went down:

Zach started off the night with Time Upon a Once, which played with direction and time and space and reminded me a bit of the preview for ABC's upcoming show "Pushing Daisies." The story, in a nutshell: New neighbors who do things backwards (literally) move in across the street and ultimately manage to reverse time to keep someone from being hit by a car. There were some very cool, subtle effects (having the actors speak backwards, then playing it forwards to give the idea of a foreigner trying to speak a new language), but it also felt like it was trying a little too hard to be weird. Carrie liked it but said she expected more; Luke said it reminded him of Spike Jonze; Garry said it was "esoterical" and babbled about the dog.
Hilary brought us The Legend of Donkey-Tail Willie, a fairy tale about a guy whose donkey tail makes him a social pariah until he meets a woman with donkey ears who's clearly his soul mate. I thought it was Hilary's coolest-looking film yet, though the fuzzy effect was turned up a bit high - I kept blinking to make sure there wasn't something wrong with my contacts. Carrie was pleased with Hilary's improvement but said it reminded her of Adam's Dance Man (because it had a voiceover, maybe?); Luke didn't love all the details but said the overall impression was strong; Garry said "no jackass made this film," yuk yuk.

Three more films, so read more

Will's film was called Spaghetti, about a couple who get lost in a spaghetti western. Hey, dialogue! Westerns aren't really my thing, but it seemed like Will did a fine job both satirizing and paying homage to some of their more recognizable elements (the duel setup, the close-ups of people's faces, the sepia tones of every desert shot). Carrie thought it was cute; Luke liked it but wanted a punchier ending; Garry said he liked its simplicity.
Shalini kept describing First Sight as a film about "a woman who learns a lesson in a very unusual way," which is the kind of intentionally vague description that tends to signal a movie is going to be awful. This was basically a public service announcement about a shallow girl who gets a pair of glasses from a blind man that enables her to see people differently. It was kind of baffling (a guy asks her for change to help kids, and she signs a petition but forks over no change?) and generally way too heavy-handed. Carrie said the over-the-top message wasn't her thing; Luke went a step further and said he felt like he'd been burned with the branding iron of morality; Garry liked the positive story.
Adam gave a big speech about doing his own on-set special effects, which seemed like a knock on Zach to me, especially because his film had its share of computer-generated effects, too. Anyway. His Worldly Possession was about a materialistic couple who got a special globe shipped to them from the military (?) and realized they could make things happen on the actual earth by simulating them on the model earth. Carrie said it was her favorite of the night; Luke liked it as well; Garry didn't really get it.

I saw something redeeming in every film this week except for Shalini's, which I thought was bland and way too heavy-handed. I would send her home this week, along with Hilary; though I thought Hilary's film was OK this time, she just doesn't seem as strong as the other directors in this round, all of whom have produced at least one film that wowed the judges.

So, what did you think? Is Zach still the favorite to win it all? Is Garry getting crazier every week?

Photo courtesy of Fox

"On the Lot" Recap: Six Horror Films

BuzzSugar — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 08:00:00 -0700

Another week, another edition of "On the Lot." Honestly, I complain a lot about the quality of the singing on "American Idol," but even a Sanjaya performance would be more welcome right now than sitting through another batch of mediocre films. This week, six filmmakers took on horror with guest judge Eli Roth, whose Hostel II recently prompted a debate over whether the horror genre was on the decline.

But first, last week's crop of directors gathered back at the house to wait for Adrianna and Garry to drop by with the news of who would be eliminated. Will said, "Adrianna's a very nice person, but I don't want to see her today," which totally sums up how I feel every time I turn on "On the Lot." Turns out, David's awkward film about sexual escapades got him kicked off the show. He was very zen about it, saying that every director has a bad movie, but it's a shame that his was in front of "millions and millions of people." I think that's a little over-optimistic. Also, we learned that Will's film got the most votes last week. As for this week's entries:

Kenny made The Malibu Myth, and we learned that the biggest problem on the shoot was Kenny's aggravating personality. Surprise! Anyway, the film was about a couple who seek out a road where young folks are rumored to be brutally murdered, see a dead body, stop the car, touch the dead girl, and end up attacked by flesh-eating villains. It was probably the best of Kenny's films so far, but remember, that's a list that includes Wack Alley Cab. I thought the buildup was creepy enough, but the actual attack was laughable. Eli agreed with me, Carrie said it was Kenny's most accessible film, and Garry said he was scared.
Sam came next with Anklebiters, a movie that hinged on an ankle-biting puppet. He said he was conscious of the fine line between scary and cheesy, but I really think he came down on the wrong side of this one. The puppet looked like some kind of remote-controlled toy, and the action was exactly the kind of screaming, running around, bloody silliness you'd expect. Carrie said she believed the puppet, Eli said the attack worked well but the prologue gave too much away, and Garry dropped another one of his literary quotes before saying he was scared, again.

Four more, so read more

Andrew made Midnight Snack, which he described as horror first, comedy second. The basic plot: A woman - who we later learn is a demon - makes a sandwich. I had a hard time being scared because the main character didn't seem to think there was anything weird about the ghosts and monsters all through her house. Carrie said it was more Rocky Horror than horror, Garry said he's a sucker for comedy, and Eli said the lightning and music were so overdone that it seemed like a "Got Milk" commercial.
Jason's film was Eternal Waters, about a kid who died by drowning in the family pool and somehow comes back to save his mother from an intruder. I've been far from Jason's biggest fan, but I thought this was his best film - as well as the best film of the night so far. Its happy ending was a little too saccharine for a horror film, but the cool stylistic touches made up for that. Carrie liked it, Garry loved it, and Eli was too distracted by the mom's tight T-shirt to say much at all.
Shira-Lee, who said numerous times it was her first time doing horror, made Open House, about a house-hunting couple who encounter a ghost in what could be their soon-to-be-born child's room. I appreciated that she attempted a psychological thriller, even though it didn't quite succeed. Carrie said the actors were good but she didn't believe the ghost; Eli said the music was too forced by the ending was nice; Garry said Shira-Lee was better at comedy.
Mateen closed out the night with Profile, about a black man who imagines(?) himself getting beaten by white cops. OK, I get that racial profiling is horrifying, but does that make this a horror film? Carrie said no, but the performances from the actors were strong; Eli said he disliked all the shifting points of view and wished it would have held together better; Garry said it was brave, though it might not be accessible enough. It also had the Marty Martin hallmark of not exactly adhering to the rules of the competition, but who knows how much that matters at this point.

If I had to pick a favorite, I suppose it would be Jason's. Honestly, I could see how any of the other directors would be sent home, though if it were up to me I'd ditch either Kenny or Andrew.

Next week: The show's on Monday because of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, and the directors will make films based on the phrase "when two worlds collide." Um, yippee?