Editor

ON THE LOT, executive-produced by Mark Burnett and Steven Spielberg, will give aspiring filmmakers from around the world the chance to earn a $1-million development deal at DreamWorks.

Airing next spring on FOX, this unscripted series will feature a cast of 16 undiscovered filmmakers who will compete to win the support of the show’s viewers, as their fate will be decided by a weekly audience vote.

The competition will air over two nights weekly, with a one-hour “Film Premiere” episode, followed the next night by a half-hour “Box Office” results show.

After a global search, applicants will be winnowed to a group of 16 talented filmmakers. These finalists will be brought to Hollywood, where they will be divided into teams and begin the journey toward their “big break.”

Every week, the hopeful filmmakers will produce short films from a chosen genre, running the gamut from comedies to thrillers, personal dramas to romance, sci-fi to horror. They’ll have access to the best resources the industry has to offer -- professional writers, cast and crew, and maybe even Hollywood celebrities.

After the teams have battled time frames, budgets and all the usual chaos that goes along with filmmaking, their films will debut and be critiqued in front of a live audience during the “Film Premiere” episode. Judges will include a high-ranking motion picture executive, a prominent film critic and a succession of well-respected guests, such as directors who are experts in the week’s featured genre. But the filmmakers ultimately will be judged by the harshest critics of all … the public.

It will be FOX viewers whose votes determine which film should be left on the cutting-room floor. On the next night’s “Box Office” results show, the director whose feature garners the fewest votes will be sent home.

The competition continues and directors are eliminated until only the most talented filmmaker is anointed the winner and heads to DreamWorks … ON THE LOT.