Austin, Part 2: Will Bigham

Welcome to post #300, loyal dozens.

As you well know, one of the few reality shows I heavily promoted was Fox's "On The Lot." I thought it was a neat idea, in which young filmmakers had a shot at a deal with Dreamworks. A lot of talented filmmakers went through the process, but ultimately, the grand prize was won by Will Bigham.

As you may remember, Will was one of three filmmakers I pulled for, especially because this series was Bigham's last shot at Hollywood. Had he lost, Will would have had to find a day job to support his family.

I was lucky enough to hang out with Will at the Austin Film Festival, and the Florida State graduate exactly like he was on TV - polite, quiet and passionate about filmmaking.

TVGuy: What project are you working on now?
Will Bigham: We've tossed ideas back and forth. It's going to be really tricky. I have to be careful with what I pick. ... A lot of people want to see me fail, because often when you win something, people resent you. I'm just going to do the best job I can. But if I pick the wrong kind of story, it could hurt my career.

TVG: You said on the show that if you didn't win, that would be it for filmmaking for you.
WB: (The show) was it. Financially, I had no choice. (If he didn't win) I was going to have to pack up and try to build my savings.

TVG: What would you have done career-wise?
WB: I'm glad I don't have to know. My skills from film school was editing. It might have paid the rent, but it wouldn't build our savings.

TVG: Do you keep up with the other contestants?
WB: I had lunch with Jason (the contest's runner-up) last week. I had dinner with Adam recently, lunch with Sam.

TVG: How difficult was the final episode? Did you think you were going to win?
WB: It was pretty nerve-wracking. I was assuming Jason was going to win, because he had such a big fan base. We were on different tracks, but when they finally mixed (the various contestants together), he was the box office champion that week and I thought, 'Oh, crap!' I didn't want to make second place. I like Jason a lot, but I didn't want him to win.

TVG: One of the things about the show was that filmmakers were often put into categories that they didn't have a lot of experience in. In real life, a director with no horror experience would do a horror movie. Did you think that was unfair?
WB: I actually liked that. It could show that you could do any genre they stuck me in. My track was in comedy, and I envied the guys who got to do action, horror. Mateen had no experience in action, but that was his best work. He proved to himself he could do it.

TVG: Besides yourself, who did you think was the best filmmaker? Was there anyone who really intimidated you with their work?
WB: Zack definitely did with his earlier stuff. It was unfortunate that he chose a bad story and then did a sequel to it. He'd be the first one to tell you that. But as a director, he's going to do great. Adam, as well.

TVG: What kind of movies are you looking to make?
WB: I'd like to make something like "Raising Arizona" or "Amelie." They are great stories, and they are great examples of what I would want to do as a director.

TVG: Are you disappointed the show didn't succeed? Do you get recognized a lot?
WB: I'm definitely disappointed for (the producers). Everybody worked extremely hard. I thought they did a great job. On the other hand, if we had "American Idol" ratings, I wouldn't be able to walk around. Look at Clay Aiken; that guy can't go to the bathroom (without being mobbed). I'm just extremely thankful that people watched and voted for me.

REMINDER: "Randy and the Mob" will be showing Wednesday night in Macon. The movie, which was written by and stars Ray McKinnon ("Deadwood"), Lisa Blount and Walton Goggins ("The Shield") is a very funny, Southern-styled comedy about a small-town Georgian who borrows money from a loan shark. It's premiering at the Cox Capitol Theatre at 7:30 p.m., followed by a Q&A with McKinnon. I highly recommend going.

NBC ON THE WEB: The NBC viral people are working overtime, especially with their comedies. "Scrubs" fans can see a video message from creator Bill Lawrence at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2D_Ni-xd_bs and weigh in with questions and suggestions at http://boards.nbc.com/nbc/index.php?showtopic=770096.

Meanwhile, Scranton, Pa. will be hosting an "Office" convention/party during the last weekend of October. For details, check out http://www.theofficeconvention.com

And "My Name Is Earl" has had a lot of fun with music videos lately. For the latest, check out http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=19824163.

TUESDAY'S BEST BETS: Baseball is starting to have an impact on the TV schedule, as "Bones" and "House" are both pre-empted this week while Fox airs Game 4 of the ALCS between the Indians and Red Sox.

But there are still plenty of viewing options. Hopefully, none of them will include the awful "Cavemen" and "Carpoolers," (ABC, 8 p.m.) which leave the "com" out of sitcom. They are followed by "Dancing With The Stars" and "Boston Legal." It's funny how ABC can produce some of the best new stuff this season and still have a lineup like this.

"NCIS" (CBS, 8 p.m.) rebounded nicely last week from an early season lull. It's followed by "The Unit" and the ratings-challenged "Cane."

Normally, I don't promote reality/news programs, but with the level of schadenfreude the American public often displays, you may be interested in "Dateline" (NBC, 8 p.m.), which interviews Larry Craig. It's followed by "The Biggest Loser" and "Law & Order: SVU."

Finally, The CW is all-new with "Beauty and the Geek" and "Reaper" beginning at 8 p.m.

Starting With A Bang, Ending With A Whimper

As much as I've enjoyed "On The Lot" (Fox, 8 p.m.) this season, I'm curiously indifferent to tonight's finale. Maybe it has something to do with all of the season finales to Mark Burnett-produced shows.

When "Survivor" became a cultural phenomenon years ago, the finales would run three hours long and include live interviews with the people who got knocked off the first few weeks. As if anyone cared.

When "The Apprentice" had its three-hour live finale at the end of Season 2, it served as little more than long stretches of bashing a former schoolmate of mine, because for whatever reason she was less popular than the guy who won.

The point I'm making is that Burnett's finales are little more than lovefests for the cast and crew that seem to do nothing but kill time toward the final five minutes of the show when the winner is announced.

Is that the fate of "On The Lot" as well? I hope not, but I can't honestly imagine what they are going to do tonight for an hour. They had an opportunity last week to have these guys make one final film for the audiences to vote on; instead, they had the directors select two of their old films, which is what the audiences voted for. They could have easily filled this week's episode with the "Best of" bit, leading to the announcement of the final winner.

Anyway, the prediction for tonight is that even though Adam is the strongest filmmaker left, Jason is going to win, particularly after Fox.com fouled up the online voting last week. While it's a shame there won't be a Season 2 of "On The Lot," Season 1 won't be ending on the strongest footing.

CASTING NEWS: My disappointment with "On The Lot" is tempered by wild enthusiasm at the news that Kristen Bell ("Veronica Mars") will be joining the cast of "Heroes" for a 13-episode arc. While there is virtually no word as to her role on the show, you can read a great interview with her from TVGuide.com's Michael Ausiello here: http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Ausiello-Report/Exclusive-Kristen-Bell/800020731.

It makes up for the disappointment that Bell won't be joining the cast of "Lost." I think Bell's addition to "Heroes" means, however, that this show will now have the largest ensemble cast in the history of TV. They've added several actors, while it's looking as if the entire cast of Season 1 will be back for Season 2.

While "Lost" didn't get Kristen Bell, it did get Ken Leung, best known as Uncle Junior's poker buddy from the final season of "The Sopranos." Not much word on what Leung will be doing on the island, but I'm betting he has a mysterious past. Just a hunch.

Lest I forget, Mr. Ex-Britney Spears himself, Kevin Federline, will guest star this season on "One Tree Hill." As if I needed another reason NOT to watch this show...

Finally, as much as I bash "24" on here, I have to say I'm intrigued as the hiring of Janeane Garofalo as an FBI agent this season. I could definitely see her in a battle of acerbic wits against Chloe.

WARNER ROBINS LITTLE LEAGUE: With the entire Little League slate being rained out last night, Warner Robins will make up its game tonight against Walpole, Mass. (ESPN2, 6 p.m.) in a must-win contest. If the kids are sent home, however, maybe they can bring some of that rain back with them.

TUESDAY'S BEST BETS: Should Jason end up winning "On The Lot," at least my disappointment will be tempered with what is arguably the best night of TV.

Not only do I get a new episode of "Damages" (FX, 10 p.m.), but the ever-enjoyable "The Bronx Is Burning" (ESPN, 10 p.m.) continues with the 1977 Yankees heading into the World Series. (Just a hunch, but I'm betting Reggie Jackson steps up big during the Series.)

There is also a new episode of "Eureka" (Sci-Fi, 9 p.m.) Less exciting for me, but not for the rest of the country judging by the ratings, is the finale of "America's Got Talent" (NBC, 8 p.m.)

Finally, I won't get a chance to review it before it airs tonight, but William Shakespeare's "As You Like It" (HBO, 9 p.m.) gets a new telling, this time at the hands of masterful director Kenneth Branagh, who does the Bard better than anyone. Bryce Dallas Howard is already earning raves as Rosalind, with David Bianculli of the New York Daily News saying her performance in the role is comparable quality-wise to that of Helen Mirren's in the 1970s. Also among the stellar cast is Kevin Kline, Alfred Molina, David Oyelowo, Adrian Lester and Brian Blessed.

ESPN'S Bronx Tale

Normally, I'd say something snide about ESPN and how it should stick to reporting news rather than making movies, but when the network foists the likes of "Who's Now?" during its broadcasts, what would be the point?

ESPN again ventures into Hollywood tonight with the miniseries "The Bronx Is Burning," (ESPN, 10 p.m.) which tells the turmoil of the New York Yankees. The miniseries is unavailable for preview, so all I can say about it is that I hope it's better than ESPN's other offerings in this genre.

Certainly, there is a lot of material to mine for "Bronx," and the cast is first rate: Oliver Platt plays George Steinbrenner, while John Turturro is Billy Martin and Daniel Sunjata ("Rescue Me") plays Reggie Jackson. The clash of egos among the three even as the Yankees won the World Series in 1977 and 1978 is almost the stuff of legend.

The problem is, ESPN movies rarely find the story when they are made. Take the one with Brian Dennehy as Bob Knight. I didn't have a problem with Dennehy's performance, but the movie itself gave absolutely no insight into Knight - one minute he's a jerk, the next he's a nice guy, and so forth. We don't really learn why Knight is this way, nor does the movie portray many of the infamous incidents that marked Knight's career. Other bits of Knight's life were only mentioned in passing, such as a feud with then-Michigan coach Bill Frieder, without any context for the viewer.

Or take "Four Minutes," written by legendary sports scribe Frank Deford about Roger Bannister breaking the four-minute mile. The movie does a decent job in looking at Bannister's life and his quest to achieve what was thought impossible, but it leaves out the most interesting part of the story.

Months after Bannister broke the barrier, his own record was broken by Australia's John Landy. It set up one of the most famous races in the history of sports, when the two men competed against each other in a field of the top six runners in the world. In the final hundred or so yards, Landy was leading the race and turned his head to see where Bannister was. Bannister took advantage of Landy's mistake and burst ahead of him and set a new mile record. Despite being one of the most dramatic moments ever in sports, this race doesn't appear at all in the movie except as a footnote at the end.

Hopefully, "The Bronx Is Burning" will have learned from the mistakes of ESPN's other movie attempts.

MONDAY'S BEST BETS: Mondays have been a bit light of late, but not this week.

Because of the baseball All-Star Game tomorrow, "On The Lot" (Fox, 8 p.m.) returns to Monday temporarily to eliminate one of six filmmakers who submitted horror films last week. On the one hand, none of the horror films were that great (I liked the funny one about the old woman making a sandwich the best), but on the other hand, horror is a very tough genre to do, and if none of the directors had an inclination for it before, it makes it very difficult to write and direct a short film with that subject manner. After all, in Hollywood, if you were to make a horror movie, you'd hire someone like Wes Craven or Eli Roth to direct it, not someone who had no background or interest in horror. But I digress. Watch the show.

To wet your appetite for the All-Star Game, catch the Home Run Derby (ESPN, 8 p.m.) tonight.

If sports or movies aren't your thing, there are plenty of first run dramatic programs, including new episodes of "Kyle XY" (ABC Family, 8 p.m.), followed by the series premiere of "Greek," and "Big Love" (HBO, 9 p.m.), and the TNT duo of "The Closer" at 9 p.m. and "Heartland" at 10 p.m. VCR alert - "The Closer" is supposed to run a little long, so set your VCRs and DVRs accordingly.

Emmy Semifinalists

The Los Angeles Times awards blog has leaked the semifinalists in both Best Drama and Best Comedy. Emmy voters have a week or so to pare down this list of 10 each down to the five finalists.

In best drama, you have: "Boston Legal," "Dexter," "Friday Night Lights," "Grey’s Anatomy," "Heroes," "House," "Lost," "Rome," "The Sopranos" and "24."

Notable series that were left off because, frankly, the Emmy voters tend to be idiots include "Battlestar Galactica," "Rescue Me" and "The Shield."

Of the list that are finalists, "Boston Legal" definitely belongs in the what-are-they-possibly-thinking category. Of the rest, my PERSONAL choice of five would be "FNL," "Lost," "Heroes," "The Sopranos" and, based on its buzz, "Dexter." "Rome" was a fine series but not a finalist, IMHO, and "House" deserves its Emmy noms in the acting categories.

However, the finalist list will almost certainly include "Grey's," "The Sopranos," "FNL," "24" and either "Heroes" or "Lost." If that's the case, I'd love for "FNL," which has been TV's best drama this season (with the exception of "The Shield") to get the win and solidify its place on NBC's roster.

In the comedy category, there is: "Desperate Housewives," "Entourage," "Extras," "My Name Is Earl," "The Office," "Scrubs," "30 Rock," "Two and a Half Men," "Ugly Betty" and "Weeds."

It's a slightly more complete list than the dramas, though Emmy voters dropped the ball in a big way with the omission of "How I Met Your Mother." "The New Adventures of Old Christine" and "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" would also have been fine picks. On the other hand, major props to the voters for putting "Extras" on there.

My final list of the above choices would include "The Office," "Scrubs," "Extras," "Ugly Betty" and probably either "Entourage" or "Weeds." You've got to wonder why "Desperate Housewives," a shell of itself from the first season, is still being bandied about. It just goes to show how out of touch Emmy voters are.

The final list will likely include "The Office," "Men," "Betty," "30 Rock" and probably "Earl," though the Emmy voters may stick one of the pay cable series on the list to show how liberal they are.

Also reported on the site, goldderby.latimes.com, are several rumors among the acting noms, including:

BEST COMEDY ACTOR
Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"
Steve Carell, "The Office"
Charlie Sheen, "Two and a Half Men"

BEST COMEDY ACTRESS
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "New Adventures of Old Christine"
America Ferrera, "Ugly Betty"
Teri Hatcher, "Desperate Housewives"
Felicity Huffman, "Desperate Housewives"
Mary-Louise Parker, "Weeds"

BEST DRAMA ACTOR
James Gandolfini, "Sopranos"
Michael C. Hall, "Dexter"
Eddie Izzard, "The Riches"
Hugh Laurie, "House"
Denis Leary, "Rescue Me"
Kiefer Sutherland, "24"

BEST DRAMA ACTRESS
Minnie Driver, "The Riches"
Edie Falco, "Sopranos"

BEST SUPPORTING DRAMA ACTOR
Masi Oka, "Heroes"

BEST SUPPORTING DRAMA ACTRESS
CCH Pounder, "The Shield"

BEST SUPPORTING COMEDY ACTOR
John Krasinski, "The Office"

BEST SUPPORTING COMEDY ACTRESS
Vanessa Williams, "Ugly Betty"

For the most part, most of these names would be good choices. The Emmy voters could do better than Hatcher and Driver, however, and in theory, still might. Pounder would be a pleasant surprise, considering how often "The Shield" gets ignored. As much as I enjoy Oka, if "Heroes" gets one nom in the supporting actor category, it should go to Jack Coleman.

We'll pass along any more news when we hear it. Remember, all of the above picks are based on sources whom the LA Times considers reliable, so take from it what you will. The final list of noms comes out July 19, so you can be sure what will be the blog topic that day.

TUESDAY'S BEST BETS: I didn't get to comment last week about "On The Lot," (Fox, 8 p.m.), which is a shame because once again, my man Zach proved to be the class of the field. The most improved filmmaker was the girl who did film about the guy who takes his father-in-law to the doctor's office, a huge improvement over the awful documentary she submitted in the previous round. And say what you will about it, but I liked Will's film about the guy getting brain surgery. Tonight's group of six are submitting horror films.

Various other reality offerings are on the air tonight, but hey, I don't really care about them.

A 'Lot' Of Interest In This Show

Hello, I'm Phillip, and I'm an aspiring screenwriter. (Everyone: "Hi, Phillip!")

Being an aspiring screenwriter is almost like an addiction. (I qualify myself by saying "aspiring," since I've yet to earn $1 from doing it.) Like any addiction, it's often a pointless, self-destructive, waste of time. Honestly, all the hours I've spent pecking away at my computer on weekends would probably be spent better if I was playing online poker.

Yet I still do it. Like the gambler with a problem, one thinks that the next roll of the die, the next turn of the roulette wheel will be the winning roll that makes all of the losing worth it.

A quarter-century ago, legendary screenwriter William Goldman wrote the book "Adventures In The Screen Trade," which helped birth a nation of aspiring screenwriters and filmmakers, all with the same notion of walking out of a bad movie and saying "I can do better," then trying to do so.

Screenwriting has become a modern-day lottery. People imagine earning millions of dollars by selling that one script, because they heard of some housewife in Tacoma who did just that. What people never hear about are the millions of people waiting tables for the rest of their lives, piling up rejection letters from the companies courteous enough to send them.

I've quit screenwriting several times, but for various reasons, it didn't take. My first script, "1066," was a finalist for a Disney Fellowship in 2003 and won a bronze medal for Best Historical Screenplay at WorldFest, the Houston Film Festival. I even optioned it (though I never got paid for it.) I had enough of a success with it that it got me through two more scripts which no one in Hollywood cared about.

After that, I tried to write something more commercial, and you can't get more commercial than animated movies. The one I wrote, about dragons, didn't win any awards, but every company in Hollywood is looking for the next "Shrek," so I got a lot of looks everywhere (except the granddaddy of them all, Pixar). I even had a manager take it specially to Sony Animation; after they showed no interest in it, neither did the manager.

But it was enough to keep me going. The latest one I've written, "Nightstrike," was a quarterfinalist at last year's Austin Film Festival, then made it to the quarters of Creative Screenwriting's AAA contest. Right now, it's with a bona fide producer who wants to buy it, and has sent it to directors and actors you've actually heard of.

Yet while my family and friends are very excited about the prospect, I spend half my time waiting for the other shoe to drop because we writers are intrinsically a miserable lot, perhaps genetically incapable of optimism. Until I am holding a check that contains a life-changing amount of zeroes on it, I'm holding my breath, hoping against hope that this is truly the one and not another mirage.

I write this long preamble because tonight Fox airs its new reality show, "On The Lot," (Fox, 9 p.m.), which is co-produced by Steven Spielberg. Somewhat akin to the defunct "Project Greenlight," "On The Lot" is a chance for 50 writer-directors to compete for one of those rare Hollywood opportunities. The twist is, the audience at homes gets to see the filmmakers' work and vote for the contestants to advance, a' la "American Idol."

I have no idea about "On The Lot's" quality, but I enjoyed "Greenlight" a great deal and I'm looking forward to tonight's episode, in which the contestants have to pitch their ideas. Having done a pitch session in Austin (and humiliating myself), I can tell you it's one of the hardest aspects of filmmaking.

I wish them all luck. In Hollywood, it's usually the only factor that matters.

TUESDAY'S BEST BETS: Speaking of "American Idol," it wraps up its final hour of competition (Fox, 8 p.m.) before tomorrow night's results show.

Speaking of reality, ABC has a night full of it (well, full of something) with a wrap-up to "The Bachelor" at 8 p.m., followed by the final "Dancing With the Stars" at 9 p.m.

"NCIS" (CBS, 8 p.m.) wraps up its season, followed by a new "Jesse Stone" movie, starring Tom Selleck.

"Veronica Mars" (CW, 8 p.m.) wraps up the series with a two-hour finale, ending what has been a slow, painful death for its fans.

Finally, "The Shield" (FX, 10 p.m.) continues what has been an exceptional run this year.