On The Lot: Auditions Round 2

The remaining 36 directors are working on their second assignment, which is to write, direct, and edit a short film based on the logline "Out Of Time", all in a mere 24 hours. Previously, we could see that the team of Trever, Marty, and Jeff was having problems, in that Marty and Jeff could not get out of each other's way when directing their individual scenes. Jeff had no patience for Marty's contrariness, while Marty failed to respect Jeff's opinions (however bitchily they may or may not have been given) on his work. Seriously, at some point, I was thinking "Why don't these guys just go screw already and get over it?" Trever, meanwhile, remains wisely in the background. They weren't the only team to have problems -- Hannah couldn't get Kenny to do what she wanted while directing, and Kenny's indecisiveness and lack of technical knowledge frustrated Jessica.

Kenny, Jessica, and Hannah go into editing, which for them means criticizing each other's work. While Kenny "you girls" all over the ladies, Jessica flaunts Kenny's lack of formal training until he curses him out and they leave him to edit alone. Jessica feels that her education puts her ahead, but will being on the same team with Kenny keep her from going farther? And I swear that I don't blame the ladies, because homeboy will not listen to anybody who isn't convinced that he isn't as a great a director he thinks he is. They all seem to agree, though, that Kenny is an ass.

Jeff emerges from a 2-hour nap to find Trever and Marty editing. With only 2 hours to go, Jeff is confident he can do music and clean-up in the time they have left. Marty seems less confident about this. Trever, as ever (that rhymes!) has nothing to say.

Morning comes for our sleep-deprived (except for Jeff, clearly) directors, and with morning comes judgment day. Judges Carrie and Brett are joined by director Jon Avnet, sitting in for Garry Marshall. Carrie recaps the assignment, then introduces the teams and their films.

• "Random Acts of Kindness" (dir. Hilary, Brent, and Carolina): A woman does a random act of kindness for a homeless man which has him in his underpants until he, of course, dies after eating a peanut butter sandwich to which he is allergic. It's a comedy, and quite an adorable one at that. The other directors laugh, as do the judges, who unanimously love it.

• "Vinnie's Vault" (dir. Kenny, Hannah, and Jessica): Something about the Mafia and a bank janitor/snitch. It didn't hold my interest. The judging was more interesting, as Hannah was singled out for the shoddy cinematography in her scene. Why wasn't Kenny taken to task for her crappy camera work? I guess if Hannah couldn't work him to get decent shots, why should they hold him responsible? Hannah blames Kenny again, though only in her talking head shot (and not to the judges, who hold her responsible anyway).
• "Out of Time" (dir. Trever, Marty, and Jeff): Some lady says "I know you're trying to kill me." Different scene. "No, Frank. It's too late for you." Pause. "See you around, Frankie baby." And that's all you really need to know. Jeff's restaurant scene is considered the weakest, according to Jon, and Brett advises the guys that they shouldn't knock the guys working with them. Well, duh.

The judges gloss over some other teams before getting to "Time Out", directed by Zach, Sam, and Adam. The guys are quietly confident, and for good reason -- the special effects, in a story about a couples whose fighting stops time, combined with strong direction, is the clear winner of the day. The judges can't stop talking about it, while the directors are quietly shitting their pants. Not literally, but seriously -- when Jon Avnet is saying the other guy's film was an enjoyable ride, you know you have got some serious work to do.

After the c-break: Hannah is cut -- she totally pushes Kenny away when he tries to hug her goodbye. What a sore losah! Kenny says that he felt the right decision was made -- of course he did, he got to stay. Sam, Zach, Adam, Brent, Carolina, and Hilary are all safe. Marty and Trever are also moving on, but Jeff is not. Gosh, I hope he and Marty got to make out before Jeff tearily dragged his ass home.

The remaining 24 have no time to rest as they move on to the assignment 3 -- with only 30 minutes to prepare, make a 1-page film in 1-hour with a full set, cast, and crew. Six will be cut. And are we thinking the blonde Italian bird, who has 0 shots completed after 33 minutes, will be one of them? Ooh, I can only wonder. Can Monday come soon enough?