Final Three on the Spot and Canned
Final Three on the Spot and Canned by Roxanne McDonald
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It was down to Adam, Jason and Will, showcasing two encore films each, then participating in the mini- Cannes-esque finale. |
A hearty farewell was made to Sam, who will, we trust, go far as a new filmmaker.
Why I Want to Win
Then the three got to discuss what winning would mean
[which I will not reiterate here, as you can pretty much guess the gist] before showing their choice of encores.
Director! Director!
Jason brought back “Eternal Waters,” the one for which he gave us the insider trick: when using a child actor, try to get twins so you don’t wear just one out. [And try to quell the terror either has: recall how one of the kids was freaked about climbing into a coffin….
“Eternal Waters” had stood up to the professional horror flicks with similar [water] themes—(The Ring; Dark Waters)—with Jason’s adept realism of a mother’s perpetual mental recapitulation of her dead son’s image, though the story seemed de-railed when the guy with the big old Scream knife appears. However, everything came together, even the successful use of the dream not as a deus ex machine but as another rich layer in context.
Jason also brought back his action/comedy, “Sweet”. This piece was one Carrie Fisher called her favorite of all the pieces Jason had done thus far [at the time of the first screening], and called it one which has a completely relatable situation with an ordinary guy and an inordinate situation. Antoine Fugua had credited the short with good action and acknowledged Jason’s taking time with his characters. And Gary Marshall had called “Sweet” comical and accessible, alive and terrific.
Will brought back “Glass Eye”, the slow-moving epic of the eye that ends up in the dog’s intestines. Carrie Fisher had joked about how if her dog pooped her eye out she wouldn’t be waiting around to put it back in, and had suggested that the sweet silent film be brought into the 21st century as a talkie and have some damned dialogue. Wes Craven had agreed it was fun conceptually with fun twists and originality, though he had found a couple of misdirections. And Gary Marshall told Will he had a good eye [heh-heh], had a great actor in the dog, and would only take the guy out of the wife-beater tee shirt.
Will also brought back “The Yes Men,” the short that played on the quasi-Kafka idea of a guy waking up in a dress, the short Will intended to be a Cohen brothers style piece. The film was quite funny the second time around, with Lynn Shea showing up in the same dress as her boss, etc..
Adam brought back an often talked about and alluded to short, “Dough: A Musical.” The film had been called “incredibly, incredibly original” by Carrie Fisher, as well as “totally entertaining.” Michael Bay had also been impressed, saying that musicals have always worked on a visual level, and all Adam had to do was tweak the photography a bit more. And Gary Marshall had delighted in the film, only making a single suggestion about having the girl and guy look at each other as the piece ends.
Adam also brought back “Army Guy,” my favorite of the last of the “On the Lot” weeks: you know the one–with its central character who is a soldier with amnesia…who wakes up in a very tu-tu fluffy dress, is accosted by Candis [Barbies] and overwhelmed by look-alike Ken dolls, and gives us the Hitchcockian nod in the reveals…as he accepts a drink that doesn’t come out of the glass, and as shadows of some giant being [a little girl hovering over her doll house he is trapped inside] lurk and loom.
Final Comments, Pre-Finale
In the penultimate “On the Lot,” Gary had told Jason that Sophocles once said “Euripides makes people as they are.” This, he had said, is what Jason does. Carrie had told Will she has been a fan of his from the silents to the talkies, each suffused with his child-like spirit. And Carrie had told Adam his films are so inventive and funny and that he is a complete original.
Montage Mania
As we likely expect, “On the Lot” finale is an hour that has to be filled, so there are several montages. There are also nods to winners of online competitions; at some point an
introduction to Adam Goodman, president of Dreamworks Pictures; and at some point a MENTION [yeeeah, not explanation] of the online voting process shut down and not working.
Honorable Mentions
Also, filling some space and time are the choices of the finalists: they each announce their favorite film of the season and then it rolls.
Adam picks Zach’s “Die Hardly Working.”
Will picks Hilary’s “Under the Gun.”
Jason chooses Mateen’s “Catch” [another one of my favs, if this matters to anyone].
Then the red carpet-matched Adriana lines up the final three and fires the first shot: Adam is out.
More stalling, and we learn that the votes point to Will Bigham as winner!
After the last commercial break, we get to see Will proceed to DreamWorks to meet his new boss, Steven Spielberg.
Spielberg says that out of 12,000 submissions, Will has made it as the top new filmmaker who has gone through so much in the competition he is gonna think this new job is a cakewalk. The world-renown genius of contemporary film also names a couple of Will’s successes, calling, for instance, “Glass Eye” “audacious” and telling winning Will Bigham he has a wonderful sense of comic timing.
Spielberg had his eye on Will early on, he adds, and concludes with a handing over of the key to Will’s new office.
Congratulations to Will. Not my choice [I was rooting for Adam] and worse, I trust, not what EW critic Gregory Kirschling will sit happily with, so down on Will for getting what he was sure would be the sympathy votes over the votes based on creativity.
I have got to go see what he says about this outcome….
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