Andrew Hunt was revealed to be thirteenth finalist eliminated from On the Lot during last night's live broadcast of the Fox reality filmmaking competition series.
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The 31-year-old promo producer from Minneapolis, MN learned of his elimination from On the Lot host Adrianna Costa last Wednesday -- less than a day after last Tuesday night's screening of new romantic comedies shot by the Top 6 finalists. Andrew's film Keep Off Grass was the story of a guy whose lawn is destroyed by two superheroes in a lovers quarrel.
"Andrew I thought this was a really great idea. I thought this was a really ambitious film," said permanent On the Lot judge Carrie Fisher during last Tuesday night's live broadcast. "I think maybe at the end of the day it might have been a little too ambitious in terms of what you needed to do... For me if you're going to have two superheros fight, they're going to have to destroy a city. So I had some trouble with the execution of it, but I love the idea."
Last week's guest judge, Lemony Snicket and City of Angels director Brad Silberling, agreed with Fisher that the idea for Andrew's film was "fantastic" but also had some execution problems and added the conflict was missing.
"It had a couple of little problems," said fellow permanent On the Lot judge Garry Marshall. "But I loved it."
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Due to the mixed feedback from the judges, Andrew could only hope that home viewer votes following last Tuesday night's broadcast would be enough to save him.
"I think it's like a round of golf. I think you've got all these professional golfers that are always good and you just have one bad round and you're going home," said Andrew prior to learning his fate. "Right now I'm nervous as hell. I'm hoping that my little superhero short connected with the audience."
A video clip of Andrew learning of his elimination from Adrianna then aired during last night's On the Lot broadcast. Adrianna described it as a "very close vote" between Andrew and Zach Lipovsky, a 23-year-old special effects editor from Vancouver, BC, Canada, whose film The Bonus Feature was a modern fantasy about a guy trying to impress a girl.
"At the end of the day I'm really proud of what I've done," said Andrew when he was sent packing. "After this experience I feel really confident that I can tackle a feature film. This is where my dream is, and I'm going to chase it."
In addition to Andrew's elimination, Adrianna also revealed that Jason Epperson, a 30-year-old film production company owner from Winchester, KY, and his film Old Home Boyz, which was about some guys who get together at their 50-year high-school reunion and settle their differences in an interesting way, received the most home viewer votes following last Tuesday night's broadcast. As a result, actor Jerry O'Connell starred in the new film Jason shot for this week's episode.
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"I just could not be more thrilled," said Jason. "I'm excited. Jerry O'Connell is going to help my script big time."
After revealing the voting results from last week, On the Lot's live broadcast screened new automobile-themed films shot by the Top 5 finalists.
The Top 5 finalists who premiered their new automobile-themed films were Jason, whose film The Move was about two guys who play a practical joke on a friend; Zach, whose film The Bonus Feature Two was a sequel to last week's short with the addition of pirates; Sam Friedlander, a 27-year-old web producer from Santa Monica, CA, whose film Backseat Driving Test was about a woman trying to overcome her backseat driving habits; Will Bigham, a 31-year-old film editor from Glendale, CA, whose film Road Rage 101 was about a guy who decides to take his aggression out on his vehicle while stuck in traffic only to have his car retaliate; and Adam Stein, a 29-year-old freelance film editor from Los Angeles, CA, whose film Driving Under the Influence was about a car radio that makes people dance against their will.
After the five aspiring directors screened their films, Fisher and last night's guest judge -- Seabiscuit director Gary Ross -- both said their favorite was Adam's Driving Under the Influence. In addition, Garry Marshall was not in attendance during last night's live broadcast and instead his sister, A League of Their Own director Penny Marshall, filled in for him. She said her favorite film was Sam's Backseat Driving Test.
During next week's On the Lot broadcast on Tuesday, August 7 at 8PM ET on Fox, one of the five aspiring filmmakers will be eliminated based on viewer votes cast after last night's episode. In addition, the Top 4 finalists will also screen new films inspired by the "America's Choice Log Line" Internet challenge, with the theme being a man wakes-up, roles out of bed and finds himself wearing a dress but can't remember what happened.
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On the Lot's finale is scheduled to air Tuesday, August 21 at 8PM ET on Fox.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio