ON THE LOT [TV-PG]
For a guy who touts purity of the cinematic arts, Steven Spielberg has some balls in dropping this stinker of a Fox reality show on the public and unintentionally showcasing all that is wrong with his beloved Hollywood. Its debut episode last week (watch it at www.TheLot.com) had fifty aspiring filmmakers battling for a $1,000,000 development deal at Spielberg’s beleaguered DreamWorks, running through a task-oriented movie business obstacle course of sorts. Their fates on the forced, twice weekly “American Idol” patterned show are ultimately determined by an audience call-in vote, with their work appraised by judges Carrie Fisher, Jon Avnet, Garry Marshall and Brett Ratner. Yes, Brett Ratner — the man who dropped the Baby Ruth in the swimming pool of comic book fans the world over with X-Men: The Last Stand. What, was Michael Bay too busy? M. Night Shyamalan not taking your calls? Naturally, there is not a wrinkled face in this batch of contestants, which limits the field to players with limited experience, not only in the craft, but in life, too. The whole well intended idea of giving talented wannabes a shot didn’t work on “Project Greenlight,” and it’s even more belabored here. And in case you’re wondering, there is no truth that next summer’s Indiana Jones sequel will be about the search for Spielberg’s lost credibility. –Klaus Hummersumpf