Coming Soon: Cinematical's Weekly Coverage of 'On the Lot'

I generally have no patience with "reality shows," although I freely admit to harboring a long-standing and secret love for Survivor. (I also saw a few great seasons of The Amazing Race on DVD, but let's stay focused here.) Arriving on May 22 is a reality series that just about every true-blue movie nerd will want to check out (for at least the first few weeks anyway, just to see how thing kick off.) From producers Mark Burnett and Steven Spielberg comes On the Lot, a series that Fox would probably love for me to describe as "American Idol Goes to the Movies." And so I will.

If you head on over to the official On the Lot website, you'll be able to pick through a whole bunch of movies and filmmakers vying for a spot ... On the Lot. Log in, cast your votes and then tune in at the end of May to see who made the very first cut. The judges for the first few episodes will be Brett Ratner (director of Rush Hour), Garry Marshall (director of Pretty Woman), Jon Avnet (director of Fried Green Tomatoes) and actress / author / script doctor Carrie Fisher. Much like Idol, On the Lot will feature two episodes a week: a one-hour competition called "Film Premiere," and a half-hour nail-biter called "Box Office."

It all sounds pretty slick and nifty, but we've been burned by shows like this before. What helps a whole lot are the names Burnett (who produces the highest-end reality shows) and Spielberg (who, admit it, is a god among directors), plus Fox is already in a full-court marketing press for the series, which means it's bound to last more than four or five episodes. Since I'm already planning to devour this series with both fists, I thought it'd be fun to cover the show on a weekly basis, not at all unlike the recaps penned by the tube-addicted wizards over at TV Squad. So check back after week one and join in the fun. I promise there will be a Lot of 'em. Oh be quiet, puns are awesome.