Gawker
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Fame Games
VH1 Rolls The Dice With New Unknown Actress Reality Show, But Does The 'I Wanna Be A Big Stah!' Format Work Anymore?
Here we go again! VH1 (who else?) has just greenlit Scream Queens, a reality show in which 10 unknown actresses desperate to be the next Jamie Lee Curtis or Janet Leigh will compete for a starring role in an upcoming “major” Lionsgate film. And boy are they excited — one Lionsgate rep tells THR that “discovering new talent is always exciting,” while another chimes in by teaching us that “VH1 has had a tremendous track record in launching alternative programming that captures viewers' imaginations.” Yes, yes it does! Our brains have been expanded by Viacom's ongoing carnival featuring women degrading themselves in hot tubs and music execs attempting to Make A Band, Any Band Will Do quarter after quarter. But with a reputable horror studio behind Scream Queens and the fact that scary movies have launched more than a few major careers, this one may put its You’re The One That I Want and It Factor predecessors to shame. We look back at five recent Next Big Thing reality shows in an effort to place our bets: More »
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Comment by brilliantmistake: The It Factor also featured Jeremy Renner (SWAT, 28 Days Later), and Lisa Raye. A bunch of the other cast... more » | Other threads
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defamer
The Paris Hilton Workout
· Paris Hilton goes to the WOW Report's gym, where her workout is monitored by both bloggers and sneaky paps: "Then, across the way, I notice a guy sitting down on the Pectoralis Major machine dressed in jeans and black shoes. He pretends to pump some iron. This is suspicious as everyone knows the Pectoralis Major machine has been out of commission for the last six months. Suddenly, the dude pulls out a telephoto lens camera from his backpack and starts snapping away at Paris while she's mid bench-press! A couple of gays shriek and point at the photographer, and within a few minutes he is escorted from the gym by a staff member." More »
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By MarkComment by Fawn Liebowitz: They must have had to sandblast the O.R. after the removal to get that skank's germs out of the air,... more » | Other threads
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defamer
Since On the Lot somehow survived all the way to its finale despite running on Nielsen fumes for 13 weeks, we thought you might like to know whom Steven Spielberg anointed as the next him. We hate to say we knew it, but we always had a feeling that Lucky Penny would carry him right into his own DreamWorks office. [TheLot.com]
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By MarkComment by Det. Philangie: I hate that this guy used the whole "This is the last chance my family is giving me to support... more » | Other threads
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defamer
'On The Lot' Finalist's Grassroots Campaign Annoys Santa Monica Neighbors
We're not entirely sure what keeps us watching On the Lot, Fox's ratings-challenged attempt at discovering Hollywood's Next GreatTranny-VictimDirector. We doubt it's the contestants' short films, however, but rather the constant tension between host Adrianna Costa's plunging necklines and her rack's ability to remain securely in place. One Defamer operative on the Westside, meanwhile, recently discovered just how badly the show's finalists want our votes: More » -
defamer
'On The Lot' Still Casting, Just In Case Jerry O'Connell's Unavailable This Week
Even though each Wednesday morning ratings report returns results so low that Fox executives periodically call up Nielsen to make sure they haven't mistakenly swapped their show's numbers with those of a Telemundo infomercial for a local used car dealership, On The Lot continues on against all odds, with each first-run episode awing us anew with Steven Spielberg's power to keep the work of his fledgling auteurs on the air. For some strange reason, we incorrectly believed that the entire series was already in the can (maybe we were made a little suspicious by the fact that the show's format seemed to change every week without explanation?), but as revealed by a current casting notice just forwarded to us, they're still busy trying to fill rolls in the mini-productions that will one day earn begrudging, qualified praise from Carrie Fisher. The notice follows after the jump, but be warned: spoilers abound. More » -
defamer
We Could Never Begrudge Ricky Gervais An Easy Payday
· Ricky Gervais will star in Early Retirement, a pitch Warner Bros. bought about a a workoholic who—get ready for it—quits his job to spend more time with his family, a decision we're sure has uproariously hilarious, unforeseen consequences. [Variety] More » -
defamer
Obama Campaign Gets Hot Oprah Injection
· While it seemed that Steven Spielberg had ended the race for the Democratic presidential nomination in throwing his support behind Hillary Clinton, an undeterred Barack Obama has gone above the Hollywood kingmaker's head by getting Oprah Winfrey, the beneficent daytime TV deity Herself, to host a fundraiser for him at her Montecito compound. An expected $14 billion will be raised for the Obama campaign in a single night when Winfrey commands the heavens to open up and shower bundles of hundred-dollar bills upon her chosen candidate. [Variety] More »
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By MarkComment by Assistant/Atlas: Also, I would like to say as an offering to the O, that I have made the first political contribution... more » | Other threads
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defamer
Other Network Jobs That Might One Day Be Available To New Fox Hire Kevin Reilly
· ABC's Steve McPherson on Monday's announcement that pal Kevin Reilly is headed to Fox: "I hear when they fire me, he's going to come run this place," McPherson said. He then continued, his face rapidly draining of blood, "Haha, I'm just kidding guys, my job is completely safe. Guys? Guys? We're fixing Cavemen, I told you that yesterday!" [Variety] More » -
defamer
"Lot might ultimately serve a purpose, though: If studio guards print out the Web page that features the contestants' mugs and post it at the studio gates, it might prevent at least one would-be Spielberg from sneaking onto a studio lot." [THR/Reuters] -
defamer
'On The Lot' Still Alive, Weakly Kicking
· On the Lot CancellationWatch: Fox's unkillable Nielsen invalid draws just 2.3 million viewers, despite a return to an earlier format in which its contestants were challenged to direct comedy shorts featuring bank-commercial-quality humor levels and production values while racing against a ticking clock. (Adrianna Costa CleavageWatch: Covered up, again.) [Ed.note—Don't worry, despite the creepiness of that image from TheLot.com contestant Jess Brillhart is not dead, she was just dismissed from the competition at the top of the show, in blatant disregard for reality TV convention. ] [THR] More »
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By MarkComment by enriquez the water bottle: According to this site, it costs $34 a year to give a child in a developing country one school lunch... more » | Other threads
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defamer
Trump To Turn Cameras On His Soon-To-Be Fallen Pagaent Angels
· Obsessed with honoring the possible end of The Apprentice by building the Greatest Trump-Branded Reality TV Empire In The World, Donald Trump follows up the recent announcement of Fox project Trump's Tramps with one for his new Pageant Place at MTV, which will document the descent of various Trump-owned beauty contest winners into Trump-upsetting drug abuse and bisexuality. [Variety] More » -
trade roundup
'On the Lot' CancellationWatch: Fox Taking Plug In Its Hand, Wondering How Hard It Has To Pull To End Series' Misery
· Neither a second straight mind-scrambling week of screening its contestants' application films nor a renewed, audience-distracting focus on host Adrianna Costa's cleavage has increased interest in Fox's deeplyfuckedtroubled On the Lot, which drew just 2.9 million viewers and now stands accused of poisoning people against perfectly good House reruns. If things don't turn around quickly (or if the show isn't mercy killed by the end of June), look for EP Steven Spielberg to withdraw the $1 million DreamWorks deal prize, leaving the scrambling network to replace it with a four-week intership as the guy in charge of getting hot extras' phone numbers for Week One judge Brett Ratner. [Variety] More » -
trade roundup
'On the Lot' CancellationWatch: Not Even Bay Can Save Them Now
· Despite Fox's attempts to boost the struggling On the Lot's fortunes by editing the show into a more compact, once-a-week, we-will-give-five-dollars-to-anyone- who-can-explain-what-the-fuck- is-going-on-at-any-given-moment format, the show draws just 3.1 million viewers in what we assume will be one of its last airings. We did, however, enjoy Michael Bay's guest judge appearance, during which he repeatedly shared his moviemaking philosophy of "get a good editor and cinematographer and they'll cover for your lack of talent," then seemed barely able to restrain himself from hitting on the director of his favorite film. [THR] More » -
fox
'On the Lot' CancellationWatch: Series Downsized To One Hour Per Week
After seeing two nights' worth of disastrous, Univision-test-pattern-quality ratings for Fox's much-hyped On the Lot yesterday morning, we called for the official CancellationWatch to begin. Our fears that Steven Spielberg might never discover the next cinematic visionary through the evaluation of one-minute comedy shorts about hilariously unlucky coins have become suddenly more acute, as the network has announced that it's downsizing the show into a single, hourlong competition-and-results mash-up each week for the rest of its scheduled run. Should that drastic measure not quickly improve the series' fortunes (and really, what could possibly go wrong?), look for Fox to repeat the ratings-fixing voodoo it attempted after Lot's underwhelming debut week, when it sacrificed original host Chelsea "Somewhat Recognizable to TV Audiences" Handler to the Nielsen gods and replaced her with the far bustier Adrianna "Who?" Costa; the blood offering of a second TelePrompTer-reading albatross might buy the network another episode or two before it has to tell Spielberg that it's ending his failed experiment to bring the noble, talent-nurturing spirit of Project Greenlight to the wasteland of summertime network television. More » -
defamer
Mark Burnett Slaps Eye-Patch On 'Survivor,' Resells It As New Pirate-Themed Show
While admittedly not every competitive reality venture devised by format innovator Mark Burnett could be categorized as a runaway success (e.g., On The Lot has yet to connect with audiences, and seems headed towards granting the guy who made the retarded-guy-in-Heaven movie a corner office on the DreamWorks lot), he nevertheless boasts an impressive batting average in the unpredictable genre. His latest effort, Pirate Master, premieres tonight on CBS, and seems a sure a thing as they come, pairing the Darwinism-for-dollars premise that made Survivor such a runaway hit with the public's enduring fascination with all things buccaneerish: More »
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By SethComment by SugartitsMcFirecrotch: "of their earnings??" I should have typed "from their earnings" . . . and I haven't even had my... more » | Other threads
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defamer
Terrible Ratings For 'On The Lot' Mean Spielberg May Never Find A Suitable Heir
· Let the CancellationWatch begin: After finishing fifth on Monday night with about 3 million viewers, On the Lot's ratings creep up to a still-anemic 4 million on Tuesday. We recommend that you enjoy judge Carrie Fisher's desperate attempts to marry off her daughter to the "next Spielberg" while you still can. [Variety, Variety] More »
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By MarkComment by Julio Allison: I tapped out about five minutes into the first episode when Ratner was referred to as a "living legend". Never... more » | Other threads
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trade round-up
TV Audiences May Needs Some Time To Warm Up To Brett Ratner
· Mike Myers is the latest star to try and take a whack at the long-gestating remake of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, which has now moved from Paramount to 20th Century Fox, and to which Owen "The Butterscotch Stalliion" Wilson and Jim "My Career's Way Too Cold To Have A Decent Nickname" Carrey were once attached. [Variety] More » -
defamer
Fox's 'On The Lot' Contestants Expected To Be Product Integration Whores, Just Like In The Hollywood Real World!
With American Idol soon set to crown its winner and its audience teetering on burnout—even the phone-in results have felt a little phoned-in since Sanjaya was sent packing—Fox is hoping to recapture the nation's sizzling love affair with the couchbound minting of new creative superstars through its latest reality venture, On The Lot. In keeping with current Hollywood trends, no step of the search for the next Spielberg (or, more realistically, the fauxteur apparent to judge Brett Ratner) will remain untouched by the almighty brand-integration dollar: More » -
defamer
Steven Spielberg Lets Ratner 'On The Lot'
We will admit to being more than a little excited for the the debut of Steven Spielberg's upcoming Fox competition On the Lot, as television sorely needs an American Idol (or, at the very least, a Project Runway) for Hollywood, and we've never quite gotten over Project Greenlight's tragically abbreviated run. (Gulager!) Today's Variety brings some breathtaking news about the series, reporting that Spielberg is stocking the show's firing squad with some big guns for its launch: More »
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