On The Lot (another foxy FOX show)

Premiering on May 22 and airing twice a week throughout the summer on FOX, this reality-competition series features a cast of undiscovered filmmakers who will compete to win the support of the show's viewers, as their fate will be decided by a weekly audience vote.

ON THE LOT will regularly air on Mondays and Tuesdays, with a one-hour "Film Premiere" episode, followed the next night by a half-hour "Box Office" results show.

After a global search and over 12,000 submissions, a group of talented filmmakers have been selected from the applicants. These finalists have been brought to Hollywood, where they have been divided into teams and begun the journey toward their "big break."

Every week, the hopeful filmmakers will produce short films from a chosen genre, running the gamut from comedies to thrillers, dramas to romance, action to horror. They'll have access to the best resources the industry has to offer -- professional writers, cast and crew, and maybe even Hollywood celebrities.

After the teams have battled time frames, budgets and all the usual chaos that goes along with filmmaking, their films will debut and be critiqued in front of a live audience during the "Film Premiere" episode. Judges for the initial "Audition Rounds" include actress/author/screenwriter Carrie Fisher ("Star Wars," "Postcards From the Edge") and directors/producers Brett Ratner ("Rush Hour 3," "X-Men 3"), Garry Marshall ("Georgia Rule," "Pretty Woman") and Jon Avnet ("Fried Green Tomatoes", "Risky Business") with more well-respected guest judges to be announced as the show progresses, such as directors who are experts in the week's featured genre. But the filmmakers ultimately will be judged by the harshest critics of all ... the public.

It will be FOX viewers whose votes determine which film should be left on the cutting-room floor. On the next night's "Box Office" results show, the director whose feature garners the fewest votes will be sent home.

The competition continues and directors are eliminated until only the most talented filmmaker is anointed the winner and heads to DreamWorks ... ON THE LOT

Meet the 50 ON THE LOT Semi-Finalists:

• Phil A., 40, director and writer from New York City
• Shawna B., 36, assistant producer at a movie trailer house, born and raised in Los Angeles, CA
• Mark B., 29, editor, director and poker-player living in Los Angeles, CA, originally from McLean, VA
• Jarett B., 29, music-video and commercial director, born and raised in Northport, NY
• James B., 34, freelance writer and director living in Bristol, England
• Will B., 31, film editor, originally from Canyon, TX, currently living in Glendale, CA
• Jessica B., 22, computer specialist, grew up in York, PA, currently living in Brooklyn, NY
• Jarrett C., 24, graduate student living in Los Angeles, originally from Virginia Beach, VA
• Jeremy C., 30, creative services manager for an animation distribution company, from St. Louis, MO, raised in Highland, IL
• Michael C., 22, freelance commercial director from Bloomfield, MI, currently residing in Chicago, IL
• Opie C., 31, creative director raised in Biloxi, MS, currently living in Jackson, MS
• Karla Jean D., 25, tape operator living in Atlanta, GA, originally from Lynchburg, VA
• Tamela D., 27, singer, actress and filmmaker living in Los Angeles, raised in Deer Park, NY
• Jason E., 30, owner of film production company, born and raised in Winchester, KY
• Matthew E., 24, director, born and raised in Los Angeles, CA
• Sam F., 28, web producer, living in Santa Monica, CA, raised in Westchester, NY.
• Hilary G., 37, stay-at-home wife and mom who lives in Francestown, NH, and raised in Chelmsford, MA
• Kenny G., 39, director, writer, producer, born and raised in Los Angeles, CA
• Phil H., 22, born and raised in Manchester, England, works as a freelance director
• Andrew H., 31, promo producer from Minneapolis, MN, raised in Pittsburgh, PA
• Rahim J., 25, freelance editor/director, born and raised in Los Angeles, CA
• Trever J. 24, film editor, currently living in Los Angeles, CA, and raised in Great Falls, MT
• Shalini K., 30, freelance director, raised in Hartford, CT, currently living in Brooklyn, NY
• Mateen K., 41, teacher, currently living in Los Angeles, CA, raised in the Bronx, NY.
• Gil K., 23, development associate living in New York City, raised in Verona, NJ
• Claudia L., 28, painter and graphic artist, born in Bagheria, Sicily, Italy, currently lives in Miami, FL.
• Zach L., 23, special effects editor from Vancouver, BC, Canada.
• Kenny L., 28, freelance director and painter, born and raised in Owego, NY.
• Justin L., 24, digital post-production engineer, born and raised in Orange County, CA
• Dean L., 36, writer/director, living in Los Angeles, CA, originally from New York City
• Brent M., 34, freelancer producer, born and raised in Dallas, TX
• Mark M., 22, film editor, born and raised in Dyer, IN
• Ramsey M., 34, production sound mixer living in Los Angeles, CA, raised in Denver, CO
• Tamika M., 33, freelance production supervisor, living in Los Angeles, CA, originally from Miami, FL
• Marty M., 26, creative director of a multimedia company, born and raised in Seattle, WA
• David M., 23, admissions counselor living in Santa Ana, CA, but grew up in Aurora, CO.
• Abigail S., 37, capital campaign coordinator, living in Los Angeles, originally from Toronto
• Amy S., 21, freelance director living in Los Angeles
• Hannah S., 23, freelance producer/director born and raised in Raleigh, NC
• Hilari S., 40, independent filmmaker living in Los Angeles, CA, raised in Chicago, Atlanta and NYC
• Jeff S., 30, freelance editor, living in Los Angeles, CA, originally from Toledo, OH
• Jeff S., 27, filmmaker and waiter living in San Diego, CA, originally from South Lake Tahoe, CA
• Kai S., 39, actress living in Los Angeles, CA, originally from Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• Randy S., 29, freelance director/editor from New York City
• Shira-Lee S., 38, acting teacher, born in Johannesburg, South Africa, now living in New York
• Adam S., 29, freelance film editor, born in Miami, FL, currently living in Los Angeles
• Daniel T., 26, special events coordinator living in Los Angeles
• Adam W., 24, freelance camera operator from Birmingham, AL
• Mikki W., 39, filmmaker originally from Sacramento, currently living in Los Angeles, CA
• Carolina Z., 36, commercial director, originally from Santander, Spain, currently living in Los Angeles, CA

Episode Synopsis

In the two "audition round" episodes airing Tuesday, May 22 (9/8c) and Thursday, May 24 (9:30/8:30c) on FOX, these semi-finalists will discover the magic of moviemaking when they are brought to Los Angeles to visit a real-life film set for the first time and must endure a rigorous "Hollywood Boot Camp." A special panel of judges, including actress/author Carrie Fisher ("Star Wars," "Postcards From the Edge") and director/producers Brett Ratner ("Rush Hour 3"), Garry Marshall ("Georgia Rule") and Jon Avnet (Fried Green Tomatoes," "Risky Business"), will begin the process by screening the contestants' personal submission films and evaluating their attempts at a Hollywood-style "pitch" meeting. Other projects include a "24-Hour Film Shoot," where the contestants must shoot and edit a short film in a 24-hour period; and a "one-page, one-hour" film shoot, where they will have an hour to film a one-page scene with the help of professional directors of photography, camera and sound operators and actors. After the judges give their ultimate feedback, some Finalists will move on and some will continue to compete in the first "Film Premiere" episode.