Spielberg does Film Idol?

Are you harbouring a secret dream to be the next Steven Spielberg? Come on, you read Total Film – chances are a good many of you are champing at the bit to get the chance to make a movie.

But given how busy he’s become shooting his own films, it’s surprising to learn that the Biggest Director In America™ is trying to spread the wealth a little. But it’s true – aspiring filmmakers will have the chance to submit their work to a reality TV show geared towards finding the new hot talent.

Fox TV in the US has greenlit the reality competition On The Lot, brought to us by Senor Spielberg. The series will pit undiscovered filmmakers against each other with a grand prize of a development deal at DreamWorks. "All through my career I've done what I can to discover new talent and give them a start," Spielberg told Variety . "This opportunity allows all of us to reach out directly to open a much wider door."

source:( Variety )

And with a format that’s distinctly reminiscent of Pop Idol, it should also be entertaining to see that wider door slammed in a few faces. The wanna-helmers will be split into teams and tasked to produce a short film. Experts (please let Uwe Boll be one of them, purely for comedy value) will critique the shorts in front of a live studio audience, with voters choosing – Idol-style – their favourite. This will continue through several half-hour episodes until the contestants are whittled down to two, who will have to work alone to win the grand prize. But please, please tell us that the resulting movie will be better than any of the Project Greenlight efforts.

Don’t expect Spielberg to do an Alan Sugar or Simon Cowell and show up every episode, though. He’ll pop up from time to time for occasional cameos. But we want him to work on a catchphrase for when unsuccessful directors are dismissed. We’d be pleased to sell him the rights to our first idea: “Cut!” for £20 million.