i had to say something here. Those of you who have already or are thinking of submitting your films, don't ever forget that you're dealing with FOX... Aside from all the tricky editing they'll do for the show to make you look like a jackass, there's lots worse things they can do, except on the legal side of things.

Do yourselves a favor and go the the following link and read the "Career Control" segment. THAT is EXACTLY what i'm expecting the winning filmmaker to get in the end, besides the lure of a $1 million contract. And in case you missed the line i'm thinking of, here's a paste of it:
"In essence, the agreement stipulates that the finalists are "forever and throughout the universe" properties of 19 Management." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_idol_controversy

And for god's sake, i don't want to hear people saying "but it'll be different for filmmakers!!!". No. It won't. It's FOX. They're gonna "legally" rape their victims.

Raji makes a critical point. Their lawyers are better than your lawyer. And if your lawyer wants to change a single word in the contract, they won't let you near "the lot".

They probably have this on t-shirts and banners on the fox lot.

lol that was awesome

I'm not doing it simply because even in the event I got on the show, or even won, I'd have the tagline "the guy who won that show." The industry would never take someone seriously after that. They'd all know the "real" reason you got there. Because you won "some contest."

Good luck creating any kind of movie after you build your career off a Fox show. Tinseltown at it's finest.

Ben,

I don't know if that would be the case. If you won the Fox show, Fox might just pump up your career, help you make the right contacts, help market your properties (er, their properties), etc. Or, they might drop you like a rock.

Not that all indie directors control their careers and destiny... The thing about the Fox show is that you would knowingly give up what little control you have. That could be really bad. But it could also be really good. But somebody else gets to make that decision.

I'm with Ben on this one... let me put it this way, Jon. Do you remember any contestants from American Idol? :D And if by some miracle, you do, do you really have any respect for them? I for one think of them exactly as Ben described it: "some guy/girl who won some contest". And it gets worse when i hear their songs.

I hate to be so negative about this but i just don't have any faith in reality shows in general. When i first came across the On The Lot show, it was actually going to be an HBO series. I wish i could document that but i swear it's true! Then i recently heard about it again, except it was going to be on FOX and i automatically thought of everything i've said so far. That's not to say i had any real faith in HBO had the show been aired there instead. FOX is just known to make their contestants sign atrocious contracts. And reality shows are known to do very tricky editing and leave their winners with nothing, really.

I don't know. I can't wait for the show to air. I hope it survives Season 1 because i'm genuinely interested in a reality show for the first time ever, but i would never want to be a contestant. :) Good luck to those who do! I've seen some of the films on the site and there are some very talented people there.

Seriously?

I'm not a fan of their music but there is NO doubt the show helped them immensely. Also, if you like soft pop/country you no doubt own a few of these. I'm more of a Floyd/Stones/Queen kind of guy...

Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and Clay Aiken have benefited on a major scale. Not to mention many others...Wikipedia shows the following album sales, just in the U.S.

Kelly Clarkson
(Season 1, Winner)
8.14 Million

2. Carrie Underwood
(Season 4, Winner)
4.78 Million

3. Clay Aiken
(Season 2, Runner-Up)
4.53 Million

4. Ruben Studdard
(Season 2, Winner)
2.41 Million

5. Fantasia Barrino
(Season 3, Winner)
1.95 Million

6. Chris Daughtry
(Season 5, 4th Place)
1.37 Million


Sorry, the numbers don't lie. You don't have to like them, but you have to see that American Idol has brought many of them great success. We're talking 5x and 3x Platinum Album sales for MANY of them.

If "On the Lot" does anywhere close to that... huge success.

Mike

you're right, numbers don't lie and these numbers indicate success... but at what cost? They all have contracts stating, from what i understand (ie. i could be wrong), that they can never be contracted with another music label. They're completely bound to 19 Management, which to me means that FOX is looking for more intelligent ways to serve themselves, not their contestants. What good is commercial success if you can never switch to another label?

Also, i wonder how much of these profits go to the winners. Why would FOX go from a self-serving contract (forcing their contestants to bind themselves to 19 Management) to suddenly saying, "here! take all this money! we don't need it!".

the whole thing just reeks to me... maybe it's just my cynical personality though hehe

I'm very curious as to where you get your information from? Kelly Clarkson dumped Fuller (American Idol Creator/Producer) as her agent in 2005. I believe she is with Sony BMG or RCA but don't quote me on that.

I don't think any of the A.I. contracts last longer than a couple of years. Certainly not forever.

So.... she's selling millions or records, she's a household name (yes, most people have "heard" of her) and she is no longer with Fuller/A.I. Manager.

Not bad for a girl who attempted to get a contract before going on the show and was turned down everywhere.

Carrie Underwood is selling country albums at an alarming rate as well...

EDIT: I'm not trying to be rude, just trying to clear up some misinformation.



Mike

and that's why i said i could be wrong! man i was way off!! I was going off of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_idol_controversy where they talk about Career Control. I thought their contracts were permanent.

No problem.

She is no longer with Fuller so I would assume that his grip isn't as tight as some people think.

I'm very surprised! Usually reality shows made in the US never start with international admission!!! In Canada, CTV's taking the auditions.