Marty Martin, a 26-year-old creative director of a multimedia company from Seattle, WA, became the fifth finalist eliminated from On the Lot during last night's live broadcast of the Mark Burnett and Steven Spielberg-created American Idol-like movie-making reality competition series that aims to find the country's next great filmmaker.
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"I think I'm the strongest overall filmmaker here," said Martin prior to Dance with the Devil's premiere last week. "But I think Dance with the Devil is actually a risk and I didn't know it at the time. It's kind of a dark, slow piece and I've never done anything like that. But I have an instinct for what makes a film standout because that's what makes me probably the strongest competition here... I know how to entertain people. I'm not here to make small, independent films. I'm here to work with Spielberg, so I'm going to make Spielberg-sized films. I think that's what separates me from the rest - I'm extremely ambitious."
Last week's guest judge -- The Devil Wears Prada director David Frankel -- said he "admired" Martin's arrogance but didn't think Dance with the Devil was a "Spielberg-size story," and permanent On the Lot judge, Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher, didn't let Martin's self confidence go unnoticed.
"Your a big fan of yourself so you might not need me," she said to Martin following the premiere of his submission. "I think that's kind of a rude thing to say," responded Martin. "It's not true... I'm a filmmaker just like the rest and I appreciate working with everybody else."
While Martin was confident in his ability as a filmmaker, he was apparently not a favorite among viewers, as he received the lowest number of votes following last week's episode and was eliminated.
"Marty you are a really good craftsman, you're great with style, but all of that stuff has to go in support of a story. Movie-making is story telling," said Fisher following Martin's elimination. "I wish you a lot of luck. If you had some trouble with my criticism -- with 'Mean Old Carrie' -- you're going to have a lot of trouble with show business in general... everybody's got an opinion out there and that's what it's about. You've got to toughen up your skin."
"I just jumped the gun," replied a seemingly more humble Martin. "It's okay," answered Fisher. "You've got to find a place between confidence and arrogance."
Following Martin's elimination -- which, unlike the show's previous week's broadcast, occurred within the first few minutes of last night's live broadcast of On the Lot -- the third and final group of five aspiring filmmakers aired their five-minute personal film submissions.
The third group consisted of Jessica Brillhart, a 22-year-old computer specialist who grew-up in York, PA and currently lives in Brooklyn, NY, whose film The Orchard was a horror movie shot from the perspective of a tree; Mateen Kemet, a 41-year-old teacher who currently lives in California and raised in the Bronx, NY, whose film Lost was about the most important thing someone could loose; Jason Epperson, a 30-year-old film production company owner from Winchester, KY, whose film Blood Born focused on a young man with a rare blood type that has the ability to heal others; Will Bigham, a 31-year-old film editor originally from Canyon, TX who currently lives in Glendale, CA, whose film Glass Eye was produced by his wife, starred his dog, and followed a man who sees the world differently; and Zach Lipovsky, a 23-year-old special effects editor from Vancouver, BC, Canada, whose film Sunshine Girl was about a little girl afraid of the dark.
During the Tuesday, June 26 broadcast of On the Lot beginning at 8PM ET on Fox, one of the aspiring filmmakers from the third group will be eliminated based on viewer votes cast after last night's episode and the show's Top 12 will be revealed.
In addition to the competition's next elimination, next week's On the Lot broadcast will also feature six of the Top 12 remaining finalists screening new individual short comedy films. Then during the show's Tuesday, July 3 broadcast, the six other remaining Top 12 finalists will screen new horror films.
Currently, there are eight members of On the Lot's Top 12: Andrew Hunt, a 31-year-old promo producer from Minneapolis, MN, who was raised in Pittsburgh, PA; David May, a 23-year-old admissions counselor living in Santa Ana, CA, who grew-up in Aurora, CO; Shira-Lee Shalit, a 38-year-old acting teacher from Johannesburg, South Africa who now lives in New York; Kenny Luby, a 28-year-old freelance director and painter from Owego, NY; Sam Friedlander, a 27-year-old web producer who currently resides in Santa Monica, CA and was raised in Westchester, NY; Adam Stein, a 29-year-old freelance film editor who was born in Miami, FL and currently lives in Los Angeles, CA; Shalini Kantayya, a 30-year-old freelance director who was raised in Hartford, CT and currently lives in Brooklyn, NY; and Hilary Graham, a 37-year-old stay-at-home wife and mom who lives in Francestown, NH and was raised in Chelmsford, MA.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio
