So much crying.

Anybody catch the premiere episode of "On The Lot" last night? It's the new Mark Burnett/Steven Spielberg (?!!) show about aspiring filmmakers competing to win a $1 million contract with Dreamworks. It's on Fox which always feels a little sketchy but the show was surprisingly good. (I'm assuming the lack of cheese is due to Spielberg. Gotta keep it high-class.) I mean, yes, you've got the requisite godawful host (in this case, an anorexic-looking, reedy voiced blonde) and of course there was crying (there's always crying) but the initial task was interesting and hard (pitching a movie to Gary Marshall (Pretty Woman), Brett Ratner (um...) and Carrie Fisher (Carrie Fisher).

These shows - the Project Runways, the Top Chefs (yes, even the Grease, You The One That I Wants) - always get me. At first I thought it was just about indulging in some good, old-fashioned schadenfreude (c'mon, we all know me) but I don't think that's it. Watching the struggle - the fact that these shows even acknowlege that there is a struggle - feels incredibly validating.

I even learned a little something from the first episode. Namely, I would make the world's shittiest director.